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`5,772,586
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`1
`METHOD FOR MONITORING THE HEALTH
`OF A PATIENT
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention relates to a method for monitoring
`the health of a patient by utilizing measurements. The
`invention further relates to a system for monitoring the
`health of a patient, the system comprising a portable mea(cid:173)
`suring device for carrying out a measurement in order to
`evaluate the patient's health, and a data processing system
`that is available to a person treating the patient and that
`maintains data about the results of the performed measure(cid:173)
`ments. The invention also relates to a portable measuring
`device for carrying out a measurement in order to evaluate
`the health of a patient.
`The invention relates specifically to the self-care and 15
`monitoring of the health of a patient with diabetes, but the
`method, system and measuring device according to the
`invention can also be utilized in other connections.
`However, in the following the invention will be described by
`way of an example specifically in connection with treating 20
`diabetes.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
`As is well known, monitoring the health of a patient with
`diabetes is primarily based on the measurement of the
`patient's blood glucose level at regular intervals. Treating
`diabetes requires regular measurements and regular moni(cid:173)
`toring of the measurement results in order to ensure that the
`patient's blood glucose level definitely remains within the
`allowable area and that the patient's medication is optimal.
`However, in the present health care system it is not
`possible for financial and practical reasons for a person
`specialized in treating diabetes to personally monitor con(cid:173)
`tinuously the health of a patient, but the monitoring of the
`patient's health is largely dependent on the patient himself.
`Therefore the patient himself must perform measurements at 35
`regular intervals. In order to carry out measurements, the
`patient has to use several instruments which include at
`present for example a lancet for pricking the skin, a strip for
`taking a blood sample, and a measuring device to which the
`strip containing the blood sample is supplied in order to 40
`measure the blood glucose level. The prior measuring
`devices usually measure the blood glucose level either
`electrically or optically. For the purpose of obtaining data
`about the development of a patient's health, for example the
`blood glucose level, over a longer period, the patient must 45
`also keep a record of the results of blood samples, for
`instance.
`The fact that a relatively large number of patients with
`diabetes also contract a secondary disease ( e.g. cardiovas(cid:173)
`cular diseases, neuropathy or blindness), which in turn
`causes considerable costs for the society, clearly indicates
`that at the moment doctors cannot treat patients with dia(cid:173)
`betes sufficiently effectively or cannot help the patient to
`care for himself. One reason for this is that each doctor often
`treats a high number of patients, whereupon the contact
`between each individual patient and the doctor is insufficient
`due to for example too few appointments and the doctor
`cannot therefore monitor the development of the health of
`individual patients sufficiently effectively. Also, the data
`submitted to the doctor is dependent on the patient's own 60
`recording, and there is always the possibility that a mea(cid:173)
`surement result is erroneously recorded or it is not recorded
`at all.
`
`2
`of which a doctor treating a patient is able to monitor the
`health of the patient under his care more accurately and
`effectively than previously. This object is achieved with a
`method according to the invention in which a patient inde-
`5 pendently performs measurements and which is character(cid:173)
`ized by supplying the results of the measurements via a
`communications device utilizing a wireless data transmis(cid:173)
`sion link to a data processing system available to a person
`monitoring the patient's health, and monitoring the patient's
`10 health by means of the data stored in the data processing
`system.
`The expression "a person monitoring the patient's health"
`refers in this connection to anyone who participates in the
`treatment of the patient and who needs to monitor the
`development of the patient's health. Therefore this person
`does not necessarily have to be a doctor, but for example in
`connection with treating a child the parents may monitor the
`patient's health.
`The invention also relates to a system wherein the method
`according to the invention can be utilized. The system
`according to the invention is characterized in that the
`measuring device consists of a measuring unit and a com(cid:173)
`munications device that utilizes a wireless data transmission
`link and that is connected to said unit, the measuring device
`25 comprising means for supplying the result of the measure(cid:173)
`ment carried out by the measuring unit via said data trans(cid:173)
`mission link to said data processing system. The aforemen(cid:173)
`tioned data processing system may be a data processing
`system of a hospital, for example, or some other correspond-
`30 ing support unit.
`The invention further relates to a portable measuring
`device with which the method according to the invention can
`be applied. The measuring device according to the invention
`is characterized in that the measuring device consists of a
`measuring unit and a communications device that utilizes a
`wireless data transmission link and that is connected to said
`unit, the measuring unit comprising means for supplying the
`result of the measurement via the communications device to
`a data processing system available to a person treating the
`patient.
`The term "communications device" refers in this connec(cid:173)
`tion to any device which is suitable for wireless communi(cid:173)
`cations and by means of which the patient can transmit his
`measurement results to the data processing system available
`to his doctor, regardless of where the patient is at the
`moment. Such a communications device may be for
`example any radio transmitter, such as a mobile phone
`operating via base stations or possibly via a satellite, or for
`50 example a two-way pager.
`The invention is based on the idea that when the results of
`the measurements carried out by the patient himself are
`transmitted automatically via a wireless data transmission
`link directly to the person or persons treating him, the doctor
`55 is able to monitor the development of the patient's health
`better than before and to help the patient in his self-care, so
`that the treatment of the patient is considerably improved.
`Wireless data transmission enables the doctor to obtain the
`measurement results concerning the patient's health in real
`time, if required, regardless of the patient's current location.
`Therefore it is not necessary for the patient and the doctor to
`meet personally in order for the doctor to be informed about
`the latest developments in the patient's health, but the
`patient can transmit the latest measurement results to the
`65 doctor for example from a summer cottage situated in a
`remote area, whereafter the patient and the doctor may
`discuss further treatment for example by phone, if necessary.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The purpose of the present invention is to solve the
`above-described problem and to provide a method by means
`
`Fitbit, Inc. v. Philips North America LLC
`IPR2020-00828
`
`Fitbit, Inc. Ex. 1012 Page 0003
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`5,772,586
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`3
`Also, for example when examining the recent measurement
`results of the patient, the doctor may discover that the
`patient's medication should be changed and he can thus ask
`the patient to make an appointment for more detailed tests.
`The primary advantages of the arrangement according to the
`invention therefore include the accurate and rapid transmis(cid:173)
`sion of measurement results from the patient to the doctor,
`the gathering of measurement results in the patient's normal
`environment so that for example the patient's actual exercise
`level and/or diet are more apparent in the measurement
`results and hospital surroundings do not distort the results,
`and the possibility for the doctor to monitor the recent
`development of the patient's health without the patient
`having to make an appointment with the doctor, in which
`case the patient can visit the doctor/the hospital only when
`he really needs and not according to a predetermined sched(cid:173)
`ule.
`In a preferred embodiment of the measuring device
`according to the invention, the measuring device consists of
`a mobile phone and of a combination of a measuring unit
`and a battery placed in the battery space of the mobile phone.
`This embodiment of the invention is highly advantageous
`since it can be implemented utilizing prior components, i.e.
`for example a mobile phone of the GSM system and an
`existing mobile communication system, and therefore the
`application of the arrangement according to the invention is
`very economical. Also, when the measuring unit is designed
`in such a way that it can be placed in the battery space of the
`mobile phone, the number of the articles the patient has to
`carry with him is minimized. Therefore the patient can easily
`carry the measuring device with him without attracting the
`attention of other people in the same way as when carrying
`a separate measuring device. Another advantage of the
`mobile phone is that the doctor can contact the patient any
`time with the phone for example in a situation where the
`doctor has noticed a need for a personal contact on the basis
`of the patient's recent measurement results, for example
`when the risk of hypoglycaemia has increased.
`The preferred embodiments of the method, system and
`measuring device according to the invention are disclosed in
`the appended dependent claims 2, 4 and 6 to 11.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`5
`
`30
`
`4
`data processing system 9 of the hospital 2. This takes place
`in such a way that the mobile phone that forms a part of the
`measuring device 1 and that is assumed to be, by way of an
`example, a mobile phone of the GSM mobile communica-
`tion system (Groupe Special Mobile) transmits the measure(cid:173)
`ment result supplied by the measuring unit in the form of a
`short message 3 to a base station 4. The base station 4
`forwards the message via a base station controller 5, a
`mobile services switching centre (MSC) 6 and a gateway
`centre 7 to a short message service centre (SMSC) 8 in the
`10 mobile system. The GSM system and the short message
`service thereof are described in greater detail for example in
`The GSM System for Mobile Communications by M. Mouly
`and M.-B. Pautet, Palaiseau, France, 1992, ISBN:
`2-9507190-0-7, and therefore they will not be described in
`15 greater detail in this connection.
`The short message service centre 8 may be programmed
`specifically in each case to transmit the short message
`received from the patient's measuring device 1 directly to
`the data processing system 9 of the hospital 2, where it is
`20 stored in the patient database of the hospital, or alternatively
`the message can be temporarily buffered to the short mes(cid:173)
`sage service centre 8, until the doctor treating the patient
`reads it via the data processing system 9 of the hospital 2 or
`alternatively for example via his mobile phone 10. Therefore
`25 the doctor treating the patient has at all times access to the
`patient's measurement results regardless of the current loca(cid:173)
`tion of the doctor and/or the patient.
`The hospital data processing system 9 preferably contains
`for each patient the results of the measurements, carried out
`with the patient's own measuring device 1 or alternatively
`performed at the hospital, for a period of several years.
`Therefore the doctor treating the patient can monitor the
`development of the patient's health via the data processing
`system 9 for example by utilizing a trend analysis also when
`the doctor and the patient have not been in direct commu-
`35 nication with each other.
`If required, the patient may also transmit information
`other than the measurement result and the time of measure(cid:173)
`ment from his measuring device 1. Thus, for example a
`patient with diabetes can supply data concerning for
`40 example his diet, dosage of insulin, exercise or the like via
`the keyboard of the measuring device, and also this infor(cid:173)
`mation will be forwarded by means of a short message to the
`data processing system 9 used by the doctor treating the
`patient.
`The hospital data processing system 9 preferably also
`provides other reports concerning individual patients and/or
`for example all patients with a certain disease. Therefore,
`also users other than the patient's own doctor can utilize the
`data gathered in the data processing system for example for
`50 the purpose of drafting different types of statistics or instruc(cid:173)
`tions for treatment. Possible other users include for example
`authorities, insurance companies, research centres and the
`like.
`FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the first preferred embodiment of
`the measuring device according to the invention. In FIG. 2,
`the measuring device is shown in a diagonal front view and
`in FIG. 3 in a rear view. The measuring device 1 consists of
`a mobile phone MS and a measuring unit 11 placed in the
`battery space of the mobile phone. The measuring unit and
`the mobile phone may naturally also be entirely separate
`60 components that are connected for example by means of a
`cable, in which case the patient must carry with him two
`separate parts instead of one, however.
`The mobile phone MS shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 may be for
`example a phone of the GSM system known per se, provided
`with connectors by means of which the measuring unit 11
`placed in the battery space can be connected to a commu-
`nication bus of the phone. The phone may also have been
`
`In the following, the invention will be described in greater
`detail by way of an example by means of a preferred 45
`embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures, in
`which
`FIG. 1 illustrates the first preferred embodiment of the
`system according to the invention,
`FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the first preferred embodiment of
`the measuring device according to the invention, and
`FIG. 4 illustrates the strip shown in FIG. 3.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`55
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the first preferred embodi(cid:173)
`ment of the system according to the invention. The measur(cid:173)
`ing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 consists of a mobile phone and
`a measuring unit. The invention will be described below by
`way of an example, assuming that the measuring unit
`comprises means for measuring the blood glucose level,
`even though the measuring unit may also comprise means
`for performing some other measurement, such as for mea(cid:173)
`suring blood pressure, fever or pulse.
`When a patient has carried out a measurement utilizing 65
`the measuring unit comprised by the measuring device 1, the
`measuring device 1 transmits the measurement result to the
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`Fitbit, Inc. v. Philips North America LLC
`IPR2020-00828
`
`Fitbit, Inc. Ex. 1012 Page 0004
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`5,772,586
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`10
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`20
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`5
`subjected to changes concerning its software, so that the
`measuring unit 11 is able to utilize the display 12 and the
`keyboard 13 of the phone.
`The measuring unit 11 is designed in such a way that it fits
`in the battery space of the mobile phone MS when the 5
`normal battery of the phone has been removed therefrom. In
`addition to the measuring means, the measuring unit there(cid:173)
`fore also comprises a battery 14 that supplies an operating
`voltage to the mobile phone MS and to the measuring unit
`11 itself. The measuring unit preferably further comprises a
`back-up battery that makes it possible to also perform
`measurements with the measuring unit when the battery 14
`has run down and no calls can be made from the mobile
`phone.
`FIG. 3 illustrates the measuring means provided in the
`measuring unit of the measuring device 1. The measuring 15
`device shown in FIG. 3 comprises means for measuring the
`blood glucose level in an electric manner known per se, even
`though the measuring device could also be provided with
`means for carrying out the measurement optically or even
`without a need to penetrate the skin.
`The measuring unit 11 comprises an integrated lancet 19
`that may be operated for example with a spring so that the
`patient can easily prick the skin with it. The patient there(cid:173)
`after pulls out a strip 16 that is known per se and that is
`placed for example on a reel 15 in the measuring unit 11, the 25
`strip being impregnated with the drop of blood (the structure
`of the strip is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 4). One reel
`provided in the measuring unit 11 may comprise for example
`strips needed for one week. Electrodes which are provided
`in the strip and between which the drop of blood is absorbed 30
`are connected to an electronic section provided in the
`measuring unit 11, the section comprising means for mea(cid:173)
`suring the blood glucose level. For this purpose, the elec(cid:173)
`tronic section 20 comprises for example an ND converter
`and a memory, for example a ROM table, where the glucose
`levels corresponding to different electric measurement val- 35
`ues are stored. If the measuring unit employs optical mea(cid:173)
`surement instead of resistance measurement, the ROM table
`correspondingly stores glucose levels corresponding to dif(cid:173)
`ferent optical measurement values.
`The electronic section 20 also preferably comprises a 40
`memory where the measurement result can be stored.
`Therefore, carrying out a measurement does not require the
`mobile phone MS to be connected to the measuring unit 11
`at the moment of measurement, but the measuring unit can
`operate independently so that the measurement result is 45
`stored in the memory provided therein. Next time when the
`measuring unit 11 is connected to the mobile phone MS ( or
`when the measurement is complete, if the measuring unit has
`been continuously connected to the mobile phone), the
`electronic section of the measuring unit 11 activates the 50
`short message transmission described in connection with
`FIG. 1 in order to forward the measurement result to the data
`processing system of the doctor treating the patient.
`The electronic section 20 preferably comprises means for
`storing in memory several earlier measurement results and
`for compiling statistics on them, so that the patient can
`browse through previous measurement results and monitor
`their development by means of the keyboard 13 and the
`display 12 of the mobile phone MS. The electronic section
`may also store a special program related to the act of
`measurement, the program guiding the patient in carrying
`out the measurement for example by providing advice via
`the display 12. The program may for example provide the
`patient with a prompt urging him to immediately contact the
`doctor if the measurement results exceed or fall below a
`predetermined threshold value.
`FIG. 4 illustrates the strip 16 shown in FIG. 3. The strip
`16 known per se, having for example the outer dimensions
`
`6
`of 2 mmx7 mm, comprises two integrated electrodes 17 and
`18. Between the electrodes there is a capillary which is
`impregnated with a blood sample. The blood sample can
`thereafter be subjected to electrical measurement by con(cid:173)
`necting the ends of the electrodes 17 and 18 projecting from
`the strip to the measuring unit.
`It should be understood that the above description and the
`related figures are only intended to illustrate the present
`invention. Different variations and modifications of the
`invention will be evident for those skilled in the art without
`departing from the scope and spirit of the invention dis(cid:173)
`closed in the appended claims.
`We claim:
`1. A system for use in monitoring the health of a patient,
`the system comprising:
`a portable measuring device for carrying out a measure(cid:173)
`ment to provide measurement results suitable for evalu(cid:173)
`ating the patient's health;
`data processing system that maintains data corresponding
`to the measurement results;
`said measuring device comprising a measuring unit and a
`mobile phone having a battery space and using a
`wireless data transmission link, the mobile phone being
`connected to said measuring unit, wherein the measur(cid:173)
`ing unit is located in the battery space of the mobile
`phone and is connected to a communication bus of the
`mobile phone, the measuring unit comprising means
`for supplying the measurement results to the mobile
`phone via the communication bus and further via a
`mobile communication network to the data processing
`system.
`2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring
`unit comprises means for measuring the patient's blood
`glucose level to provide the measurement results.
`3. A portable measuring device comprising:
`a measuring unit for carrying out a measurement to
`provide measurement results suitable for evaluating a
`patient's health, and
`a mobile phone having a battery space and using a
`wireless data transmission links, the mobile phone
`being connected to said measuring unit,
`wherein the measuring unit is located in the battery space
`of the mobile phone and is connected to a communi(cid:173)
`cation bus of the mobile phone, the measuring unit
`comprising means for supplying the measurement
`results to the mobile phone via the communication bus
`and further via a mobile communication network to a
`data processing system.
`4. A portable measuring device according to claim 3,
`wherein the measuring unit comprises means for measuring
`the patient's blood glucose level to provide the measurement
`results.
`5. A portable measuring device according to claim 3,
`wherein the measuring device comprises means for measur(cid:173)
`ing the patient's blood glucose level including measuring
`55 strips maintained on a reel inside the measuring device.
`6. A portable measuring device according to claim 3,
`wherein the measuring unit comprises memory means for
`storing the measurement results when the measuring unit is
`separate from the mobile phone and means for supplying the
`stored measurement results via the mobile phone to the data
`60 processing system when the measuring unit is connected to
`the mobile phone.
`7. A portable measuring device according to claim 3,
`wherein the mobile phone utilizes a GSM mobile system and
`comprises means for transmitting the measurement results in
`65 the form of a short message of the GSM system.
`
`* * * * *
`
`Fitbit, Inc. v. Philips North America LLC
`IPR2020-00828
`
`Fitbit, Inc. Ex. 1012 Page 0005
`
`

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