Patient monitor including multi-parameter graphical display

Abstract

A patient monitoring system and method are disclosed which provide a caregiver with more easily identifiable indications of the state of multiple physiological parameters in order to give the caregiver an indication of the patient's overall wellness in an efficient manner. Multiple physiological parameter sets are plotted on a graph, along with an indication of each parameter set's normal range. An overlapping area for all set's normal ranges provides an indication of an ideal patient state. In an embodiment, alerts are generated based on parameters distance from normal readings.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing an indication of a patient's condition, the steps of the method comprising:
 noninvasively measuring a plurality of physiological parameters using a light attenuation by pulsing blood;   loading a wellness range for each of two or more of the plurality of physiological parameters;   displaying an area of a graph defining a normal range for the intersection of the wellness ranges for two of the plurality of physiological parameters; and   plotting on the graph a point of intersection between the two physiological parameters representing a current measurement.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step of providing an indication that the graphed point of intersection is outside the defined normal range area. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the graphed point of intersection is outside the defined normal range area based on one of the two physiological parameters. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the graphed point of intersection is outside the defined normal range area based on the two physiological parameters. 
     
     
         5 . A method for providing an indication of a patient's condition, the steps of the method comprising:
 measuring a plurality of physiological parameters;   defining a first area of a graph constituting a normal range for the intersection of a first set of two of the plurality of physiological parameters;   graphing a first point of intersection between the first set of two physiological parameters;   defining a second area of the graph constituting a normal range for an intersection of a second set of two of the plurality of physiological parameters, wherein the second set includes at least one physiological parameter distinct from the first set;   defining an intersection area of the first area and the second area;   graphing a second point of intersection between the second set of two physiological parameters; and   providing an indication of a state of wellness of the patient based on the first point's relation to the intersection area and second point's relation to the intersection area.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising the step of indicating a state of alert when one or both of the first point and second point fall outside the intersection area. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the alert comprises an audible alert. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the alert comprises a colored indicator on the graph. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the step of defining a second area of the graph includes normalizing the second area to increase the intersection area. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the step of defining a first area of the graph includes using data points from the two physiological parameters from the first set that were gathered when the patient was known to be well. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the step of defining a first area of the graph includes generating a best fit curve around the data points. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the step of defining a first area of the graph includes disregarding one or more of the data points that are outliers. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the steps of graphing the first point and graphing the second point comprise displaying the first and second points on the graph. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising the step of making visual representations of the first area, second area, and intersection area on a display. 
     
     
         15 . A method for providing an individual baseline for a patient's wellness, the steps of the method comprising:
 measuring a plurality of physiological parameters of the patient over a period of time, using a non-invasive sensor;   identifying a plurality of graph points for the intersection of at least two of the physiological parameters, each graph point indicative of the at least two physiological parameters measured at approximately the same time;   defining an area of a graph constituting a normal range from the plurality of graph points; and   storing for later retrieval at least one of:
 the plurality of physiological parameter measurements over time; 
 the plurality of graph points; or 
 the area of a graph constituting the normal range from the plurality of graph points. 
   
     
     
         16 . The method for providing an individual baseline for a patient's wellness of  claim 15  wherein the step of measuring a plurality of physiological parameters is undertaken when the patient is healthy. 
     
     
         17 . The method for providing an individual baseline for a patient's wellness of  claim 15  further comprising loading the stored data and comparing the stored data to at least one new measurement of physiological parameters of the patient. 
     
     
         18 . The method for providing an individual baseline for a patient's wellness of  claim 17  wherein the steps of loading the stored data and comparing the stored data to at least one new measurement occur when the patient's status is unknown.