Abstract: A portable low energy consumptive device and method for monitoring heart muscle electrical activity includes a plurality of electrical contacts and a signal processing unit. The contacts receive an electrical signal generated by the heart muscle of a patient and deliver the signal in analog form to the signal processing unit which contains an analog signal processor, an A/D converter, a digital microprocessor, and a memory. The unit triplicates the signal and processes each of the three signals separately in the analog signal processor. The processed signals are then converted to three distinct digital data sets, the first of which is stored in memory while the remaining two are processed in the microprocessor to determine ST segment characteristics useful in diagnosing myocardial ischemia. Although the device operates continuously, only a portion of the operating time is devoted to digital data processing which has a higher energy demand.

Abstract: A patient monitoring system is provided which includes a monitor and a transmitter which can optically communicate with each other. The monitor receives analog physiological data from a patient and converts the analog data to a digital optical signal which is sent to the transmitter optically. The transmitter includes a memory for storing the digital signal thereby allowing separation of the monitor from the transmitter prior to subsequent transmission. Additionally, the transmitter is capable of converting the digital signal to a modulated tone for transmission via standard phone lines. In this manner, the transmitter is able to send the converted signal to a central processing system via phone lines. This converted signal can then be monitored at the central processing system or it can be further communicated to one or more remote receiving stations.

Abstract: A portable apparatus and method for monitoring heart muscle electrical activity includes a plurality of electrical contacts and a monitoring unit. The contacts receive the electrical signals generated by the heart muscle of a patient and transmit the signals to the monitoring unit. A reference axis is established for each signal by the monitoring unit. Predetermined portions of each signal are then used by the monitoring unit to identify the ST segment of the signal which is then compared to the reference axis. Whenever a series of ST segments exhibit an ST deviation from the reference axis which exceeds a predetermined threshold ST deviation, the monitoring unit records data relating thereto which is used for diagnosis of myocardial ischemia.

Abstract: A device for high-speed transcription of physiological data recorded at substantially lower speeds includes a device for converting the recorded data into electrical signals, a device for converting the electrical signals into light signals and displaying them with high clarity and resolution, and a device for transcribing the light signals onto light-sensitive media at high speed.