Wireless infant health monitor
A system for wirelessly monitoring the health of an infant comprising a sensing module removably disposed within a wearable article. At least a portion of the sensing module can be in contact with an infant's foot. The sensing module can include a processing unit configured to receive and process health readings received by the sensing module. A wireless transmitter can also be in communication with the processing unit. The wireless transmitter can be configured to transmit the processed health readings to a receiving station. The receiving station can indicate an alarm if the processed health readings indicate a health trend that falls outside of a particular threshold.
1. A computer system for wirelessly monitoring the health of a patient, comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon executable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors configure the computer system to perform at least the following:
receive from a pulse oximeter sensor at least a blood-oxygen level of a patient;
identify a particular alarm level based upon a health reading relating to the blood-oxygen level of the patient;
elevate the particular alarm level to a higher alarm level based upon a reading received from an accelerometer that indicates an attribute of the patient other than blood-oxygen level, wherein the attribute comprises an indication that the patient is in a particular position; and
trigger an alarm alert at the higher alarm level.
2. The computer system as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a sensing module that comprises the pulse oximeter sensor disposed longitudinally upon an arm that extends away from a body of the sensing module.
3. The computer as recited in claim 2 , further comprising a wearable article that is configured to hold the sensing module.
4. The computer as recited in claim 3 , wherein the wearable article is configured to be worn around a foot and the wearable article comprises:
a pocket configured to removably hold at least a portion of the sensing module; and
an alignment feature configured to guide the arm of the sensing module such that the pulse oximeter sensor disposed upon the arm is configured to be held in close contact with the foot.
5. The computer system as recited in claim 3 , wherein the wearable article comprises a sock.
6. The computer as recited in claim 5 , further comprising socks of multiple different sizes, wherein the sensing module is configured to be disposable in each of the socks of multiple different sizes, such that the same sensing module is useable within different sock sizes.
7. The computer system as recited in claim 3 , wherein the arm comprises a flexible material that is configured to wrap at least partially around the foot.
8. The computer system as recited in claim 1 , wherein triggering an alarm alert comprises sending a communication to a base station.
9. A wearable sensor device for monitoring health of a patient, the sensing module comprising:
a sensing module that comprises a body and an arm extending away from the body;
a pulse oximeter sensor disposed longitudinally upon the arm of the sensing module;
a wearable article that is configured to hold the sensing module, the wearable article comprising:
a pocket configured to removably hold at least a portion of the sensing module; and
an alignment feature configured to guide the arm of the sensing module such that the pulse oximeter sensor disposed upon the arm is configured to be held in close contact with the patient; and
a processing unit configured to execute computer-readable instructions that when executed cause the wearable sensor system to:
receive from the pulse oximeter sensor at least a blood-oxygen level of the patient;
identify a particular alarm level based upon a health reading relating to the blood-oxygen level of the patient;
elevate the particular alarm level to a higher alarm level based upon a reading received from an accelerometer that indicates a particular attribute of the patient other than blood-oxygen level, wherein the particular attribute comprises an indication that the patient is in a particular position; and
trigger the particular alarm at the higher alarm level.
10. The wearable sensor device as recited in claim 9 , wherein triggering the particular alarm comprises sending a communication to a base station.
11. The wearable sensor device as recited in claim 9 , wherein the wearable article comprises a sock.
12. The wearable sensor device as recited in claim 11 , wherein the sensing module is configured to be disposed in multiple different sizes of socks, such that the same sensing module is useable for patients that require different sock sizes.
13. The wearable sensor device as recited in claim 9 , wherein the arm comprises a flexible material that is configured to wrap at least partially around the foot.
14. The wearable sensor device as recited in claim 9 , wherein the pulse oximeter sensor comprises multiple photoemitters and multiple photodetectors disposed longitudinally upon the arm of the sensing module.
15. A sensor system for wirelessly monitoring the health of a patient, comprising:
a sensing module for gathering health data from a patient, the sensing module comprising:
a body and an arm extending away from the body, and
a pulse oximeter sensor disposed longitudinally upon the arm of the sensing module;
a sock that is configured to removably hold the sensing module, the sock comprising:
a pocket configured to removably hold at least a portion of the sensing module, and
an alignment feature configured to guide the arm of the sensing module such that the pulse oximeter sensor disposed upon the arm is configured to be held in close contact with the patient;
a processing unit configured to execute computer-readable instructions that when executed cause the wearable sensor system to:
receive from the pulse oximeter sensor at least a blood-oxygen level of the patient;
identify a particular alarm level based upon a health reading relating to the blood-oxygen level of the patient;
elevate the particular alarm level to a higher alarm level based upon a reading received from an accelerometer that indicates an attribute of the patient other than blood-oxygen level, wherein the particular attribute comprises an indication that the patient is in a particular position; and
trigger an alarm alert at the higher alarm level.