Patient position monitor

A method of monitoring the orientations of the body axis of a patient lying down comprising the steps of:

• (a) attaching a patient position monitor to the torso or thigh of a patient, said patient position monitor comprising a body axis orientation sensor and a microprocessor which receives output from said body axis orientation sensor;
• (b) repeatedly measuring an arbitrary orientation of the body axis of the patient with respect to gravity using an accelerometer;
• and
• (c) measuring the time elapsed between a time when the patient is in one said arbitrary orientation and a time when the patient moves to another said arbitrary orientation.

A method for determining compliance with a patient repositioning regimen comprising the steps of:

• (a) attaching a patient position monitor to a body part of a patient, said patient position monitor comprising an inclinometer, a microprocessor which receives output from said inclinometer and a recorder which records data from said microprocessor;
• (b) repeatedly measuring an arbitrary orientation of the body axis of the patient with respect to gravity using said inclinometer;
• and
• (c) measuring the time elapsed between a time when the patient is in one said arbitrary orientation and a time when the patient moves to another said arbitrary orientation;
• (d) recording the measurements of the orientations of said body part of the patient relative to gravity and the time spent in said orientations;
• and
• (e) comparing the measurements recorded in step (d) to orientation and time parameters of a prescribed repositioning regimen.

A method of diagnosing a patient's need for a repositioning regimen comprising the steps of:

• (a) attaching a patient position monitor to a body part of a patient, said patient position monitor comprising an inclinometer, a microprocessor which receives output from said inclinometer and a recorder which records data from said microprocessor;
• (b) repeatedly measuring an arbitrary orientation of said body part of the patient relative to gravity using said inclinometer;
• and
• (c) measuring the time elapsed between a time when the patient is in one said arbitrary orientations and a time when the patient moves to another said arbitrary orientation;
• (d) recording the measurements of the orientations of said body part of the patient relative to gravity and the time spent in said orientations;
• and
• (e) comparing the measurements recorded in step (d) to a set of predetermined minimal repositioning orientation and time parameters.