Granted Patent B2

US 12,725,692 · App. 17/959,070 · Granted Sep 1, 2026

Inventors: Steven E. Sjoquist (Lynnwood, WA); Angela M. Stewart (Kirkland, WA); Zoie Engman Brent (Kirkland, WA)

Assignee: West Affum Holdings DAC

G16H20/30A61N1/3904A61N1/3925A61N1/3993G16H40/67H04W4/90

Abstract

Claims (51)

1 . A Wearable Cardiac Defibrillator (WCD) system configured to be worn by a patient carrying a mobile communication device, the WCD system comprising:

a support structure configured to be worn by the patient;

a power source configured to be coupled to the support structure and to store an electrical charge;

a discharge circuit;

a communication module configured to be coupled to the support structure and configured to establish a local commlink with the mobile communication device; and

one or more processors configured to:

cause a therapeutic shock to be applied to the patient by controlling the discharge circuit to discharge the stored electrical charge through the patient while the patient is wearing the support structure;

responsive to a determination, by a remote patient data platform, that the patient is unconscious or unresponsive based on inability to establish communication with the patient, cause a third party to be notified, via one or more intermediate devices, that the therapeutic shock has been applied to the patient by transmitting a shock event message to the mobile communication device via the local commlink responsive to the therapeutic shock being applied to the patient, wherein the third party is identified, among a plurality of third parties, as being located closest to the patient; and

responsive to a determination that the identified third party is unavailable to assist the patient, cause, by the remote patient data platform, the shock event message and a patient location to be transmitted to a public safety answering point (PSAP) or an emergency medical service (EMS).

2 . The WCD system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile communication device is configured to transmit the shock event message to the remote patient data platform in response to receiving the shock event message.

3 . The WCD system of claim 2 , wherein the mobile communication device is configured to obtain the patient location responsive to receiving the shock event message, and to transmit the patient location with the shock event message to the remote patient data platform.

4 . The WCD system of claim 1 , wherein the third party is a clinician or an emergency contact.

5 . A mobile communication device configured to be operated by a patient using a Wearable Cardiac Defibrillator (WCD), the mobile communication device comprising:

a communication module configured to establish a local commlink with the WCD when the patient is using the WCD, and to establish a remote commlink with a remote device;

a positioning determining system configured to determine a patient location when the patient is using the WCD; and

one or more processors configured to:

receive a shock event message from the WCD via the local commlink responsive to the patient receiving a therapeutic shock from the WCD;

determine the patient location when the shock event message is received using the positioning determining system; and

responsive to a determination, by the remote device, that the patient is unconscious or unresponsive based on an inability to establish communication with the patient, transmit the shock event message and the patient location to the remote device responsive to receiving the shock event message from the WCD to notify a third party that the therapeutic shock has been applied to the patient, wherein the third party is identified, among a plurality of third parties, as being located closest to the patient, based on the patient location,

wherein responsive to a determination that the identified third party is unavailable to assist the patient, transmit, by the remote device, the shock event message and the patient location to a public safety answering point (PSAP) or emergency medical services (EMS).

6 . The mobile communication device of claim 5 , wherein the positioning determining system comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) circuit.

7 . The mobile communication device of claim 5 , wherein the remote commlink includes a wireless local area network (WLAN).

8 . The mobile communication device of claim 5 , wherein the remote commlink includes a wireless wide area network (WWAN).

9 . The mobile communication device of claim 5 , wherein the remote device includes a remote patient data platform.

10 . The mobile communication device of claim 5 , wherein the third party is a clinician or an emergency contact.

11 . A remote assistance system, comprising:

a Wearable Cardiac Defibrillator (WCD) system configured to be worn by a patient;

a mobile communication device configured to establish a first commlink with the WCD system when the patient is using the WCD system; and

a remote patient data platform configured to establish a second commlink with the mobile communication device;

wherein:

the WCD system is configured to apply a therapeutic shock to the patient during a shock event, and to transmit a shock event message to the mobile communication device via the first commlink responsive to the shock event;

the mobile communication device is configured to determine a patient location responsive to receipt of the shock event message, and to transmit the patient location and the shock event message to the remote patient data platform via the second commlink;

the remote patient data platform is configured to attempt to contact the patient via the mobile communication device, and to determine whether the patient is unconscious or unresponsive based on inability to establish communication with the patient;

responsive to a determination that the patient is unconscious, the remote patient data platform is configured to cause a third party to be notified of the patient location and that the WCD system has applied the therapeutic shock to the patient by transmitting the shock event message and the patient location, via one or more intermediate devices, to a remote device associated with the third party via the second commlink; and

responsive to a determination that the notified third party is unavailable to assist the patient, the remote patient data platform is configured to transmit the patient location and the shock event message to a public safety answering point (PSAP) or emergency medical services (EMS).

12 . The remote assistance system of claim 11 , wherein the shock event message and the patient location are transmitted to the remote device within a predetermined timeframe after the therapeutic shock is applied to the patient.

13 . The remote assistance system of claim 12 , wherein the predetermined timeframe is 60 seconds or less.

14 . The remote assistance system of claim 11 , wherein the shock event message and the patient location are transmitted to the remote device with a predetermined reliability factor.

15 . The remote assistance system of claim 14 , wherein the predetermined reliability factor is 3 errors or less per 1000 shock events.

16 . A method to assist a patient using a Wearable Cardiac Defibrillator (WCD) system, the method comprising:

applying a therapeutic shock with the WCD system to the patient during a shock event;

transmitting a shock event message from the WCD system to a mobile communication device responsive to the shock event;

determining a patient location with the mobile communication device responsive to receiving the shock event message;

transmitting the patient location and the shock event message to a remote patient data platform;

identifying a third party, among a plurality of third parties, located closest to the patient based on the patient location;

responsive to determining, by the remote patient data platform, that the patient is unconscious or unresponsive based on an inability to establish communication with the patient, causing the third party to be notified, via one or more intermediate devices, of the patient location and that the WCD system has applied the therapeutic shock to the patient by transmitting the shock event message and the patient location to a remote device associated with the third party from the remote patient data platform; and

responsive to determining that the third party is unavailable to assist the patient, transmitting, by the remote patient data platform, the shock event message and the patient location to a public safety answering point (PSAP) or emergency medical services (EMS).

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the shock event message and the patient location are transmitted to the remote device within a predetermined timeframe after the therapeutic shock is applied to the patient.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the predetermined timeframe is 60 seconds or less.

19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the shock event message and the patient location are transmitted to the remote device with a predetermined reliability factor.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the predetermined reliability factor is 3 errors or less per 1000 shock events.

Assignments (8)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (143)