Intelligent patient monitor-its functions and user interface

An approach to the design of a patient monitor is presented. In addition to the ordinary signal information, the patient monitor model provides new kinds of alerts based on the estimation of the patient state, or on the detection of technical problems concerning the monitoring equipment. The raw data retrieved from the measurement sensors are symbolized according to their trends and reference scale, and then refined gradually with other relevant information like laboratory data. The task of estimating the patient´s physiological state is divided into assessment of the state of various subfunctions and the general state is constructed from these assessments. Information retrieval from the patient monitor is supported by physiologically associative displays and a time bound way to place alerts and signal information on the screen