1. A bed-depth gauge comprising: a guide member, a screed member, and means for assembling said guide member and said screed member with one another; said guide member comprising a panel portion having a front face, a rear face, a top edge, a bottom edge, and opposite lateral edges; said screed member having a front face, a rear face, a top edge, a bottom edge, and opposite lateral edges; and said means for assembling disengageably securing said guide member and said screed member to one another with the rear face of said panel portion of said guide member contiguous to said front face of said screed member and for relative movement along a first axis so as to selectively vary the distance between said top edge of said guide member panel portion and said bottom edge of said screed member, while maintaining said bottom edge at an angular orientation generally perpendicular to said first axis; said guide member having first and second arms extending laterally, in opposite directions, beyond said opposite lateral edges of both said guide member panel portion and also said screed member, the bottom of each of said arms having a guide surface thereon extending parallel to said bottom edge of said screed member, said guide surface of said first arm being spaced a first distance from said bottom edge of said guide member panel portion and said guide surface of said second arm being spaced a second distance, less than said first distance, from said bottom edge of said guide member panel portion; said guide member, said screed member, and said means for assembling being constructed, dimensioned, and configured so as to enable said guide member and screed member to be secured to one another throughout a range of positions in which said bottom edge of said screed member lies below said bottom edge of said guide member panel portion.
2. The bed-depth gauge of claim 1 wherein both said guide member panel portion and also said screed member are thin, flat, planar, substantially rectangular, and of substantially the same width; wherein said bottom edge of said screed member is rectilinear; and wherein said contiguous faces of said panel portion and said screed member are in surface contact with one another.
3. The bed-depth gauge of claim 2 wherein said first and second arms are of thin, flat and planar form, having a top and a bottom and extending parallel to the plane of said guide member panel portion, and wherein each of said arms includes a planar contact element on the bottom thereof, disposed perpendicular to the plane of said each arm and providing said guide surface thereon.
4. The bed-depth gauge of claim 3 wherein at least said panel portion and said first and second arms of said guide member are of one-piece, integrally formed construction.
5. The bed-depth gauge of claim 1 wherein said means for assembling comprises a pair of parallel slots, formed through at least one of said guide member panel portion and said screed member, a pair of threaded studs extending from at least the other of said panel portion and said screed member, through said parallel slots, to provide free, projecting threaded end portions, and a pair of threaded fasteners threadably engaged on said threaded end portions of said studs.
6. The bed-depth gauge of claim 5 wherein both of said slots are formed in said screed member and are oriented perpendicular to said rectilinear bottom edge thereof, wherein both of said threaded studs extend from said panel portion of said guide member, and wherein said threaded fasteners comprise hand knobs.
7. The bed-depth gauge of claim 1 wherein said guide member has indicia thereon indicative of the separate functions of the gauge that each of said first and second arms cooperates with said screed member in performing.
8. The bed-depth guide of claim 7 wherein said indicia comprises the word \u201cBASE\u201d on said first arm and the word \u201cSAND\u201d on said second arm.
9. The bed-depth gauge of claim 1 wherein said screed member has indicia thereon indicative of the distance between said rectilinear bottom edge of said screed member and said guide surfaces of said first and second arms.
10. The bed-depth gauge of claim 9 wherein said front face of said screed member has said distance-indicative indicia thereon, and wherein said panel portion of said guide member has at least one aperture therein with and through which said distance-indicative indicia can be aligned and viewed.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
We claim:
1. A system for scoring an asthma severity for a patient based on information entered by a user regarding the patient comprising:
means for questioning the user regarding the patient,
means for accumulating a score for at least one indicator based on answers entered by the user to the questions,
means for correlating the accumulated score to at least one indicator level, and
means for informing the user of the at least one indicator level from said correlating means.
2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for randomizing the order of questions asked by said questioning means, and
wherein said accumulating means accumulates multiple scores for at least two indicators.
3. The system according to claim 2, wherein
the at least two indicators include severity level, compliance level, and performance level, and
said correlating means correlates each score to one of the at least two indicators.
4. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for providing a summary that includes the answers to the questions and the at least one indicator level.
5. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for educating the user regarding asthma.
6. A method for assessing asthma patients comprising:
repeating the following for each question of an assessment
asking a question,
receiving an answer to the question, and
incrementing a score for at least one indicator based on the answer to the question;
correlating each of the at least one indicator score to a corresponding at least one indicator level; and
providing the at least one indicator level.
7. The method according to claim 6, wherein providing includes informing the user of the at least one indicator level.
8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising allowing the user to adjust at least one indicator level by at least one level.
9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the at least one indicator includes at least one of a severity level, a compliance level, and a performance level.
10. The method according to claim 7, further comprising educating the user regarding asthma.
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein educating includes showing multimedia presentations to the user.
12. A system comprising:
a device having software to perform the method according to claim 6, and
a display in communication with said device.
13. The method according to claim 6, further comprising storing at least one of the answers and at least one indicator level.
14. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process performing the method recited in claim 6.
15. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for the method recited in claim 6.
16. A method for assessing severity of asthma for a patient comprising:
a) transmitting a question to an individual,
b) receiving an answer to the transmitted question from the individual,
c) accumulating a score for at least one indicator based upon the received answer,
d) repeating steps a through c for each question in a series of questions, and
e) transmitting at least one indicator level based on the at least one indicator score to the individual.
17. The method according to 16 further comprising storing the series of answers.
18. The method according to claim 16 further comprising:
transmitting at least one background information question regarding the patient to the individual, and
receiving an answer for each of the at least one background information question from the individual.
19. The method according to claim 18 further comprising personalizing the assessment questions based on the at least one answer received for each of the at least one background information question.
20. The method according to claim 16 further comprising providing a summary of the assessment to the individual.
21. The method according to claim 16 further comprising educating the user about asthma.
22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the educating step includes material tailored to the at least one indicator level of the patient.
23. The method according to claim 16 further comprising providing asthma materials to the user.
24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the provided asthma material provided is based upon the at least one indicator level of the patient.
25. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process performing the method recited in claim 16.
26. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for the method recited in claim 16.
27. A system comprising:
a device having software to perform the method according to claim 16, and
a display in communication with said device.
28. The method according to 16 further comprising storing the at least one indicator level.
29. An apparatus for assessing a patient’s asthma comprising:
an interface,
a first database in communication with said interface, said first database includes questions relating to asthma,
a calculator in communication with said interface, and
an assessor in communication with said calculator and said interface.
30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein said interface includes a graphical component.
31. The apparatus according to claim 29 further comprising a third database in communication with said interface, said third database includes storage for answers to questions from said first database received by said interface.
32. The apparatus according to claim 29 further comprising a fourth database in communication with said interface, said fourth database includes educational materials.
33. The apparatus according to claim 29 further comprising
a processor,
a memory connected to said processor,
a display connected to said processor, and
an input device connected to said processor; and
wherein said interface interacts with said processor such that said processor instructs said display to show said interface on said display and said input device provides an user’s input based upon said interface being shown on said display,
said first database resides in said memory, and
said calculator and said assessor reside in said processor.
34. The apparatus according to claim 29 further comprising a second database in communication with said assessor, said second database containing predetermined criteria for use by said assessor in determining at least one indicator level based on a score provided by said calculator.