[0001] The present invention concerns a patient monitoring device as well as a patient monitoring
arrangement.
[0002] The demographic change and the increasing part of the elderly in the population will
most likely lead to serious difficulties with care services in the short or at least
medium term, especially since there is a trend towards elderly people living alone.
For example, it may be estimated that of the 8 million people over 65 in Germany in
2019 approximately 2 million people will eventually require care services provided
to their homes. Especially, since most of those people cannot afford private home
care, efficient and effective care services are required.
[0003] Since general daily visits by a human care person to check the health and status
of all patients will most likely not be possible in the near future due to lack of
personnel and costs, there are various approaches to use technology in order to avoid
the need for daily visits at patients not necessarily requiring actual assistance
each day, while at the same time ensuring the alerting of support persons in the case
of both a declining trend or an emergency.
[0004] A currently rather widespread technology is the use of an emergency button system
to be worn by the patients, e.g. like a necklace or a wristband. The system comprises
a button to be pressed in case of an emergency by the patients to remotely initiate
an alarm signal at an operation center, which then can send help. Disadvantage of
this system are the low acceptability of actually wearing the emergency button system
at all times as well as the requirement of the patient actively pushing the emergency
button. The latter is simply not viable in case of emergencies where the patient becomes
demented, forgetful, anxious or unconscious. Furthermore, it became apparent that
the system is prone to false alarms or misuse, e.g. in case a patient feels lonely
and uses the emergency button for a person to simply come visit faking an emergency
is far more prevalent.around.
[0005] Another technology currently investigated is the use of video surveillance and potentially
artificial intelligence for evaluating the recorded pictures. However, the vast amount
of video data created as well as the required computational power to process the data
are almost prohibitive. Furthermore, for any video surveillance to be effective, it
needs to be installed in every room of a patient's home which generally lacks acceptance
due to the extreme invasion of privacy.
[0006] Emergency systems based on speech recognition also exhibit at least some of the disadvantages
of the previously described systems. While a speech based system does not require
the patient to constantly wear a device, it also requires the patient to actively
call for help usually by using a specified word sequence, which is impossible in cases
of unconsciousness and at least problematic for patients suffering memory loss. Depending
on the actual configuration of such systems, they may also be objectively seen or
subjectively felt as invasive to the patient's privacy and thus might lack acceptance.
[0007] It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improved patient monitoring
device and arrangement, which does not or at least only to a lesser extent suffer
the disadvantages of the prior art.
[0008] This object is solved by a patient monitoring device according to claim 1 as well
as a patient monitoring arrangement according to claim 9. Preferred embodiments are
the subject matter of the dependent claims.
[0009] The present invention concerns a patient monitoring device comprising attachment
means to mount the device to a surface in a vibration transferring way, sensor elements
for continuously detecting measurements reflecting the surroundings of the patient
monitoring device and a communication module to transmit the measured values to a
central evaluation unit, wherein the sensor elements comprise
- an accelerometer
- a noise detector;
- a far infrared sensor element;
- a C02 sensor element; and
- a light sensor element,
wherein sensor elements are suitably arranged relative to the attachment means to
detect their respective measurements.
[0010] Furthermore, the present invention concerns a patient monitoring arrangement comprising
at least one patient monitoring device according to one of the preceding claims and
a central evaluation unit, wherein the monitoring device(s) and the central evaluation
unit are connected for the monitoring device(s) to transmit the measured values to
the central evaluation unit, wherein the central evaluation unit is configured to
- warehouse the received continuously measured values;
- determine and/or update a typical variation in the measurements during a day;
- determine discrepancies in the measured values from the typical variation in the measurements
during a day; and
- put out an alert in case a severe discrepancy is determined.
[0011] The invention is based on the insight that by combining a certain set of common and
rather unsophisticated sensor elements for continuous measurements, a sufficient and
reliable monitoring of patients is possible without severely intruding the privacy
of a user and resulting only in a manageable amount of data to be processed in order
to automatically determine a potential emergency situation. Due to the simplicity
of the sensor elements the inventive patient monitoring device also allows for cost-effective
production.
[0012] "Continuous measurements" in context of the present invention encompasses a constant
taking of measurements of a sensor as well as periodic taking of measurements in short
intervals of e.g. 5 to 20 seconds, preferably of approx. 10 seconds.
[0013] The patient monitoring device is configured to be mounted to a surface so that the
accelerometer can detect vibrations of said surface. The surface can preferably be
the wall of a room in a patient's home. Alternatively, an item, e.g. a piece of furniture,
within the room may provide a surface for the patient monitoring device to be mounted
to. However, in order for the patient monitoring device to be able to detect the vibrations
most relevant for patient monitoring, the item preferably transfers vibrations of
the floor of a room to the patient monitoring device while at the same time not being
moved around too often. For example, a bookshelf, wardrobe, a desk or a table might
be suitable items for the patient monitoring device to be mounted to, while light
chairs often are not. With the accelerometer, the inventive patient monitoring device
- if suitably mounted - is usually capable of detecting footsteps and falls of a human.
For this and greatly reducing the requirements for the mounting of the patient monitoring
device, the accelerometer preferably is configured to detect vibration and movement
in three perpendicular axis, including especially the Z axis capturing vertical vibration
on surfaces from floors due to human movements. This way, the accelerometer can register
any vibration in all directions in space.
[0014] The noise detector of the patient monitoring device allows the registration of noises
in the surroundings of the patient monitoring device. The invention realized that
for the present monitoring purposes, it is sufficient to measure the noise level and,
eventually, the noise frequency. Explicitly, the recording of speech or voice recognition
is not required, thus the privacy of humans close to the patient monitoring device
is secured. Preferably, the maximum resolution of the noise detector is even restricted
to a resolution insufficient for recording speech. With this restriction of the actual
hardware used as a noise detector, the low invasion of privacy can be guaranteed and
verified by external parties.
[0015] The far infrared sensor element may help to identify the presence of a person in
the surroundings of the patient monitoring device. For this, single infrared sensors
or arrays of infrared sensors may be used. In the latter case, it is preferred that
the infrared sensor array has a resolution sufficient for differentiating a human
from the environment but insufficient to reflect the human's detailed movements and
actions. The resolution is thus preferably sufficient to reliably detect the present
of a human being and to e.g. distinguish a human from a heater or an animal such as
a dog, while at the same time not allowing to identify what a detected human is actually
doing even in case the detected temperatures are illustrated in the form of a heat
map. Again, this helps to ensure the privacy of a user and can be guaranteed and verified
by external parties.
[0016] It is preferred that the far infrared sensor may detect body temperature from at
least 7 meters away. A suitable array of infrared sensors with a resolution sufficiently
low to be able to determine the presence of a human but not to picture the actual
activity of the human are the MLX90621 by Melexis NV, Belgium, which offers a resolution
of 16x4 Pixels in a viewing field of up to 100°x25°, or the AMG8833 from Panasonic,
JP which offers a resolution of 8x8 Pixels at a viewing angle of approx. 60° and a
temperature depth of 127 gradients per pixel.
[0017] With the CO
2 sensor element either the total concentration or at least relative changes in concentration
of CO
2 in the air surrounding the patient monitoring device can be monitored. Apart from
human respiration, this sensor element may hint at certain human actions as well as
certain emergencies. For example, the CO
2 sensor element in a patient monitoring device mounted in a kitchen might be utilized
to hint a human to be cooking as a sign of him getting sufficient nutrition but also
help to detect fire due to a left on stove. Preferably, the C0
2 sensor elements is integrated in or supplemented with a TVOC ("total volatile organic
compounds") sensor element, which can provide additional information on the status
of the surroundings of the patient monitoring device and, especially the status and
health of a human therein. With a TVOC sensor elements, alcohol, cleaning fluids,
cooking smells, biological smells form the bathroom might be registered.
[0018] The light sensor of the patient monitoring device can be used to provide supplemental
information about the general activity and/or the occupancy in a room. During daytime,
the light sensor can help to recognize whether the window shades have been opened,
during nighttime whether the light is switched on. Preferably, the light sensor element
is capable of distinguishing between natural and artificial light. Especially due
to the rise of energy saving light sources that have a spectrum very different from
that of natural light, this distinction can easily be made.
[0019] In addition, the patient monitoring device may comprise an ambient temperature sensor
element, preferably suitable to calibrate the far infrared sensor element to provide
the absolute body temperature of a human. This way, not only can a human presence
be detected by the far infrared sensor element, but his absolute temperature can also
be obtained.
[0020] Furthermore, the patient monitoring device may comprise means to measure the signal
strength of Wi-Fi-signals of Wi-Fi-devices in the surroundings. Due to many people
carrying a Wi-Fi-device - e.g. a smartphone or a smartwatch - around with them, the
signal transmitted by said Wi-Fi-device may be used to help detecting the presence
of a person. The sensor device detecting the Wi-Fi-signal strength may be provided
as a function of the communication module described below.
[0021] Additional sensors may comprise a pressure and/or humidity sensor element, a magnetic
field sensor element and/or a sensor element suitable for detecting electromagnetic
interference of e.g. a cooker, a heater or a washing machine.
[0022] All sensor elements present in an inventive patient monitoring device are arranged
in a way that they provide generally unbiased measurement results if the patient monitoring
device is correctly mounted. Regularly, all sensors requiring direct access to the
surroundings of the patient monitoring device are arranged connected to a surface
of the monitoring device not being used for mounting by e.g. means of an opening.
[0023] It must be noted that none of the sensor elements cited above as such is sufficient
to monitor a patient. Furthermore, it is generally not possible to define any common
rules for determining an emergency situation or the like. However, it has been realized
by the present invention that continuously monitoring at least the sensor elements
cited in the main claim can, over a certain period of time, provide an image of a
typical daily routine of a patient in form of measurements. While these data do generally
not allow detailed conclusions on a patient's actual activity, they are sufficient
to assume an emergency or other kind of problem in case they show a large deviation
from the patient's daily routine. This is especially the case if all regularly used
rooms of a patient's house or flat, including the bathroom, are equipped with an inventive
patient monitoring device.
[0024] In order for the data provided by the various sensor elements of the patient monitoring
device to be processed and analyzed to determine typical variations in the measurements
during a day and/or discrepancies from said typical variations, the inventive device
does not comprise any processing means itself but rather relies on a communication
module to transmit the measured values to a central evaluation unit, where the actual
processing of data happens. Apart from this setup usually being more cost-effective,
the centralized processing of data facilitates the co-processing of measured data
of a plurality of related patient monitoring devices, e.g. all monitoring devices
present in a patient's house or flat. Furthermore, if the measured data of the patient
monitoring devices of a plurality of patients are processed by a mutual centralized
evaluation unit, comparative analysis of measurements obtained for different patients
becomes possible, potentially helping in identifying anomalies in a patient's behavior.
Also, by having the data of a plurality of patients centrally processed, identified
emergency cases can be prioritized.
[0025] Preferably, the communication module is configured to connect to a Wi-Fi and/or a
mobile network to transmit the measured values to the central evaluation unit. The
actual data transfer may be handled via any arbitrary data transport scheme, e.g.
as used for the internet. Preferably, the communication module comprises an intermediate
storage memory to buffer the measured values. The intermediate storage memory may
be used only in cases the communication module temporarily loses its connection. Preferably,
however, the intermediate storage memory may be utilized to provide a generally batchwise
transmission of the measured values. This allows the connection of a patient monitoring
device to be active only in intervals, which can save both energy and network load.
Of course, the batches need to be transmitted in sufficiently short intervals to still
allow for a near-realtime monitoring of the patient. However, typical and sufficient
intervals for transmitting batches of measured values might e.g. be every minute or
every 30 seconds.
[0026] Preferably, the data provided to the central evaluation unit is timestamped by the
patient monitoring device, i.e. for each measured value the time of the actual measurement
is derivable. This allows the correct allocation of measured values to their respective
actual measurement times, even in case there is no live feeding of the measured values
to the central evaluation unit. Said time stamps, usually provided by the patient
monitoring device and/or the sensor units, are preferably synchronized to a common
accurate clock source (e.g. a radio time signal like DCF77 or an internet time server
like an NTP server). This allows all measurements, even from different patent monitoring
devices, to be accurately allocated the correct time.
[0027] The central evaluation unit - as e.g. present in the inventive arrangement - is configured
to receive and save, i.e. warehouse the received continuously measured values of all
sensor elements of all patient monitoring devices connected thereto, at least temporarily.
Based on the received data, the typical variation in the measurements during a day
can be determined or - if preexisting - updated. For this, the measured values of
several patient monitoring devices that are logically related, e.g. because being
installed in the same house or flat, may be processed and analyzed concurrently in
order to better determine the potential deviations of the typical variation in the
measurements. General mathematical methods to derive typical variations in data series
and sets of data series are known in the prior art. A skilled person can readily utilize
on these known mathematical foundations and apply them to the data gathered by the
inventive device.
[0028] In case typical variation in the measurements during a day are determined, any discrepancies
in future measured values from the typical variations during a day may be determined
and assessed for relevance. For this, the co-processing of the measured values of
related patient monitoring devices may be helpful since a discrepancies in the measured
values of a first patient monitoring device from its typical variation in the measurements
during the day may either be countered or amplified by a respective discrepancy in
the measured values of a second patient monitoring device relating to the first patient
monitoring device. Again, general mathematical methods to determine and assess said
discrepancies are known.
[0029] In case a severe discrepancy is determined, the central evaluation unit may put out
an alert. This alert could, for example, be forwarded to an operation center, which
may automatically or manually try to contact the patient in question by e.g. phone
in order to remotely check his wellbeing or inform care staff to personally check
on the patient. It is also possible to provide a gradually increasing alert, which
is initiated by a first discrepancy and is gradually increased in case of the first
discrepancy persisting or additional discrepancies being determined. This allows identifying
impending emergencies in advance.
[0030] Due to the likelihood of different living routines for various days of a week, it
is preferred that the typical variation in the measurements during a day is determined
weekday-specific. This way, weekly routines may be more easily be taken into account
without potentially causing a false alert.
[0031] It is preferred if a severe discrepancy is established in view of the standard variance
of the measured values of a measurements and/or a combination of severe discrepancies
for two or more measurements. As already mentioned above, also the measured values
of a plurality of related patient monitoring devices may be considered when establishing
a severe discrepancy.
[0032] The invention will now be described in further detail in regard to the enclosed figure:
- Figure 1:
- a schematic illustration of a first embodiment of a patient monitoring device according
to the pre-sent invention; and
- Figure 2:
- a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of a patient monitoring arrangement according
to the invention utilizing a patient monitoring device according to figure 1.
[0033] Figure 1 shows the schematics of a first embodiment of a patient monitoring device
1 according to the present invention. Elements, which are inside the patient monitoring
device 1 and thus not actually visible are depicted in broken lines.
[0034] The patient monitoring device 1 comprises of a housing 2 with mounting holes as attachment
means 3 to fixedly mount the patient monitoring device 1 with its bottom 4 to a surface,
e.g. a wall. The attachment means 3 allow a mounting of the patient monitoring device
1 that transfers all vibrations from the mounting surface to the device 1.
[0035] The housing 2 of the patient monitoring device 1 holds a plurality of sensor elements
10, wherein some of the sensor elements 11 are fully encapsulated by the housing 2,
while other sensor elements 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 are connected with the outside by means
of apertures in the top 5 of the housing 2.
[0036] One sensor element 10 is an accelerometer 11, which is configured to detect vibration
and movement in three perpendicular axis. In case the patient monitoring device 1
is rigidly mounted to e.g. a wall, the accelerometer 11 can detect even the slightest
vibrations caused by e.g. a person walking in the room surrounded by the wall, the
device 1 is attached to.
[0037] The device 1 also comprises a noise detector 12, which is only capable of registering
noise, but does not provide sufficient maximum resolution to record speech.
[0038] The far infrared sensor element 13 comprises an infrared sensor array in a matrix
of 8x8, which is sufficient to differentiate a human from the environment. The far
infrared sensor element 13 is supplemented by an ambient temperature sensor element
14, which helps to calibrate the far infrared sensor element 13 in order not to only
determine temperature differences but also record absolute temperature values.
[0039] The sensor element 15 is a combined CO
2- and TVOC-sensor element. The light sensor element 16 is capable of detecting light
intensity but also to differentiate between natural and artificial light by means
of analyzing the light spectrum.
[0040] All sensor elements 10 are connected to a communication module 20. For illustrative
purposes, neither the connections nor the battery used as an energy source for the
communication module 20 and the sensor elements 10 are shown.
[0041] The communication module 20 is a Wi-Fi-communication module suitable for connecting
to a Wi-Fi-network. At the same time the communication module 20 acts as a sensor
element 10 by collecting information about all Wi-Fi-devices being active within its
reach and their respective signal strength.
[0042] The communication module 20 is configured to collect the measured values of the sensor
elements 10, wherein some of the sensor elements 10, e.g. the accelerometer 11 and
the noise sensor 12, continuously provide measurement values, while other sensor elements
10 like e.g. the CO
2- and TVOC-Sensor element 15 provide readings every 10 seconds. The measurement values
collected from the various sensor elements 10 at individual rates are timestamped
and cached in an intermediate storage memory of the communication module 20. This
is also true for the information collected about the active Wi-Fi-devices being in
reach.
[0043] The communication module 20 transmits the collected measurement values batchwise
every 30 seconds via an established Wi-Fi-connection and the Internet to a central
evaluation unit 30, which will be explained in more detail in context with figure
2.
[0044] Figure 2 schematically shows a patient's home 40, where every room 41 that is regularly
used is equipped with a patient monitoring device 1 according to figure 1. For this,
in each room 41 to be monitored, a patient monitoring device 1 is mounted to a wall
of the respective rooms 41.
[0045] The patient's home 40 is also equipped with a Wi-Fi-Router 42 that allows Wi-Fi-enabled
devices such as the patient monitoring devices 1 to connect to the internet. Via the
Wi-Fi-Router 42 and the internet, the patient monitoring devices 1 are connected to
the central evaluation unit 30, which comprises a processing unit 31 and a storage
unit 32.
[0046] Each of the patient monitoring devices 1 transmits their respective measured values
batchwise in intervals of approx. 30 seconds to the central evaluation unit 30, where
there are at least temporarily stored in the storage unit 32. The received data is
also processed by the processing unit 31 in order to determine a typical variation
in the measurements during a day. For this, the measured values of all patient monitoring
devices 1 that can be regarded to be related due to be installed in the same patient's
home are analyzed concurrently. The determined variation in the measurements during
a day is then stored in the storage unit 32. In case a respective variation has already
been determined, additional data received from the patient monitoring devices 1 is
used to verify or update said variation.
[0047] At the same time, in case a severe discrepancy between the measured values and the
determined variation in the measurements during a day are determined, because e.g.
there is a strong deviation in parts of the measured values from what had to be expected
on the basis of the historic data without other measured values sufficiently countering
such a deviation, an alert is put out by the central evaluation unit 30, e.g. in form
of an electronic message to an operation center which may then take further action.
[0048] For example, assuming a patient monitoring device 1 in a first room 41 usually registers
vibrations caused by a human walking around in a specific daily time frame, a sudden
stop in the vibration measured by said patient monitoring device 1 may be countered
by another patient monitoring device 1 in a different room 41 where similar vibration
suddenly occur, suggesting the human having changed the room 41. Even though this
might be unusual based on the previous observations as represented by the variation
in the measurements during a day, such a change in the measured signals do not necessarily
need to raise a concern. However, in case said vibration measured by a specific patent
monitoring device 1 abruptly stops without other changes in the measured values potentially
explaining the stop in the vibration, may cause an alert due to the risk of the patient
having a sudden medical emergency.
[0049] The interrelations of the various values measured by all patent monitoring devices
1 in a patient's home are too complex to be set up manually, but rather have to be
derived from data recorded during an initial setup phase of the system, usually lasting
a few days or weeks. Indeed, it has been established by way of experiment that after
a setup phase of approx. 48 week, the typical variation in the measurements during
a day determined during these weeks are sufficient to determine and correctly classify
discrepancies in the measured values from these variations in view of whether an alert
needs to be put out or not.
1. Patient monitoring device (1) comprising attachment means (3) to mount the device
(1) to a surface in a vibration transferring way, sensor elements (10) for continuously
detecting measurements reflecting the surroundings of the patient monitoring device
(1) and a communication module (20) to transmit the measured values to a central evaluation
unit (30), wherein the sensor elements (10) comprise
- an accelerometer (11);
- a noise detector (12);
- a far infrared sensor element (13);
- a CO2 sensor element (15); and
- a light sensor element (16)
wherein sensor elements (10) are suitably arranged relative to the attachment means
(3) to detect their respective measurements.
2. Patient monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the noise detector (12) has
a maximum resolution insufficient for recording speech.
3. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the far infrared sensor element (13) comprises an infrared sensor array with a resolution
sufficient for differentiating a human from the environment but insufficient to reflect
the human's detailed movements and actions.
4. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the CO2 sensor element (15) is integrated in or supplemented with a TVOC sensor element.
5. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the light sensor element (16) is capable of distinguishing between natural and artificial
light.
6. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the sensor elements (10) further comprise an ambient temperature sensor element (14),
preferably suitable to calibrate the far infrared sensor element (13) to provide the
absolute body temperature of a human.
7. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the patient monitoring device (1) comprises means to measure the signal strength of
WiFi-signals of WiFi-devices in the surroundings.
8. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the communication module (20) is configured to connect to a WiFi and/or a mobile network
and preferably comprises an intermediate storage memory to buffer the measured values.
9. Patient monitoring arrangement comprising at least one patient monitoring device (1)
according to one of the preceding claims and a central evaluation unit (30), wherein
the patient monitoring device(s) (1) and the central evaluation unit (30) are connected
for the patient monitoring device(s) (1) to transmit the measured values to the central
evaluation unit (30), wherein the central evaluation unit (30) is configured to
- warehouse the received continuously measured values;
- determine and/or update a typical variation in the measurements during a day;
- determine discrepancies in the measured values from the typical variations during
a day; and
- put out an alert in case a severe discrepancy is determined.
10. Patient monitoring arrangement according to claim 9, wherein
the typical variation in the measurements during a day is determined weekday-specific.
11. Patient monitoring arrangement according to claim 9 or 10, wherein
a severe discrepancy is established in view of the standard variance of the measured
values of a measurements and/or a combination of severe discrepancies for two or more
measurements.
12. Patient monitoring arrangement according to claim 9, 10 or 11, wherein
the measured values are transmitted to the central evaluation unit (30) batchwise.
Amended claims in accordance with Rule 137(2) EPC.
1. Patient monitoring device (1) comprising attachment means (3) to mount the device
(1) to a surface of a piece of furniture or the wall of a room in a vibration transferring
way, sensor elements (10) for continuously detecting measurements reflecting the surroundings
of the patient monitoring device (1) and a communication module (20) to transmit the
measured values to a central evaluation unit (30), wherein the sensor elements (10)
comprise
- an accelerometer (11);
- a noise detector (12);
- a far infrared sensor element (13);
- a CO2 sensor element (15); and
- a light sensor element (16)
wherein sensor elements (10) are suitably arranged relative to the attachment means
(3) to detect their respective measurements if the patient monitoring device (1) is
correctly mounted.
2. Patient monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the noise detector (12) has
a maximum resolution insufficient for recording speech.
3. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the far infrared sensor element (13) comprises an infrared sensor array with a resolution
sufficient for differentiating a human from the environment but insufficient to reflect
the human's detailed movements and actions.
4. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the CO2 sensor element (15) is integrated in or supplemented with a TVOC sensor element.
5. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the light sensor element (16) is capable of distinguishing between natural and artificial
light.
6. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the sensor elements (10) further comprise an ambient temperature sensor element (14),
preferably suitable to calibrate the far infrared sensor element (13) to provide the
absolute body temperature of a human.
7. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the patient monitoring device (1) comprises means to measure the signal strength of
WiFi-signals of WiFi-devices in the surroundings.
8. Patient monitoring device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the communication module (20) is configured to connect to a WiFi and/or a mobile network
and preferably comprises an intermediate storage memory to buffer the measured values.
9. Patient monitoring arrangement comprising at least one patient monitoring device (1)
according to one of the preceding claims and a central evaluation unit (30), wherein
the patient monitoring device(s) (1) and the central evaluation unit (30) are connected
for the patient monitoring device(s) (1) to transmit the measured values to the central
evaluation unit (30), wherein the central evaluation unit (30) is configured to
- warehouse the received continuously measured values;
- determine and/or update a typical variation in the measurements during a day;
- determine discrepancies in the measured values from the typical variations during
a day; and
- put out an alert in case a severe discrepancy is determined.
10. Patient monitoring arrangement according to claim 9, wherein
the typical variation in the measurements during a day is determined weekday-specific.
11. Patient monitoring arrangement according to claim 9 or 10, wherein
a severe discrepancy is established in view of the standard variance of the measured
values of a measurements and/or a combination of severe discrepancies for two or more
measurements.
12. Patient monitoring arrangement according to claim 9, 10 or 11, wherein
the measured values are transmitted to the central evaluation unit (30) batchwise.