Medical system, apparatus and method

1. A method of computing a multi-parameter index value indicative of a pulmonary condition of a patient, said method comprising:

receiving two or more non-invasively measured patient parameters, wherein the two or more non-invasively measured patient parameters originating from one or more sensing devices, the two or more non-invasively measured patient parameters including a CO 2 related parameter and one or more measured parameters selected from the group consisting of: a CO 2 related parameter, respiration rate, an O 2 related parameter, heart rate, an electrocardiogram (ECG), an encephalogram (EEG), blood pressure, spirometry, or any combination thereof, and the CO 2 related parameter is obtained from a breath sample;

characterizing a first of said two or more non-invasively measured patient parameters based on a comparison of the first non-invasively measured patient parameter against a first reference value, the first reference value is representative of a known range and/or pattern of the first non-invasively measured patient parameter;

characterizing a second of said two or more non-invasively measured patient parameter based on a comparison of the second non-invasively measured patient parameter against a second reference value, the second reference value is representative of a known range and/or pattern of the second non-invasively measured patient parameter and the second non-invasively measured patient parameter is different from the first non-invasively measured patient parameter; and

computing the index value based on an integrative analysis of values associated with each of the characterized first and second non-invasively measured patient parameters, wherein a weighting factor applied to the value associated with the second characterized non-invasively measured parameter is influenced by the characterization of the first non-invasively measured patient parameter.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein computing the index comprises applying a mathematical model reflecting medical expert considerations, literature, clinical data, medical experience or any combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein computing the index comprises applying a fuzzy logic, a Bayesian network, a decision tree, a neural network, a radial base function, a linear regression model, a non-linear regression model, an expert system, or any combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measured patient parameters are averaged over a period of time.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the period of time is predetermined.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the period of time is determined based on one or more patient characteristics, on the stability of one or more measured patient parameters, or both.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the CO 2 related parameter comprises a CO 2 waveform related parameter, an expired air CO 2 concentration, respiratory rate or any combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the CO 2 waveform related parameter comprises EtCO 2 , changes in EtCO 2 , a slope of the increase in the CO 2 concentration, a change in a slope of the increase in the CO 2 concentration, time to rise to a predetermined percentage of a maximum value of CO 2 concentration, a change in time to rise to a predetermined percentage of a maximum value of CO 2 concentration, an angle of rise to a predetermined percentage of a maximum value of CO 2 concentration, a change in an angle of rise to a predetermined percentage of a maximum value of CO 2 concentration, breath to breath correlation, a change in breath to breath correlation, a CO 2 duty cycle, a change in CO 2 duty cycle, or any combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a learning process, wherein the learning process increases reliability of the index value.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the learning process comprises neural network methods, support vector machine (SVM), genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, expectation-maximization (EM), case based reasoning, or any combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving one or more patient characteristics; and

computing the index value based on the two or more measured patient parameters and on one or more patient characteristics.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the one or more patient characteristics comprises age, weight, gender, medical condition, medication, ventilation, oxygen supply, lab tests results, blood pressure, medical history, intubation or any combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the medical history comprises smoking, heart disease, lung disease, sleep apnea, a pacemaker, or any combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the index-value is in the range of 1 to 10.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein an increase in the index-value is indicative of an improvement in the condition of the patient.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein a decrease in the index-value is indicative of a deterioration in the condition of the patient.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein computing the index value further comprises taking into account a medical significance of at least one of the parameters.

18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising computing a trend of the index-value.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising computing a reliability index of the index-value.

20. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a medical recommendation.

21. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting at least one parameter related to a patient controlled analgesia (PCA) pump, a dosage management device, a ventilation device or any combination thereof, based on the index value.

22. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the index value on a graphic display.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the index value is a pulmonary index value.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the index value is linearly proportional to a severity of the pulmonary condition.