초록 ▼

A patient monitoring apparatus for monitoring and/or measuring a physiological characteristic of said patient. A user interface having an interior portion communicates with an airway of a user such that substantially all gas inhaled and exhaled by the user enters the interior portion of the user int

A patient monitoring apparatus for monitoring and/or measuring a physiological characteristic of said patient. A user interface having an interior portion communicates with an airway of a user such that substantially all gas inhaled and exhaled by the user enters the interior portion of the user interface. At least one vent element is associated with the user interface and communicates the interior portion of the user interface with an ambient atmosphere outside the user interface. The vent element and user interface define a flow element across which a pressure differential is created during inhalation and exhalation. The pressure differential is the pressure difference between the pressure within the interior portion of the user interface and the pressure of the ambient atmosphere outside the user interface. A sensor communicates with the interior portion of the user interface and measures a fluid characteristic resulting from this pressure differential and outputs a first signal indicative of the measured fluid characteristic. The output from the sensor is used alone or in combination with the output from other sensors that detect other physiological characteristics to provide a variety of information about the patient.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A patient monitoring apparatus, comprising:a user interface having an interior portion adapted to communicate with an airway of a user such that substantially all gas inhaled and exhaled by such a user enters said interior portion of said user interface;at least one vent

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A patient monitoring apparatus, comprising:a user interface having an interior portion adapted to communicate with an airway of a user such that substantially all gas inhaled and exhaled by such a user enters said interior portion of said user interface;at least one vent element associated with said user interface and communicating said interior portion of said user interface with an ambient atmosphere outside said user interface, said at least one vent element and said user interface defining a flow element across which a pressure differential is created during inhalation and exhalation, said pressure differential being a pressure difference between a first pressure within said interior portion of said user interface and a pressure of said ambient atmosphere outside said user interface;a sensor communicating with said interior portion of said user interface, said sensor measuring a fluid characteristic resulting from said pressure differential and outputting a first signal indicative of said fluid characteristic; anda processing unit receiving said first signal and determining a quantitative value for a physiological characteristic of a user based on said first signal.