Patient monitoring alarm escalation system and method
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a patient monitoring system and method. Specifically, embodiments of the present invention include a patient monitoring device with a plethysmographic waveform display that includes a Y-axis scale. The Y-axis scale allows that user to qualitatively assess the amplitude of the pulse and thus assess the quality of the pulse signal.
1 . A monitoring system, comprising:
a patient monitor adapted to provide a plethysmographic waveform display comprising a Y-axis, wherein the Y-axis comprises a plurality of marks separated by a predetermined spacing comprising a quantitative scale of measure.
2 . The monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined spacing is linearly related to pulse amplitude.
3 . The monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined spacing is non-linearly related to pulse amplitude.
4 . The monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined spacing comprises a logarithmic relationship to the pulse amplitude.
5 . The monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined spacing is adapted to be selected by an operator.
6 . The monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the marks comprise a tick marks.
7 . The monitoring system of claim 6 , wherein the tick marks are symmetric about a center mark on the Y-axis.
8 . The monitoring system of claim 6 , wherein the tick marks comprise a plurality of lengths.
9 . The monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the marks comprise lines.
10 . The monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the patient monitor comprises a pulse oximetry monitor.
11 . A method comprising:
receiving one or more input signals related to a physiological state of a patient;
generating a plethysmographic waveform related to the input signals; and
displaying the plethysmographic waveform on a display that comprises a Y-axis having a plurality of marks separated by a predetermined spacing, the predetermined spacing comprising a quantitative scale of measure.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the predetermined spacing is linearly related to the pulse amplitude.
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the predetermined spacing is non-linearly related to the pulse amplitude.
14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the marks comprises tick marks.
15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the marks comprise lines.
16 . A computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for performing actions comprising:
generating a plethysmographic waveform from patient information; and
displaying the plethysmographic waveform on a display comprising a Y-axis having a plurality of marks separated by a predetermined spacing comprising a quantitative scale of measure.
17 . The computer readable medium of claim 16 , comprising computer-executable instructions for changing the predetermined spacing.
18 . The computer readable medium of claim 16 , comprising computer-executable instructions for selecting the predetermined spacing from a user-input.