System for generating alarms based on alarm patterns

1. A method for reducing nuisance alarms, the method comprising:

receiving physiological information associated with a patient;

calculating a plurality of values for a physiological parameter over time associated with the patient based at least in part on the received physiological information;

selecting, under control of one or more processors, an alarm pattern from a first alarm pattern or a second alarm pattern based at least in part on a characteristic of the patient, the alarm pattern including:

said first alarm pattern including a first threshold having a corresponding first threshold time that indicates a period of time that values of said physiological parameter have crossed the first threshold before generating a first alarm; and

said second alarm pattern including a second threshold having a corresponding second threshold time that indicates a period of time that values of said physiological parameters have crossed the second threshold before generating a second alarm; wherein the second threshold time is smaller than the first threshold time and wherein the second alarm pattern corresponds to a time of day when the patient is asleep;

determining a first length of time that the calculated plurality of values for the physiological parameter have crossed the first threshold;

determining a second length of time that the calculated plurality of values for the physiological parameter have crossed the second threshold;

comparing the first length of time with the first threshold time;

comparing the second length of time with the second threshold time;

generating a first alarm based on said comparing the first length of time with the first threshold time; and

generating a second alarm based on said comparing the second length of time with the second threshold time.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said selecting is further based on the received physiological information.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the physiological parameter includes one of the following: oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and heart rate.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the alarm pattern further includes a baseline.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the physiological information is received from one or more sensors.

6. A method for reducing nuisance alarms, the method comprising:

receiving a physiological parameter associated with a patient;

storing a first alarm pattern corresponding to a first time of a day, the first alarm pattern including a plurality of first thresholds each having corresponding first periods of time;

storing a second alarm pattern corresponding to a second time of a day, the second alarm pattern including a plurality of second thresholds each having corresponding second periods of time, wherein said second time of a day corresponds to when the patient is asleep;

determining, under control of one or more processors, a time of day;

selecting an alarm pattern from the first or the second alarm pattern based at least on the determination of the time of day; and

determining whether to generate an alarm based at least in part on a comparison over time of the physiological parameter to a value computed using the selected alarm pattern.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising selecting a new alarm pattern based at least in part on a change in status of the patient.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising setting at least one threshold of the plurality of the first or the second thresholds based at least in part on a characteristic of the patient.

9. The method of claim 6 , further comprising setting at least one period of time corresponding to at least one of the plurality of the first or the second thresholds based at least in part on a characteristic of the patient.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein said selecting is performed in response to a user selecting the alarm pattern.

11. The method of claim 6 , further comprising generating the alarm.

12. An system for reducing nuisance alarms, the system comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

receive physiological parameter data associated with a patient;

select an alarm pattern from a first alarm pattern or a second alarm pattern based at least in part on an indicator of an attribute of the patient,

said first alarm pattern including a first threshold having a corresponding first threshold time that indicates a period of time that the physiological parameter data has crossed the first threshold before generating a first alarm; and

said second alarm pattern including a second threshold having a corresponding second threshold time that indicates a period of time that the physiological parameter data has crossed the second threshold before generating a second alarm; wherein the second threshold time is smaller than the first threshold time and wherein the second alarm pattern corresponds to a time of day when the patient is asleep;

determine a first length of time that the physiological parameter data for the physiological parameter has crossed the first threshold;

determine a second length of time that the calculated plurality of values for the physiological parameter have crossed the second threshold;

compare the first length of time with the first threshold time;

compare the second length of time with the second threshold time;

generate a first alarm based on said comparing the first length of time with the first threshold time; and

generate a second alarm based on said comparing the second length of time with the second threshold time.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to generate an alarm when the physiological parameter data is within a range for a predetermined period of time associated with the range.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the value associated with the physiological parameter is a multi-parameter index.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to compute the multi-parameter index based on the physiological parameter data.

16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the indicator of the attribute of the patient is based on one or more of the following: age, gender, height, and weight.

17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to enable a user to select the alarm pattern.

18. The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to enable a user to adjust the alarm pattern.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a time of day and updating the selected alarm pattern based on the determined time of day.

20. The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine a time of day and update the selected alarm pattern based on the determined time of day.