Richard G Moshier

US Patent:

58657363, Feb 2, 1999

Filed:

Sep 30, 1997

Appl. No.:

8/940438

Inventors:

Clark R. Baker - Castro Valley CA
Richard D. Moshier - Sunnyvale CA
Thomas J. Yorkey - San Ramon CA

Assignee:

Nellcor Puritan Bennett, Inc. - Pleasanton CA

International Classification:

A61B 500

US Classification:

600323

Abstract:

A method and apparatus for controlling alarms in medical diagnostic apparatus where an alarm is generated when a measured value for a physiological parameter passes a threshold. The method determines both the amount of time the measured value is past the threshold, and the amount by which the threshold is passed. The alarm is inhibited based upon a combination of (1) the amount of time and (2) how much past the threshold the measured value is. Preferably, the combination is an integral or some function of an integral.