Pulse oximeter monitor for expressing the urgency of the patient's condition

Abstract

A monitor for a pulse oximeter emits audible sounds containing information regarding the patient's pulse rate and oxygen saturation level wherein the information is not contained in variations of the pitch of the audible sounds. By utilizing sets of audible sounds pulsed in synchroneity with the heartbeat of the patient in which the sound volume is a function of the patient's oxygen saturation level, the urgency of the patient's condition is effectively expressed to the monitoring individual. Alternatively, the urgency of the patient's condition is effectively expressed by varying the number of audible sounds in each set of audible sounds, or by varying the volume shape of each audible sound. The present invention represents an improvement over the monitors described in the prior art which utilize variations of pitch with oxygen saturation level because the present invention requires less training and less subjective judgment, can be more quickly interpreted, and is less affected by hearing disabilities of the monitoring individuals.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.