Mesh network monitoring appliance

#This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for monitoring a person.

#According to the National Center for Health Statistics Monitoring Health Care in America. Quarterly Fact Sheet. September 1996, cerebrovascular disease is the third leading cause of death in America, accounting for over 154,000 deaths in 1994. This fact is true despite death rates from stroke having actually dropped nearly every year since 1950. In 1993, 109 years of potential life were lost due to stroke for every 100,000 persons under age 65. Stroke is the third leading cause of death for all people age 45 and over. In 1993 the national death rate from stroke was 26.5 deaths per 100,000 population. During the period 1990-92, age-adjusted death rates by State ranged from 20.8 for Rhode Island to 40.0 for South Carolina. Regionally, cerebrovascular disease mortality is highest for Indiana and what is referred to as the “stroke belt,” the southeastern states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas. The lowest rates are in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nebraska, Iowa, and Florida, as well as the northeastern states of Maine, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. According to 1994 data, nearly 3 million Americans have suffered strokes at some point, or 1 per 100 population. Five percent of males aged 65 and over and 6 percent of women in the same age group have suffered a stroke.

#A stroke occurs when a blood vessel (artery) that supplies blood to the brain bursts or is blocked by a blood clot. Within minutes, the nerve cells in that area of the brain are damaged, and they may die within a few hours. As a result, the part of the body controlled by the damaged section of the brain cannot function properly. An ischemic stroke is caused by a reduction in blood flow to the brain. This can be caused by a blockage or narrowing in an artery that supplies blood to the brain or when the blood flow is reduced because of a heart or other condition. A hemorrhagic stroke develops when an artery in the brain leaks or bursts and causes bleeding inside the brain tissue or near the surface of the brain. Prior to a stroke, a person may have one or more transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), which are a warning signal that a stroke may soon occur. TIAs are often called mini strokes because their symptoms are similar to those of a stroke. However, unlike stroke symptoms, TIA symptoms usually disappear within 10 to 20 minutes, although they may last up to 24 hours. Symptoms of a stroke begin suddenly and may include: numbness, weakness, or paralysis of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body; vision problems in one or both eyes, such as double vision or loss of vision; confusion, trouble speaking or understanding; trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, or severe headache.

#FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system for monitoring a person.

#FIG. 2A illustrates a process for determining three dimensional (3D) detection.

#FIG. 2B shows an exemplary calibration sheet.

#FIG. 1 shows an exemplary patient monitoring system. The system can operate in a home, a nursing home, or a hospital. In this system, one or more mesh network appliances 8 are provided to enable wireless communication in the home monitoring system. Appliances 8 in the mesh network can include home security monitoring devices, door alarm, window alarm, home temperature control devices, fire alarm devices, among others. Appliances 8 in the mesh network can be one of multiple portable physiological transducer, such as a blood pressure monitor, heart rate monitor, weight scale, thermometer, spirometer, single or multiple lead electrocardiograph (ECG), a pulse oxymeter, a body fat monitor, a cholesterol monitor, a signal from a medicine cabinet, a signal from a drug container, a signal from a commonly used appliance such as a refrigerator/stove/oven/washer, or a signal from an exercise machine, such as a heart rate. As will be discussed in more detail below, one appliance is a patient monitoring device that can be worn by the patient and includes a single or bi-directional wireless communication link, generally identified by the bolt symbol in FIG. 1, for transmitting data from the appliances 8 to the local hub or receiving station or base station server 20 by way of a wireless radio frequency (RF) link using a proprietary or non-proprietary protocol. For example, within a house, a user may have mesh network appliances that detect window and door contacts, smoke detectors and motion sensors, video cameras, key chain control, temperature monitors, CO and other gas detectors, vibration sensors, and others. A user may have flood sensors and other detectors on a boat. An individual, such as an ill or elderly grandparent, may have access to a panic transmitter or other alarm transmitter. Other sensors and/or detectors may also be included. The user may register these appliances on a central security network by entering the identification code for each registered appliance/device and/or system. The mesh network can be Zigbee network or 802.15 network. More details of the mesh network is shown in FIG. 7 and discussed in more detail below.

#A plurality of monitoring cameras 10 may be placed in various predetermined positions in a home of a patient 30. The cameras 10 can be wired or wireless. For example, the cameras can communicate over infrared links or over radio links conforming to the 802X (e.g. 802.11A, 802.11B, 802.11G, 802.15) standard or the Bluetooth standard to a base station/server 20 may communicate over various communication links, such as a direct connection, such a serial connection, USB connection, Firewire connection or may be optically based, such as infrared or wireless based, for example, home RF, IEEE standard 802.11a/b, Bluetooth or the like. In one embodiment, appliances 8 monitor the patient and activates the camera 10 to capture and transmit video to an authorized third party for providing assistance should the appliance 8 detects that the user needs assistance or that an emergency had occurred.

#The base station/server 20 stores the patient's ambulation pattern and vital parameters and can be accessed by the patient's family members (sons/daughters), physicians, caretakers, nurses, hospitals, and elderly community. The base station/server 20 may communicate with the remote server 200 by DSL, T-1 connection over a private communication network or a public information network, such as the Internet 100, among others.