Adverse condition detection, assessment, and response systems, methods and devices
View Patent ↗A method includes receiving an input indicative of at least one factor that contributes to the development of pressure ulcers; determining a risk score as a function of the input; comparing the risk score to a previous risk score; and at least one of activating a therapy configured to reduce the magnitude of the factor and notifying a caregiver if the risk score is greater than the previous risk score.
1. A method of operating a patient support apparatus to predict and mitigate an occurrence of a pressure ulcer, comprising the steps of:
receiving from a sensor of the patient support apparatus a first input signal indicative of a physiological characteristic of a person at a first time;
receiving from the sensor of the patient support apparatus a second input signal indicative of the physiological characteristic of the person at a second time;
determining a difference between the first input signal and the second input signal;
receiving information from a medical device that is separate from the patient support apparatus and is associated with the person;
processing the difference between the first and second input signals and the information received from the medical equipment device to determine if a pressure ulcer is likely to occur based on a trend indicated by the difference between the first input signal and the second input signal and the information received from medical equipment device;
if a pressure ulcer is likely to occur, automatically generating a signal to activate a therapy to mitigate a condition causing the likelihood of the pressure ulcer;
receiving from the sensor of the patient support apparatus a third input signal indicative of the physiological characteristic of the person at a third time that is after the first time and the second time;
determining a difference between the third input signal and at least one of the first input signal and second input signal; and
generating a signal to modify the therapy based on the difference between the third input signal and at least one of the first input signal and second input signal;
wherein the physiological characteristic includes at least one physiological factor that contributes to skin breakdown.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the physiological characteristic that contributes to skin breakdown includes at least one of an interface pressure, a skin temperature, a skin moisture level, an amount of shear, an amount of friction, and an incontinence condition.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein a pressure ulcer is likely to occur when the trend indicates that the physiological characteristic is increasing over time.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a pressure ulcer is likely to occur when the trend indicates that the physiological characteristic exceeds a predetermined threshold for a predetermined period of time.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the therapy includes at least one of rotational therapy and low air loss therapy.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the therapy is directed toward a location where the pressure ulcer is predicted to occur.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically generating the signal further includes alerting a caregiver.
8. A control system of a patient support apparatus, comprising:
an input;
a processor configured to receive (i) information from the input corresponding to a change in at least two physiological characteristics of a person, (ii) information related to a pressure ulcer risk and a medical history of a person, and (iii) information from a medical device that is separate from the patient support apparatus and is associated with the person; and
a memory unit including instructions configured to be executed by the processor, the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine if a pressure ulcer will likely occur based on the information received from the input, the information related to a pressure ulcer risk, a medical history of a person, and the medical equipment device, and automatically generate a signal to activate a therapy if a pressure ulcer will likely occur; wherein the memory unit further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor cause the processor to:
receive an input signal indicative of a physiological characteristic of the person after the signal to activate the therapy has been generated;
determine that the input signal after signal to activate a therapy has been generated represents a change in one of the at least two physiological characteristics of a person; and
generate a signal to modify the therapy based on the change in the physiological characteristic.
9. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the physiological characteristics of a person includes at least one of an interface pressure experienced by the person's skin, a skin temperature, a skin moisture level, the presence of an incontinence condition, a shear force experienced by the person's skin, a friction force experienced by the person's skin.
10. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the pressure ulcer risk is input by a caregiver.
11. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the pressure ulcer risk is received from an electronic medical record database.
12. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the medical history of the person is received from an electronic medical record database.
13. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the pressure ulcer risk includes at least one of a pressure ulcer risk score, a diagnosed condition, a side effect of a current medication, a therapy status, and a mattress type.
14. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the therapy is activated if (i) at least one of the physiological characteristics of the person exceeds a predetermined threshold, (ii) at least one of the pressure ulcer risk indicates a moderate or higher risk, and (iii) the medical history indicates a history of pressure ulcers.
15. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the therapy includes at least one of a rotational therapy and a low air loss therapy.
16. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the therapy is directed toward a location where the pressure ulcer is predicted to occur.
17. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions causes the processor to automatically generate the signal further includes alerting a caregiver.
18. The control system of claim 17 , wherein the alert is communicated through a nurse call system.
19. The control system of claim 17 , wherein the alert is generated if (i) at least one of the physiological characteristics exceeds a predetermined threshold for a predetermined period of time, (ii) at least one of the pressure ulcer risk indicates a moderate or higher risk, and (iii) the pressure ulcer history indicates a history of a pressure ulcers.
20. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the pressure ulcer risk is determined by populating a risk assessment table with information received from the input that is at least one of sensed by a sensing device and received from an electronic medical record.
21. A method of operating a patient support apparatus to predict and mitigate an occurrence of a pressure ulcer, comprising the steps of:
receiving from a sensor of the patient support apparatus a first input signal indicative of a physiological characteristic of a person at a first time;
receiving from the sensor of the patient support apparatus a second input signal indicative of the physiological characteristic of the person at a second time;
determining a difference between the first input signal and the second input signal;
processing the difference between the first and second input signals to determine if a pressure ulcer is likely to occur based on a trend indicated by the difference between the first input signal and the second input signal;
if a pressure ulcer is likely to occur, automatically generating a signal to activate a therapy to mitigate a condition causing the likelihood of the pressure ulcer;
receiving from the sensor of the patient support apparatus a third input signal indicative of the physiological characteristic of the person at a third time that is after the first time and the second time;
determining a difference between the third input signal and at least one of the first input signal and second input signal; and
generating a signal to modify the therapy based on the difference between the third input signal and at least one of the first input signal and second input signal;
wherein the physiological characteristic includes at least one physiological factor that contributes to skin breakdown.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the physiological characteristic that contributes to skin breakdown includes at least one of an interface pressure, a skin temperature, a skin moisture level, an amount of shear, an amount of friction, and an incontinence condition.
23. The method of claim 21 , wherein a pressure ulcer is likely to occur when the trend indicates that the physiological characteristic is increasing over time.
24. The method of claim 21 , wherein a pressure ulcer is likely to occur when the trend indicates that the physiological characteristic exceeds a predetermined threshold for a predetermined period of time.
25. The method of claim 21 , wherein the therapy includes at least one of rotational therapy and low air loss therapy.
26. The method of claim 21 , wherein the therapy is directed toward a location where the pressure ulcer is predicted to occur.
27. The method of claim 21 , wherein automatically generating the signal further includes alerting a caregiver.