A portable handheld device for simultaneously monitoring pulse waveforms indicative of blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and electrocardiogram signals of a patient, said device comprising:
- an ECG device comprising at least two leads;
- a handheld base unit comprising a base unit processor, software, memory, external chassis, and user control inputs;
- said handheld base unit further comprising an air pump and valve, mounted inside said external chassis, for driving a blood pressure monitoring cuff comprising tubing, at least one detector to monitor pulse input from said blood pressure monitoring cuff, and an external chassis mounted cuff port to accommodate said tubing for said blood pressure monitoring cuff;
- said blood pressure monitoring cuff configured to be placed around a limb of a patient;
- said handheld base unit further comprising a portion of said ECG device, said ECG device further comprising:
- a) an external chassis mounted first ECG electrode configured to touch said patient's hand while said patient is holding said handheld base unit;
- b) an ECG amplifier;
- c) an external chassis mounted electrical ECG-oximeter port for receiving input from a second ECG electrode;
- d) an external combination finger pulse oximeter-ECG electrode device configured external to said external chassis and configured to be placed around a digit of said patient;
- e) said external combination finger pulse oximeter-ECG electrode device comprising an interior, said interior comprising a second ECG electrode;
- said processor further configured to apply, over a plurality of patient heart beats, varying amounts of air pressure to a blood pressure monitoring cuff connected to said external chassis mounted cuff port and obtain pulse wave information from said cuff;
- said processor and said electrical ECG-oximeter port further configured to simultaneously drive, over a plurality of patient heart beats, a plurality of finger pulse oximeter light sources at a plurality of wavelengths, and to receive photodetector signals from said external combination finger pulse oximeter-ECG electrode device;
- said processor and said device also configured to simultaneously drive said external combination finger pulse oximeter-ECG electrode device at a plurality of wavelengths, and obtain blood hemoglobin absorbance information as a function of wavelength and as a function of pulse wave;
- said processor and said device further configured to simultaneously monitor, over said plurality of patient heart beats, electrical signals from said first ECG electrode and second ECG electrodes to obtain synchronized pulse wave, hemoglobin absorbance, and electrocardiogram pulse wave information of a same said plurality of patient heart beats;
- wherein said processor is configured to direct said base unit processor to implement at least one of:
- i) mathematically processing versions of simultaneously obtained blood pressure monitoring pulse wave information, external combination finger pulse oximeter-ECG electrode device blood hemoglobin absorbance information as a function of wavelength, said pulse wave information, and said electrocardiogram pulse wave information, and store in local or remote memory;
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- ii) directly storing direct versions of simultaneously obtained blood pressure monitoring pulse wave information, external combination finger pulse oximeter-ECG electrode device blood hemoglobin absorbance information as a function of wavelength, said pulse wave information, and said electrocardiogram pulse wave information in said local or remote memory.