Abstract: A method of physiologically quantifying patient agitation presented is based on reliable, objective physiological signals. The present invention is capable of quantifying autonomic nervous system interactions to provide an objective measurement of agitation. Adaptive autoregressive (AR) signal processing techniques are used to analyze heart rate (HRV) and blood pressure (BPV) variability and are combined with a fuzzy quantifier to measure agitation levels. Results show that agitation in normal subjects can be assessed and quantified using this approach, including differentiating periods of calm. Additionally, it has been shown that detected periods of agitation in ICU patients correlate well with subjective assessment by trained medical staff using the modified Riker SAS and with the objective assaying of patient motion. These results show that agitation can be quantitatively measured and assessed using common biomedical signals.

Abstract: A document processing system may include a document scanner for collecting document image data for a given copy project for a given user, a document printer, and a controller. The controller may cooperate with the document scanner to retain document image data for the given copy project if a printing cost therefor is greater than a copy account value for the given user. The controller may thereafter cooperate with the document printer to print the retained document image data for the given copy project based upon an increase in the copy account value to at least equal the printing cost.