A graphical audio station of a nurse call system is operable to permit a user to perform one or more of the following functions: establish a two-way voice communication link with another computer device in another patient and/or with a another computer device located in another staff work area and/or with a wireless communication device carried by caregiver and/or with a telephone of the healthcare facility; broadcast a voice page to a group of other selected computer devices; compose and send a text message to a portable device that is carried by a caregiver and that has wireless communication capability; browse web pages and/or view multimedia content, such as videos, hosted on servers of the healthcare facility and/or that are accessible via the Internet; view and/or acknowledge and/or answer and/or cancel alerts or nurse calls originating in a plurality of patient rooms.

An apparatus for detecting sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, includes a housing insertable into an ear canal of a subject. A sensor disposed within the housing measures a position of the subject's head relative to an axis of gravity. A transducer is responsive to the sensor and is capable of creating a stimulus detectable by the subject under certain conditions. In various embodiments, a controller receives signals corresponding to a pitch angle and a roll angle of the subject's head measured by the sensor, determines if the pitch and roll angles correspond to a sleep apnea inducing position, and causes the transducer to generate a stimulus upon determining that the subject's head is in the sleep apnea inducing position more than a predetermined threshold number of times. Various parameters of the stimulus may be modified with successive stimulus generation until a non-sleep apnea inducing position is detected.

A wearable defibrillator includes one or more environmental sensors including an accelerometer, one or more ECG sensors configured to acquire ECG data, and an alarm manager and at least one processor operatively coupled to the one or more ECG sensors and the accelerometer. The at least one processor is configured to detect a cardiac abnormality in the patient, identify a notification having one or more characteristics, and detect an environmental condition of the wearable defibrillator. The accelerometer is configured to detect a presence or lack of patient motion, and/or detect a body position of the patient as the detected environmental condition. The at least one processor is configured to determine whether one or more factors exist that inhibit the patient's ability to recognize the notification, on determining their existence, adapt the one or more characteristics of the notification and provide an adapted notification, and issue the adapted notification.

An apparatus for modifying alarms at a medical device for alarm fatigue management is provided and includes an alarm monitor, an alarm filter, an alarm modifier, a memory element for storing data, and a processor that executes instructions associated with the data, wherein the processor and the memory element cooperate such that the apparatus is configured for receiving an alarm condition from an alarm management engine, the alarm condition based on an alarm fatigue level of a user of the medical device, the alarm fatigue level based on at least a user fatigue model, a medical device model and a patient condition, receiving an alarm from the medical device, modifying the alarm according to the alarm condition, the alarm condition being configured to increase a likelihood of the user responding to the modified alarm, and generating an alarm indicator based on the modification.

A portable electrocardiographic device configured to measure an electrocardiographic waveform using a plurality of types of lead systems includes an electrode unit configured to be brought into contact with a subject's body and measure an electrocardiographic waveform, an analysis unit configured to analyze the electrocardiographic waveform measured by the electrode unit in accordance with a lead system at a time of measurement of the electrocardiographic waveform, a storage unit configured to store the electrocardiographic waveform measured at the electrode unit, the lead system, and an analysis result of the electrocardiographic waveform analyzed by the analysis unit in association with one another, and a remeasurement facilitating unit configured to prompt a user, when the analysis result or a state of the measured electrocardiographic waveform satisfies a predetermined condition, for remeasurement in a predetermined lead system different from the lead system at the time of the measurement of the electrocardiographic waveform.

Disclosed herein are system and methods for monitoring a medical process. The system can include a plurality of electrodes coupled with a medical device, and a monitoring module electrically coupled with the plurality of electrodes, the module including logic stored in memory that, when executed by one or more processors, causes performance of operations including transmitting an electrical signal between a first electrode and a second electrode, determining an electrical impedance between the first electrode and the second electrode, and providing a notification to the operator when the determined electrical impedance is outside a predefined impedance range. The system can include logic stored in memory that, when executed by one or more processors, causes performance of operations including transmitting an electrical signal between a first distal electrode and a second proximal electrode and determining an electrical impedance between the electrodes.

Apparatus and methods are described including identifying that a subject suffers from sleep apnea. Positive airway pressure (PAP) is applied to the subject via a mask placed on a face of the subject. A respiratory-related parameter of the subject is sensed, while the mask is on the face of the subject, and a need of the subject for respiratory support is assessed, responsively to the respiratory-related parameter. In accordance with the assessed need, the mask is configured to regulate the PAP provided to the subject's face. Other applications are also described.

Methods and Devices to monitor the level of at least one analyte are provided.

Systems and methods described provide dynamic and intelligent ways to change the required level of user interaction during use of a monitoring device. The systems and methods generally relate to real time switching between a first or initial mode of user interaction and a second or new mode of user interaction. In some cases, the switching will be automatic and transparent to the user, and in other cases user notification may occur. The mode switching generally affects the user’s interaction with the device, and not just internal processing. The mode switching may relate to calibration modes, data transmission modes, control modes, or the like.

A system for monitoring medical conditions including pressure ulcers, pressure-induced ischemia and related medical conditions comprises at least one sensor adapted to detect one or more patient characteristic including at least position, orientation, temperature, acceleration, moisture, resistance, stress, heart rate, respiration rate, and blood oxygenation, a host for processing the data received from the sensors together with historical patient data to develop an assessment of patient condition and suggested course of treatment, including either suspending or adjusting turn schedule based on various types of patient movement. Compliance with Head-of-Bed protocols can also be performed based on actual patient position instead of being inferred from bed elevation angle. The sensor can include bi-axial or tri-axial accelerometers, as well as resistive, inductive, capacitive, magnetic and other sensing devices, depending on whether the sensor is located on the patient or the support surface, and for what purpose.