Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Patient Monitoring Device And System”, for Approval (USPTO 20220395196): Patent Application

2023 JAN 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Washington, D.C., NewsRx journalists report that a patent application by the inventors Ovalle, Wernher (Costa Mesa, CA, US); Ross, Brian (Costa Mesa, CA, US), filed on May 31, 2022, was made available online on December 15, 2022.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “As of November 2017, nursing homes are being penalized for using traditional side rails and pressure-pad alarms, since both are considered forms of restraint by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Since that time, facilities have been forced to completely remove side rails from their existing beds. It is not surprising that in a two-month period alone in 2018, the patient fall-rate increased in some areas by 200-300%. Moreover, when patients fall from the bed, the lack of a bedside alarms make it difficult to know when this occurs. Patients may be “down” for some time before being discovered. While it is true that patients are now more “free” to move about, the tradeoff is that they are at much higher risk of falls which commonly result in hip fractures, head trauma, and other injuries.

“The traditional beds that use pressure pads and pull cords to sound alarms when “at-risk” patients arise from their bed have fallen out of favor because of the loud noise that is made upon movement. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CME) guidelines state, “the use of position change alarms that are audible to the resident(s) may have the unintended consequence of inhibiting freedom of movement. For example, a resident may be afraid to move to avoid setting off the alarm and creating noise that is a nuisance to the resident(s) and staff or is embarrassing to the resident. For this resident, a position change alarm may have the potential effect of a physical restraint.”

“Thus, needs exist for systems, devices and methods for a bedside handle system with patient monitoring and communication functions that complies with regulations but without the above mentioned and other disadvantages.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “Provided herein are example embodiments of systems, devices and methods for providing a bedside handle system with patient monitoring and communication functions. Generally, the present disclosure may include a handle system that can be attached to patient beds, for example, beds used in skilled nursing and hospital facilities. The handle system may safely prevent patients from rolling out of bed and may be used as an assistive support for patients getting out of bed, thereby enhancing their freedom of movement. In some embodiments, the handle system may replace traditional side rails. In some embodiments, the handle system may utilize laser technology built into the handles to remotely notify staff via wireless communication capable devices when a patient has sat up, and/or stood up from the bed.

“In some embodiments, the handle system may further include a large, easy-to-activate call button, located on the handles to either side, or both sides, of the bed, for patients to request staff assistance.

“In some embodiments, the handle system includes a multiple-stage motion detection (patient sitting up, patient standing up) and wireless alert. In some embodiments, the bedside handle system comprises: a first handle attached to a first side rail of a patient bed, the first handle comprises a first laser beam transmitter configured to transmit a first laser beam; a second handle attached to a second side rail of the patient bed, the second handle comprises a first laser beam receiver configured to receive the first laser beam; a second laser beam transmitter attached to a first side of the patient bed and configured to transmit a second laser beam; a second laser beam receiver attached to the first side of the patient bed and configured to receive the second laser beam; a third laser beam transmitter attached to a second side of the patient bed and configured to transmit a third laser beam; a third laser beam receiver attached to the second side of the patient bed and configured to receive the third laser beam; a first call button built into the first handle; a wireless communication device attached to the patient bed and configured to receive signal from the first, second and third laser beam receivers; and wherein the wireless communication device is further configured to transmit an alert signal when one of the first laser beam, the second laser beam and the third laser beam is interrupted.

“In some embodiments, the handle system may further include a software application (or “app”) that provides for practical applications to the fields of patient monitoring and management, and for improvements over prior modes in these fields. The app may allow for nursing staff to individualize the level of surveillance for any given patient, and at differing times. The app may also allow for valuable analytics to further assist a facility. Further improvements can include, for example, optimization of computer resources, improved data accuracy and improved data integrity, to name only a few. In a number of embodiments, instructions stored in the memory of computing devices (e.g., software) can cause one or more processors of the handle system to perform the steps of the embodiments.

“Examples of patient monitoring and management functions may include ability for facilities to manage which patients to be monitored, how alarm notices to be transmitted (e.g., to individual staff smart phones, or nursing station tablet, etc.), history of patient calls and alarms, etc. In some embodiments, the app may further include sophisticated dashboards and user interfaces. The app may be a mobile app.

“In some embodiments, the handle system may further include two-way communication, for example, a computing device with at least a speaker, a microphone and a video screen. The patient may, for example, communicate with a local nursing staff, a remotely located healthcare personnel, or a remotely located family member or friends.

“In some embodiments, the handle system may further include validating data that it generates or acquires. For example, patient data may be validated for accuracy or error-free before use.

“This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, it is noted that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in the Detailed Description and/or other sections of this document. Such embodiments are presented herein for illustrative purposes only. Additional embodiments will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A bedside handle system having multiple-stage motion detection and wireless alert, the bedside handle system comprising: a first handle attached to a first side rail of a patient bed, the first handle comprises a first laser beam transmitter configured to transmit a first laser beam; a second handle attached to a second side rail of the patient bed, the second handle comprises a first laser beam receiver configured to receive the first laser beam; a second laser beam transmitter attached to a first side of the patient bed and configured to transmit a second laser beam; a second laser beam receiver attached to the first side of the patient bed and configured to receive the second laser beam; a third laser beam transmitter attached to a second side of the patient bed and configured to transmit a third laser beam; a third laser beam receiver attached to the second side of the patient bed and configured to receive the third laser beam; a first call button built into the first handle; a wireless communication device attached to the patient bed and configured to receive signal from the first, second and third laser beam receivers; and wherein the wireless communication device is further configured to transmit an alert signal when one of the first laser beam, the second laser beam and the third laser beam is interrupted.

“2. The bedside handle system of claim 1, wherein the first laser beam transmitter is positioned near the top end of the first handle, and the first laser beam receiver is positioned near the top end of the second handle.

“3. The bedside handle system of claim 1, wherein the second laser beam transmitter is positioned near a foot of the patient bed, and the second laser beam receiver is positioned near a head of the patient bed.

“4. The bedside handle system of claim 1, wherein the third laser beam transmitter is positioned near a foot of the patient bed, and the third laser beam receiver is positioned near a head of the patient bed.

“5. The bedside handle system of claim 1 further comprises a second call button built into the second handle.

“6. The bedside handle system of claim 1, wherein the first, second third laser beams are not human perceivable.

“7. The bedside handle system of claim 1, wherein wireless communication device supports Wi-Fi technology.

“8. The bedside handle system of claim 1, wherein wireless communication device transmits the alert signal in the form of one or more messages to one or more remote devices.

“9. The bedside handle system of claim 1 further comprises a two-way communication device having at least a speaker, a microphone and a video display screen.

“10. The bedside handle system of claim 1, wherein the first handle and the second handle each comprises a steel bracket and a molded plastic sleeve.

“11. The bedside handle system of claim 1 further comprises a software application configured to receive the alert signal and provide signal details for display on a display screen.

“12. The bedside handle system of claim 11, wherein the software application retrieves data, based on the alert signal, for display on the display screen.”

For additional information on this patent application, see: Ovalle, Wernher; Ross, Brian. Patient Monitoring Device And System. U.S. Patent Application Number 20220395196, filed May 31, 2022 and posted December 15, 2022. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20220395196)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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