REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0046] 1

SUMMARY

[0047] A Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System comprising of a plurality of Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus for measuring a patient's vital signs on different parts of a patient's body, and a Main Processing Unit Apparatus containing System Software that uses an active, real-time monitoring method to process a patient's vital signs and location information for providing an alert on location and transmitting an emergency request to a remote patient monitoring station for immediate assistance. The key component of Main Processing Unit Apparatus is Main Microcontroller which is connected to Global Position System Module, Long-Range Two-Way Wireless Communication Module, Short-Range RF Receiver, System Main Memory, Flash Memory, Panic Button, On/Off Button, Alert Beeper and Removable/Rechargeable Battery. Main Microcontroller comprises System Processor, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Processor and System Interface Processor. Both Global Position System Module and Long-Range Two-Way Wireless Communication Module are connected to Multi-Band Antenna, and System Interface Processor, and means for conducting two-way wireless communication and GPS data acquisition simultaneously. Short-Range RF Receiver is connected to DSP Processor, and means for receiving wireless signal from a plurality of Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus. Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus comprises the circuitry for both vital sign measurements and short-range RF transmission, and means for measuring and interpreting a patient's vital signs, modulating and transmitting wireless signal back to Short-Range RF Receiver through a short-range RF network.

[0048] System Software of the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System resides in System Processor and includes Intelligent Controller, which comprises Task Control Administrator, and a plurality of Task Shared Memory. Task Control Administrator manages and controls the execution of Two-Way Wireless Communication Task, Global Position Data Acquisition Task, Panic Button Task, HTTP Request Processing Task, Patient Vital Sign Processing Task, Adaptive Location Assessment Task, On/Off Button Task, Alert Beeper Activation Task, Battery Management Task, and Wireless Medical Sensor Decoding Task. All application tasks of System Software are running under separate parallel execution threads. Under an urgent situation, the two-way wireless communication, global position data and adaptive location assessment capabilities allow an Emergency Service Vehicle to be dispatched to the patient that carries the system. The system also includes a HTTP Web server that can respond to a remote request sent wirelessly either from a patient monitoring station or a patient's family member through a standard Internet browser, anywhere and anytime. The system uses a rechargeable/removable battery in conjunction with a software control to recharge the system and conserve system's power consumption.

Preferred Embodiment—Description

[0049] FIG. 1 shows the components of Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 of the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System in this invention. Main Processing Units Apparatus 100 contains System Software 500 which uses an active, real-time monitoring method to measure and process a patient's vital signs for providing an alert on location or sending an emergency request to a remote patient monitoring station for immediate assistance. The key component of Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 is Main Microcontroller 110 which is connected to Global Position System (GPS) Module 120 , Long-Range Two-Way Wireless Communication Module 130 , Short-Range Radio Frequency (RF) Receiver 140 , System Main Memory 150 , Flash Memory 160 , Panic Button 180 , On/Off Button 190 , Alert Beeper 195 and Removable/Rechargeable Battery 170 . Main Microcontroller 110 comprises System Processor 111 , Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Processor 112 , and System Interface Processor 113 . Both Global Position System Module 120 and Long-Range Two-Way Wireless Communication Module 130 are connected to Multi-Band Long-Range Wireless RF Antenna 200 , and System Interface Processor 113 , and means for conducting two-way wireless communication and GPS data acquisition simultaneously. Short-Range RF Receiver 140 is connected to DSP Processor 112 , and means for receiving wireless signal from a plurality of Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus 300 . Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus 300 comprises the circuitry for both vital sign measurements and short-range RF transmission, and means for measuring and interpreting patient's vital signs, modulating and transmitting measured information back to Short-Range RF Receiver 140 through a short-range RF network.

[0050] FIG. 2 shows the components of Short-Range RF Receiver 140 which is connected to DSP Processor 112 . Short-Range RF Receiver 140 comprises a Packaged Antenna 148 , Bandpass Filter 141 , Linear Power Amplifier 142 , Signal Mixer 143 , Bandpass Filter 144 , Linear Power Amplifier 145 , Frequency Synthesizer 147 , and A/D Converter 146 . Short-Range RF Receiver 140 is a spread spectrum based RF receiver, which is implemented in frequency hopping or direct sequence method.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows the components of Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus 300 which comprise a thin-film battery 311 , and two other sets of circuitry, one for vital sign measurement, and one for wireless signal transmitter. The vital sign measurement portion of the circuitry has direct contact with the patient's body, and comprise of Active Sensor 301 and Transducer 302 . The wireless signal transmitter portion of the circuit is connected to the output of Transducer 302 , and comprises D/A Convert 303 , Bandpass Filter 304 , Linear Power Amplifier 305 , Signal Mixer 306 , Frequency Synthesizer 309 , Bandpass Filter 307 , Linear Power Amplifier 308 , and Packaged Antenna 310 . The wireless signal transmitter uses a spread spectrum method to transmit wireless signal to Packaged Antenna 148 of Short-Range RF Receiver 140 . FIG. 4 shows the implementation of Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus 300 in the form of a non-irritated adhesive tape. FIG. 5 shows the implementation of Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus 300 in the form of an adjustable bracelet band.

[0052] FIG. 6 shows the components of System Software 500 of the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System in the invention. Application Tasks of System Software resides in System Processor 111 , and includes Intelligent Controller 510 which comprises Task Control Administrator 511 , and a plurality of Task Shared Memory 512 . Task Control Administrator 511 manages and controls the execution of application tasks which include Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 , Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 , Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 , Panic Button Task 522 , HTTP Request Processing Task 523 , Wireless Medical Sensor Decoding Task 524 , On/Off Button Task 526 , Alert Beeper Activation Task 527 , Battery Management Task 528 , and Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 529 .

[0053] FIG. 11 through FIG. 13 are illustrative diagrams of the location source accuracy used by the adaptive location assessment method in this invention. When a patient who wears the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System in this invention is outdoors, in an open field, under clear sky, or in a rural area, the GPS satellites are at the line-of-sight of Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 , and should provide more accurate location data than the Base Station distance data. In this case, GPS data is the primary location source for the adaptive location assessment method, and the Base Station distance is the secondary location source for calculation compensation. When a patient is near a high-rise building, in a city's downtown, under cloudy skies, inside building, inside vehicle, inside shopping mall, or within Time-To-First-Fix (TTFF) period of GPS, the GPS data is temporary not available; hence the Base Station distance is the primary location source. Base Station distance is calculated through triangulation using either signal strength or signal Time-Of-Arrival (TOA) from Base Stations near Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 . When a patient is under a special environment, such as inside tunnel, at basement, or inside elevator, both GPS data and Base Station distance data are not available, an inferred calculation using previous stored GPS data and Base Station distance data derives the best guess location of the patient.

Preferred Embodiment—Operation

[0054] Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 and Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus 300 in this invention can be worn on different parts of the patient's body. FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagram of Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 worn on the patient's arm and Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus 300 worn on the patient's chest. FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram of Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 placed inside the patient's pocket and Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus 300 worn on the patient's chest position. FIG. 9 is an illustrative diagram of Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 worn at a patient's waist and Wireless Medical Sensor Apparatus 300 worn at the patient's chest.

[0055] FIG. 10 is an illustrative schematic diagram that shows the network interface between the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System in this invention and other communication systems. It also shows the operation interaction between the system and other users who are interested in obtaining the patient's vital signs and location information.

[0056] FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating the administration and management process flow of Intelligent Controller 510 . FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 . FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 . FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of Panic Button Task 522 . FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of HTTP Request Processing Task 523 . FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 529 . FIG. 20 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of On/Off Button Task 526 . FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of Alert Beeper Activation Task 527 . FIG. 22 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of Battery Management Task 528 . FIG. 23 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 . FIG. 24 is a flow chart illustrating the process flow of Wireless Medical Sensor Decoding Task 524 .

[0057] At system startup, Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) is first loaded into System Memory 140 . RTOS then loads and starts Intelligent Controller 510 . Intelligent Controller 510 first reads configuration data, which includes a set of control rules from Flush Memory 150 and writes the control rules to Task Shared Memory 512 . Task Control Administrator 511 of Intelligent Controller 510 then starts the rule engine and uses the control rules to create a plurality of Task Shared Memory 512 to be used by all related tasks. Also using the control rules, Task Control Administrator 511 creates separate parallel execution thread for Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 , Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 , HTTP Request Processing Task 522 , Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 , Panic Button Task 522 , On/Off Button Task 526 , Alert Beeper Activation Task 527 and Battery Management Task 528 . In addition, Task Control Administrator 511 creates separate execution threads for a plurality of Wireless Medical Sensor Decoding Task 524 , and Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 529 . After the creation of execution threads, Task Control Administrator 511 starts and registers all running tasks at Task Shared Memory 512 . Task Control Administrator 511 also publishes those tasks that can be used by other tasks at Task Shared Memory 512 . During the task operation, Task Control Administrator 511 can stop or restart a thread for a particular task at the system's request or when triggered by different task conditions. At system shutdown, Task Control Administrator 511 stops all execution threads, and clears all entries at Task Shared Memory 512 .

[0058] Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 begins with the initialization of the system clock time. Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 then starts a new request by initializing a new GPS position and clock time. Each satellite is tracked by Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 through a different signal channel. After identifying each GPS channel, Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 first gets the satellite code signal and clock time. Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 then calculates satellite distance, and posts distance and clock data to Task Shared Memory 512 . Once distance and clock time data have been collected for all channels, Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 calculates GPS position using satellite distance and clock time data. Global Position Acquisition Task 520 proceeds to calculate GPS receiver's velocity and heading. This information is written onto Task Shared Memory 512 . If updating the satellite message data is needed, Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 downloads ephemeredes data from satellites and writes this information onto Task Shared Memory 512 . The execution of Global Position Data Acquisition Task 520 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

[0059] Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 processes both incoming and outgoing signals from Long-Range Two-Way Wireless Communication Module 130 which is connected to Multi-Band Long-Range Wireless RF Antenna 200 . To process the incoming wireless communication signal, Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 first receives the incoming signal from the multiple access channel of Long-Range Two-Way Wireless Communication Module 130 , and then writes it to Task Shared Memory 512 . To process the outgoing wireless communication signal, Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 first reads byte data from Task Shared Memory 512 , and then routes it to Long-Range Two-Way Wireless Communication Module 130 to be transmitted through the multiple access channel. The execution of Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

[0060] Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 begins with the checking of GPS location message at Task Shared Memory 512 . If there is an up-to-time GPS location message, Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 reads the GPS data from Task Shared Memory 512 and writes the message of the current GPS location source onto Task Shared Memory 512 . If there is no up-to-time GPS message, Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 writes the message of GPS-not-available onto Task Shared Memory 512 . Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 is then checking Task Shared Memory 512 to see if there is an up-to-time Base Station signal strength message or Time-Of-Arrival message at Task Shared Memory 512 . If one exists, Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 then writes the message of the current Base Station location source onto Task Shared Memory 512 . If there is no up-to-time Base Station signal strength message or Time-Of-Arrival message, Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 writes the message of base-station-not-available onto Task Shared Memory 512 . Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 then uses the information from Task Shared Memory 512 , which include the current GPS location source, the current Base Station location source, the previous stored GPS location source, and the previous stored Base Station location source, to filter and assess the current location of the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System. This information is written onto Task Shared Memory 512 to be used by other related application tasks. The execution of Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

[0061] Panic Button Task 522 begins with the checking of panic button message at Task Shared Memory 512 . The panic button message is from System Interface Processor 113 which monitors the button status of Panic Button 170 in real-time. When Panic Button 170 is pressed, System Interface Processor 113 writes a panic button message onto Task Shared Memory 512 . This message is read by Panic Button Task 522 which then proceeds to read the patient's current location data and vital sign data at Task Shared Memory 512 to prepare a panic message. The panic message is written onto Task Shared Memory 512 and later is transmitted to a designated location through Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 . The execution of Panic Button Task 522 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

[0062] HTTP Request Processing Task 523 begins with the reading HTTP configuration data from Flush Memory 150 . HTTP Request Processing Task 523 then starts the HTTP Web Server which contains port listeners and request handlers. Once HTTP Request Processing Task 523 is up and running, it checks the HTTP request message at Task Shared Memory 512 . The HTTP request message is from Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 . If there is a HTTP request at Task Shared Memory 512 waiting to be processed, HTTP Request Processing Task 523 reads the request, and then tries to validate the authorization and authentication of the request specified in the configuration data. After the request has been validated, HTTP Request Processing Task 523 reads data contained in the HTTP request, interrogates the data, and determines what actions must be taken. The action could be reading more data from Task Shared Memory 512 or posting data to Task Shared Memory 512 . Permissions to take certain actions by HTTP Request Processing Task 523 are also specified in the HTTP configuration data. HTTP Request Processing Task 523 then writes a returned request message to Task Shared Memory 512 . The returned request message is then transferred from Task Shared Memory 512 to Long-Range Two-Way Wireless Communication Module 130 by Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 . The execution of HTTP Request Processing Task 523 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

[0063] Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 529 begins by reading the measurement parameters at Task Shared Memory 521 of System Main Memory 140 and re-setting all data entries. Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 529 then checks for a measurement message at Task Shared Memory 512 . If there is a measurement message waiting to be processed, Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 524 first reads measurement signals at Task Shared Memory 512 , and then filters the measurement signals to match the pre-defined pattern. The results of matched pattern are then written onto Task Shared Memory 512 for use by other related application tasks. Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 529 continues to examine matched pattern against the alert threshold. If an alert is triggered, Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 529 writes an alert message to Task Shared Memory 512 . This alert message is later transmitted to a designated location through Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 . The execution of Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 529 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

[0064] On/Off Button Task 526 begins by checking the on/off button message at Processor Shared Memory 512 . The On/Off button message is from System Interface Processor 113 which monitors the on/off status of On/Off Button 180 in real-time. When On/Off Button 180 is pressed, System Interface Processor 130 writes the on/off button message onto Task Shared Memory 512 . This message is then read by On/Off Button Task 522 which checks the current status of On/Off button. If the status of On/Off Button 180 is on, On/Off Button Task 526 writes a sleep mode message to Task Shared Memory 512 . This sleep mode message is then read by Task Control Administrator 512 of Intelligent Controller 510 , and later puts all task threads into sleep mode. If the status of On/Off Button 180 is off, On/Off Button Task 526 writes a wake-up message onto Task Shared Memory 512 . This wake-up message is later read by Task Control Administrator 512 of Intelligent Controller 510 to wake up all task threads. While a task thread is in sleep mode, all temporary stacks and variables remain in System Main Memory 140 and is ready to be used after the task thread is resumed. The execution of Panic Button Task 522 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

[0065] Alert Beeper Activation Task 527 begins by checking the alert configuration message of Task Shared Memory 512 . The alert message is written by Patient Vital Sign Processing Task 529 . If there is an alert message at Task Shared Memory 512 , Alert Beeper Activation Task 527 sends an activation signal to System Interface Processor 113 which is connected to Alert Beeper 190 . The sound and/or vibration of Alert Beeper 190 warns the patient about the critical condition of his/her vital signs. Alert Beeper Activation Task 527 can be configured to send out an alert message for immediate assistance. In this case, Alert Beeper Activation Task 527 reads the current location and vital sign data from Task Shared Memory 512 to prepare an alert message. This alert message is then written onto Task Shared Memory 512 and later is transmitted to a pre-defined location for further action through Two-Way Wireless Communication Task 521 . The execution of Alert Beeper Activation Task 527 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

[0066] Battery Management Task 528 reads battery power level message from Task Shared Memory 512 at a pre-determined time interval. The battery level message is written by System Interface Processor 113 which is connected to Removable/Rechargeable Battery 160 . If battery power level is below minimum required level to operate Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 , Battery Management Task 528 reads battery conservation parameters from Task Shared Memory 512 . Based on these conservation parameters, Battery Management Task 528 puts low priority tasks in sleep mode by writing a sleep mode message onto Task Shared Memory 512 . This sleep mode message is later read by Task Control Administrator 511 to put those tasks in sleep mode. If the battery power level is above minimum required level to operate Main Processing Unit Apparatus 100 and there are tasks that have been put into sleep mode previously, Battery Management Task 528 will wake up those tasks by writing a wake-up message onto Task Shared Memory 512 . The wake-up message is later read by Task Control Administrator 511 to wake up those tasks. The execution of Battery Management Task 528 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

[0067] Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 starts to acquire GPS location data if GPS satellites are at the line-of-sight of the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System. Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 then proceeds to measure the strength of a RF signal sent from the Base Station of nearby cellular network tower or to measure the signal's Time-Of-Arrival (TOA) from the Base Station to the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System. The location is then calculated through triangulation of signal strength or signal TOA from the Base Station. Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 filters and assesses the patient's location based on the availability and accuracy of the GPS data and Base Station distance. The patient's assessed location is written to Task Shared Memory 512 for use by other tasks. The execution of Adaptive Location Assessment Task 525 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510

[0068] Wireless Medical Sensor Decoding Task 529 first reads decoding scheme data from the medical sensor configuration file. Wireless Medical Sensor Decoding Task 529 then inputs digital data from DSP Processor 112 and uses decoding scheme data to convert the physical measurements into vital sign parameters. The patient's vital sign parameters are written onto Task Shared Memory 512 for use by other tasks. The execution of Wireless Medical Sensor Decoding Task 529 continues until it has been terminated by Intelligent Controller 510 .

CONCLUSIONS, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

[0069] Accordingly, it can be seen that the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System in this invention provides an active, real-time monitoring method to measure and process the patient's vital signs for providing an alert on location and transmitting an emergency request to a remote patient monitoring station for immediate assistance. The two-way wireless communication and global location data capabilities combined with the adaptive location assessment method notifies an Emergency Service Vehicle to be dispatched to the location of the patient who wears the system under an urgent situation. The system includes a HTTP Web server that can respond to a wireless remote request either from the patient monitoring station or the patient's family members using a standard Internet browser anywhere and anytime. The system uses an intelligent control and a plurality of task shared memory to administrate and manage all related application tasks that are running under separate parallel execution threads. The system also uses a rechargeable/removable battery in conjunction with software that controls the recharging and conservation of the system's power.

[0070] Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations for some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Various other embodiments and ramifications are possible within the invention's scope. For example, the Wireless Communication and Global Location Enabled Intelligent Health Monitoring System in this invention can also be used to collect information about the patient's exposure to certain environment while the patient is on the move. In this extended application, an environment measurement device, which can be used to sense and measure environment parameters, such as air composition, air pressure, and temperature, can be used in conjunction with the patient vital sign measurement devices. This type of application is very useful for clinical tests of new drugs and new treatment procedures. Another example would be to use the system in this invention without any patent vital sign measurement devices attached to it. In this alternative application, the system is used as a tracking device for those patients who might have memory problem and cannot remember his/her whereabouts. Another example would be to use the adaptive location assessment method in this invention for other location-based services and applications. Locating vehicle, tracking remote asset, and locating facilities (restaurant, movie theater, merchant store) are some examples of these types of applications.

[0071] Thus the scope of this invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.