WO2023180128A1

WO2023180128A1 - A method, apparatus and computer program product for generating data for transmission in a medical environment

Info

Publication number: WO2023180128A1
Application number: PCT/EP2023/056502
Authority: WO
Inventors: Junichi Yokota; Bob KONINCKX
Original assignee: Sony Group Corporation; Sony Europe B.V.
Priority date: 2022-03-23
Filing date: 2023-03-14
Publication date: 2023-09-28

Abstract

A method of generating data for transmission in a medical environment is provided, the method comprising: receiving first data for transmission from at least one data source; analysing the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receiving information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generating data for transmission to the target in the medical environment by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

Description

A Method, Apparatus And Computer Program Product For Generating Data For Transmission In A Medical Environment

BACKGROUND

Field of the Disclosure

The present invention relates to a method, apparatus and computer program product for generating data for transmission in a medical environment.

Description of the Related Art

The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in the background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of fding, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.

In recent times, the amount of data which is processed, recorded and transferred between devices has rapidly increased.

In medical environments, such as a hospital, general practice surgery, dental practice or the like, a significant amount of data may be processed and recorded. This data may include audio data, video data, image data or the like. Often, it may be necessary to transfer this patient data from one location to another. Such a transfer is not limited to the local region (i.e. inside a single medical environment) but may also include locations outside the local region (i.e. outside the medical environment to other medical environments). This may include, for example, transfer of patient data from one hospital to another. The transfer may also include transfer of the data over the international range. Such a transfer may be performed using a network such as the internet or the like.

However, certain restrictions within the medical environment may make transfer of the patient data from one location to another very difficult. In particular, personal data (such as information regarding the patient) may be subject to a number of conditions of use which make transfer of the data very complex and difficult to perform.

Moreover, the high volume of data which is generated in a medical environment makes processing the data for transfer very computationally challenging. This problem is exacerbated data from a number of different sources has to be processed at the same time.

Accordingly, significant delays may be encountered when trying to transfer data in a medical environment. Indeed, in some situations, it might not be possible to transfer the data at all. These limitations in data transfer can impact the ability to provide effective medical treatment of patients within the medical environment. It is an aim of the present disclosure to address these issues.

SUMMARY:

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method of generating data for transmission in a medical environment is provided, the method comprising: receiving first data for transmission from at least one data source; analysing the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receiving information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generating data for transmission to the target in the medical environment by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for generating data for transmission in a medical environment is provided, the apparatus comprising circuitry configured to: receive first data for transmission from at least one data source; analyse the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receive information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generate data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the instructions are implemented by the computer, cause the computer to perform a method of generating data for transmission in a medical environment is provided, the method comprising: receiving first data for transmission from at least one data source; analysing the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receiving information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generating data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

According to embodiments of the disclosure, data for transmission in a medical environment can be generated more efficiently and effectively. As the data for transmission is generated in accordance with a transmission target, the data can be transferred more safely and securely. Therefore, it becomes easier to transfer data in a medical environment.

Of course, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to these advantageous technical effects. Other advantageous technical effects will become apparent to the skilled person when reading the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates an apparatus in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure;

Figure 2 illustrates an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied;

Figure 3 illustrates an apparatus in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure;

Figure 4 illustrates an example set of data in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure;

Figure 5 illustrates an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied;

Figure 6 illustrates an example system in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure;

Figure 7A illustrates an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied;

Figure 7B illustrates an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied;

Figure 7C illustrates an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied;

Figure 8 illustrates a method in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring to Figure 1, an apparatus 1000 according to embodiments of the disclosure is shown.

Typically, an apparatus 1000 according to embodiments of the disclosure is a computer device such as a personal computer or a terminal connected to a server. Indeed, in embodiments, the apparatus may also be a server. The apparatus 1000 is controlled using a microprocessor or other processing circuitry 1002. In some examples, the apparatus 1000 may be a portable computing device such as a mobile phone, laptop computer or tablet computing device.

The processing circuitry 1002 may be a microprocessor carrying out computer instructions or may be an Application Specific Integrated Circuit. The computer instructions are stored on storage medium 1004 which maybe a magnetically readable medium, optically readable medium or solid state type circuitry. The storage medium 1004 may be integrated into the apparatus 1000 or may be separate to the apparatus 1000 and connected thereto using either a wired or wireless connection. The computer instructions may be embodied as computer software that contains computer readable code which, when loaded onto the processor circuitry 1002, configures the processor circuitry 1002 to perform a method according to embodiments of the disclosure.

Additionally, an optional user input device 1006 is shown connected to the processing circuitry 1002. The user input device 1006 may be a touch screen or may be a mouse or stylist type input device. The user input device 1006 may also be a keyboard or any combination of these devices.

A network connection 1008 may optionally be coupled to the processor circuitry 1002. The network connection 1008 may be a connection to a Local Area Network or a Wide Area Network such as the Internet or a Virtual Private Network or the like. The network connection 1008 may be connected to a server allowing the processor circuitry 1002 to communicate with another apparatus in order to obtain or provide relevant data. The network connection 1002 may be behind a firewall or some other form of network security.

Additionally, shown coupled to the processing circuitry 1002, is a display device 1010. The display device 1010, although shown integrated into the apparatus 1000, may additionally be separate to the apparatus 1000 and may be a monitor or some kind of device allowing the user to visualise the operation of the system. In addition, the display device 1010 may be a printer, projector or some other device allowing relevant information generated by the apparatus 1000 to be viewed by the user or by a third party.

Turning now to Figure 2 of the present disclosure, an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied is illustrated.

In Figure 2 of the present disclosure, a hospital 2000 is shown. The hospital 2000 is an example of a medical environment in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. A medical environment in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure may also include other environments such as a general practice surgery, dental practice or the like. Any environment in which medical data is transmitted or received is a medical environment in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

Medical data is any data relating to a patient and/or relating to medical treatment of a patient.

In this example, the hospital includes a number of different areas. A first of these areas is an operating room (or set of operating rooms) 2004. An operating room is a room in which a medical professional such as a surgeon may perform a surgical operation on a patient. The operating room may be equipped with medical equipment which enables the medical professional to perform a surgical operation within the operating room. Such equipment may include medical monitoring equipment (for monitoring the progress of the operation and/or the vital signs of the patient) and medical equipment which can be operated by a medical professional in order to perform certain actions during the surgical operation. It will be appreciated that the type and nature of the medical equipment present within the operating room 2004 may vary depending on the type and nature of the operation which is being performed. A number of cameras may also be installed within the operating room 2004. These cameras may include a room camera (which is configured to capture an image of configuration of the operating room). Other image capture devices may also be present within the operating room.

Furthermore, other types of image capture devices may include image capture devices used as part of the surgical operation such as endoscopic imaging devices, microscopic imaging devices or the like.

The surgical operation performed in an operating room such as operating room 2004 may be invasive (such as open surgery) or minimally or non-invasive surgery (such as endoscopic or laparoscopic surgery or the like).

Data from the medical equipment and imaging devices present within the operating room 2004 may be provided to a server 2020 located in the hospital.

Of course, it will be appreciated that the number and type of image capture devices and medical equipment or devices within the operating room 2004 may be different from that described in this example. Indeed, the configuration of image sources and medical equipment or devices within the operating room 2004 may vary in accordance with the type of surgical procedure or operation which is to be performed in the operating room 2004.

Moreover, while only a single operating room 2004 is described in this example, there may be many more operating rooms 2004 present within the hospital 2000 and each of these operating rooms 2004 may have its own configuration of image sources configured to provide an image signal to the server 2020.

The hospital may also include areas such as an intensive care unit 2008. The intensive care unit may be a specialist hospital ward that is adapted such that treatment and monitoring may be provided for a patient who is very ill. Such an ICU may be staffed with certain medical professionals who are specifically trained to use the sophisticated monitoring equipment found in the ICU.

The intensive care unit may include a number of image capture devices which are configured to capture images of the intensive care unit and/or certain areas within the intensive care unit. The images from the image capture devices may provide an overview of the configuration of the intensive care unit. Images from these image capture devices may be sent to the server 2020.

Patient monitoring equipment may also be provided within the intensive care unit. The patient monitoring equipment may include blood pressure monitors, oxygen saturation monitors, respiration monitors or the like. Data from the patient monitoring equipment may also be provided to the server 2004.

Moreover, while only a single intensive care unit 2008 is described in this example, it will be appreciated that there may be many more intensive care units 2008 present within the hospital 2000 and each of these intensive care units 2008 may have its own configuration of image capture devices and medical equipment configured to provide an data to the server 2020.

Furthermore, while only an operating room 2004 and intensive care unit 2008 have been described in this example, there may be many other areas or locations within the hospital environment, such as accident and emergency units, patient wards, or the like. Each of those areas (such as example area 2006 of hospital 2000) may be equipped with its own set of image capture devices and medical equipment which can be used for the monitoring and treatment of patients within the hospital 2000.

Now, the data received by the server 2020 (or other computational device) may be distributed to a number of locations within the hospital 2000. This may occur in a substantial real time environment.

A first location within the hospital 2000 to which data from the server 2020 can be distributed is a lecture room 2002A. The data (such as images from the image capture devices) may be used in order to provide training or educational support to students or medical professionals. The training may, for example, be training based on a specific surgical procedure which is being performed in operating room 2004.

Data from across the hospital 2000 may also be distributed to a medical office 2002B. The medical office may be a location from which medical professionals can provide medical instructions (remote support) to a person in the operating room 2004 or the intensive care unit 2008.

In addition to data transferred within the hospital environment, data may also be transmitted from the hospital environment to one or more external locations 2014 outside the hospital. This transmission may take place over a network such as the internet or the like. Moreover, any data transmission to an external location 2014 outside the hospital may take place through a firewall 2012. Therefore, it will be appreciated that data from inside the hospital 2000 (including audio and image/video data) may be transmitted outside the hospital 2000 and is not limited to the local region within the hospital 2000.

Examples of external locations include a remote support office 2016 which is located outside the hospital 2000. This may include a medical office in a different medical environment (such as a different hospital) in which medical professionals are located. The medical professionals in this remote support office 2016 may provide remote medical assistance to a medical professional performing an operation in an operating room 2004 of hospital 2000 or a medical professional who is treating a patient on an intensive care unit 2008 of hospital 2000, for example. A second example of an external location may include medical facilities outside the hospital 2000 which provide community medical support and treatment. In order to provide medical support and treatment to patients within the community outside the hospital 2000 it may be necessary for these medical facilities to receive data from within the hospital environment.

A third example of an external location may include external client devices 2020A and 2020B. These external client devices 2020A and 2020B may receive data from within the hospital environment (including, for example, images from the operating room 2004 and intensive care unit 2008). The data from the hospital environment may be displayed on display units of the external client devices 2020A and 2020B. A student or other person (such as a medical professional) who has authorised access to the external client devices 2020A and 2020B may access this data for training purposes or the like.

Of course, it will be appreciated that the number and types of external locations are not particularly limited to those example locations described with reference to Figure 2 of the present disclosure. Data from the hospital 2000 may also need to be sent to a number of different external locations beyond those described with reference to Figure 2 of the present disclosure in order that training or medical support can be provided.

However, as explained in the Background, there is a problem in that certain restrictions within the medical environment may make transfer of the patient data from one location to another very difficult. In particular, personal data (such as information regarding the patient) may be subject to a number of conditions of use which make transfer of the data very complex. In particular, data from a medical environment may include personal information of patients and/or data which is restricted by privacy requirements.

Accordingly, significant delays may be encountered when trying to transfer data in a medical environment. Indeed, in some situations, it might not be possible to transfer the data at all. These limitations in data transfer can impact the effective treatment of patients within the medical environment.

For these reasons, in addition to the reasons described in the Background, a method, apparatus and computer program product are provided in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

Figure 3 illustrates an apparatus in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. Apparatus 3000 is an apparatus for generating data for transmission in a medical environment. The apparatus 3000 comprises a receiving unit 3002, an analysis unit 3004, a receiving unit 3006 and a generating unit 3008.

The receiving unit 3002 may be configured to receive first data for transmission from at least one data source.

The analysis unit 3004 may be configured to analyse the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic.

The receiving unit 3006 may be configured to receive information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

Finally, the generating unit 3008 may be configured to generate data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

In this way, data for transmission in a medical environment can be generated more efficiently and effectively.

Further details regarding the apparatus 3000 are described with reference to Figures 4 to 7 of the present disclosure.

As described with reference to Figure 3 of the present disclosure, the apparatus 3000 includes a receiving unit 3002.

The receiving unit 3002 is configured to receive first data for transmission from at least one data source. The receiving unit 3002 may receive the data from the data sources by any suitable means. For example, the receiving unit 3002 may receive the data from the data using a wired or wireless network connection.

A data source in the present disclosure is any entity or device which can provide data to the receiving unit 3002. In the context of a medical environment such as that described with reference to Figure 2 of the present disclosure, a data source may include an image capture device (such as a room camera, endoscopic imaging device, microscopic imaging device or the like). Alternatively, a data source may include a computational device which can provide data (e.g. a patient name, a patient address, data regarding vital signs of a patient (such a blood pressure) or the like). Data sources may also provide audio data. Indeed, any device or entity which provides data is a data source in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The type of entity or device and the format in which that entity or device provides the data will depend on the situation to which the embodiments of the disclosure are applied.

However, as an example, the first data may be in the form of a picture, video, audio recording, document or text information. The present disclosure is not particularly limited to these examples.

In some examples, the receiving unit 3002 may be configured to receive 4K High-quality Low-latency transmission from video sources (as an example of data sources) over a network. Indeed, in some examples, the video sources (and more generally any image source in accordance with the present disclosure) may be an Internet Protocol camera (IP camera) which is able to transmit data over a network such as the internet. The receiving unit 3002 may then be configured as a IP receiver which is able to receive such data transmitted over the network from the video sources.

More generally, it will be appreciated that the receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 may be configured as a network connection such as network connection 1008 as described with reference to Figure 1 of the present disclosure.

The receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 is configured to receive data from the data sources for transmission. The data may be for transmission within a local network or environment (such as within hospital 2000 in the example of Figure 2 of the present disclosure) or, alternatively, the data may be for transmission to a transmission target outside of the local network or environment (such as the locations outside the hospital 2014 as described with reference to Figure 2 of the present disclosure). Transmission in the present disclosure is to be understood as sending, transferring or otherwise making available data which has been received by receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 to a transmission target.

In some examples, the data received by the receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 may be encrypted in order to improve the security of the data. A transmission target of the data may then be able to decrypt the data in order to gain access to that data. However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard.

Once the data has been received by the receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000, it may be passed by the receiving unit 3002 either directly or indirectly to the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000. If passed indirectly, the data may first be stored in a storage location by the receiving unit 3002. Then, analysis unit 3004 may retrieve the first data from the storage unit for analysis as required. However, if passed directly to the analysis unit 3004, then the analysis unit 3004 may acquire the first data from the receiving unit 3002 in substantially real time as it is received by receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 from the data source. Indeed, in some examples, the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 may function in parallel to the receiving unit 3002 in order to begin analysis of the first data as it is being received by the receiving unit 3002. In this way, receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 is configured to receive first data from at least one data source in the medical environment.

As explained with reference to Figure 3 of the present disclosure, the apparatus 3000 includes an analysis unit 3004. The analysis unit 3004 may be configured to analyse the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic.

The receiving unit 3002 may receive any data from a data source as the first data in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, the first data being data for transmission to a transmission target. In some examples, the first data may be in the form of a picture, video, audio recording, document or text information. However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard.

It will be appreciated that certain restrictions within the medical environment (or, indeed, imposed on the medical environment) may make transfer of data from one location to another very difficult. In particular, personal data (such as information regarding the patient) may be subject to a number of conditions of use which make transfer of the data very complex. In particular, data from a medical environment may include personal information of patients and/or data which is restricted by privacy requirements.

In the present disclosure, an example of private and personal data is data which enables a patient (or any other person) to be identified. Such private and personal data is typically governed by a number of restrictions regarding the use and dissemination of the data. This can make it very difficult to transfer first data to a transmission target when that first data includes private and personal data.

Consider, now, Figure 4 of the present disclosure. Figure 4 of the present disclosure illustrates an example set of data in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

In Figure 4, certain example types of private and personal data which may be received as part of first data by receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 in the context of a medical environment are shown. In this example, said data is recorded in the form of a data table 7000. However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard and the data may be recorded in any means suitable depending on the situation.

Column 7008 of the data table 7000 details the different types of private and personal data which are examples of first data in accordance with the present disclosure. These examples of first data include a name and/or an address of a patient, location data of a patient (which may include, for example, a location within the hospital, such as a ward or bed number, where the patient is located), vital sign data of a patient (including for example, at least one of blood pressure, body temperature, oxygen saturation, respiration rate and pulse rate of a patient), an Internet Protocol address of a patient, a picture of the patient (which includes an image or video of the patient), or audio of the patient (including audio of a patient talking, for example).

In addition to these types of first data shown in Figure 4 of the present disclosure, first data may also include data indicating an email address of a patient, data indicating a phone number of a patient, data indicating a medical record of a patient, data indicating an advertising identifier stored on a patient’s phone or the like.

Now, it will be understood that the different types of personal and private data may be categorised into different sensitivity levels. The sensitivity level of the personal and private data correspond to how easy it is for a person to be identified using that personal and private data (with data which can more easily be used to identify a person requiring a higher level of sensitivity). Alternatively, the sensitivity level may correspond to the permanence of the data (with more permanent data requiring a higher level of sensitivity).

Consider the example of a patient name as a type of personal and private data. The name of a patient (if it includes the first name and surname of the patient) can easily enable the patient to be identified. Moreover, while there is a possibility of the patient’s name changing, said possibility is generally quite low. Accordingly, the patient’s name has a high degree of permanence. Given the ease with which a patient can be identified using the patient’s name and the permanence of this data, the patient’s name is personal and private data of high sensitivity.

Alternatively, consider data indicating vital signs of a patient as a type of personal and private data. While a patient can be identified from their vital signs, it is more difficult for the patient to be identified than when using the patient’s name. Moreover, there is quite a high possibility that the vital sign of the person will change over time and therefore the data has a lower level of permanence. Therefore, the sensitivity of the information may be lower for vital signs than for the patient’s name.

As such, personal or private data is any data which enables a person to be identified (i.e. data from which a person is identifiable). Moreover, the easier it is for that person to be identified using that data and the more permanent that data is the higher the sensitivity level of the personal and private data will be.

More generally, the sensitivity level of personal and private information may depend on the accuracy of the data (e.g. if location data is accurate, then the location data is sensitive data, whereas if the location data provides only an approximate location of the patient, then the location data is low sensitivity data), the recognition level of the data (how easy it is for the data to be used in order to identify the patient) and combination or dependency of the data on other data (e.g. if a patient’s vital signs are combined with a patient’s location, it becomes easier for the patient to be identified; therefore, if both the location and vital sign information are present in the first data the sensitivity of the data is increased). Moreover, the definition of personal and private information (and thus the categorization of personal and private information) may depend on a definition of personal and private information for each individual geographical, political or administrative region.

Alternatively or in addition, the definition of personal and private information (or data subject to certain restrictions and conditions on use) may also depend on the individual permissions obtained from a patient in the medical environment. That is, a patient may consent to only a portion of the data obtained from data sources being used, with the remainder of the data being defined as personal and private information for that individual patient.

Of course, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not particularly limited to these examples of the different types of private and personal data which are examples of first data in accordance with the embodiments of the disclosure. More generally, any data which enables a person to be identified is personal or private data in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

Moreover, it will be appreciated that the different types of private and personal data may be included as part of the first data (and may, therefore, form only a portion of the first data). For example, a patient name and patient address may be included within a document or other type of first data.

However, the patient name and patient address may be only a portion of the data included within that document.

Accordingly, the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 may be configured to analyse the first data received by receiving unit 3002 in order to identify a portion of that data having a predetermined characteristic. In some examples, a portion of the data having a predetermined characteristic is any portion of the data which is private and personal data (i.e. data which enables a person to be identified). Thus, in these examples, the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 is configured to analyse the first data which has been received (the data for transmission) in order to detect a portion of that first data which contains private and personal data.

In some examples, the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 may analyse the first data by performing a keyword search on the data in order to identify whether the first data contains any private and personal data. For example, the analysis unit 3004 may perform a keyword search to detect any portion of the first data which contains the patient’s name. The keyword search may be based on a targeted keyword search (where a name of a specific patient, or list of patients is searched for). The keyword search may therefore be used by analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 to detect a portion of the first data containing a patient’s name as an example of a portion of the data having a predetermined characteristic in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

Alternatively, the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 may analyse the first data by performing certain image processing on the first data. The image processing performed on the first data may include facial recognition processing. Facial recognition processing enables analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 to detect any portion of the first data which includes an image of a patient’s face. An image of a patient’s face is an example of image data which enables a person to be identified (and is therefore an example of personal and private data in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure). Accordingly, by performing image processing such as facial recognition processing on the first data, analysis unit 3004 is able to detect a portion of the first data which contains an image of a person’s face as an example of a portion of the data having a predetermined characteristic in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

Alternatively, the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 may perform pattern recognition processing on the first data in order to identify personal and private data. Pattern recognition processing may identify a patient’s phone number, a patient’s email address or a vital signs of the patient as examples of personal and private data, for example. Any of the patient’s phone number, patient’s email address or patient’s vital signs may enable the patient to be identified and are therefore examples of personal and private data in accordance with the present disclosure. Thus, analysis unit 3004 may use pattern recognition processing to identify a portion of the data having a predetermined characteristic in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

In some examples, the analysis unit 3004 may analyse the first data and determine at least one of the accuracy (specificity) of the data, a recognition level of the data and a dependency of the data on second data and detect the at least one portion of the first data having the predetermined characteristic (e.g. comprising private and personal data) when a result of the analysis exceeds a predetermined threshold value. For example, the analysis unit 3004 may identify a portion of the first data as having the predetermined characteristic when the sensitivity level private and personal data contained in the first data exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

In some examples, the analysis unit 3004 may use a trained model in order to detect the at least one portion of the first data having the predetermined characteristic (e.g. containing private and personal data which can be used in order to identify a patient). The trained model may be trained on historical data and/or simulated data. Once the model has been trained, the first data received by receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 can be provided to the trained model as an input. The trained model will then provide an indication of a portion of first data which contain private and personal data as output.

In some examples, the trained model may be a machine learning model or a neural network model. This may be particularly advantageous and enable the analysis unit 3004 to rapidly and efficiently detect the portions of the first data which comprise personal and private data (and thus have a predetermined characteristic in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure).

However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard. Any analysis which is performed by the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 and which enables the analysis unit to identify the portion or portions of the first data having a predetermined characteristic (e.g. comprising personal and private data which can be used to identify a person) can be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. Indeed, the type of analysis performed by analysis unit 3004 will depend on the nature of the first data itself and the type of situation to which the embodiments of the disclosure are applied.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that while the detection of the portion or portions of the first data having the predetermined characteristic have been described with reference to the predetermined characteristic being that the data comprises personal and private data, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard.

By analysing the first data in this manner, the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 can detect the portion or portions of the first data having the predetermined characteristic. These are the portions of the first data which are most likely subject to certain restrictions which limit the use or dissemination of the data. Thus, the portions of the data which may prevent the data from being transmitted in certain situations can be quickly and efficiently identified. Furthermore, by analysing the first data in order to detect the portion or portions of the first data having the predetermined characteristic, the remainder of the first data (being the first data which does not have the predetermined characteristic) can also be identified. This remainder of the first data will not require any modification by apparatus 3000 before transmission (as it does not contain any personal or private information) and as such, the amount of processing which must be performed by generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 can be reduced (since the processing need only be performed on the identified portion or portions of the first data).

Once the first data has been analysed to detect the portion or portions of the first data having the predetermined characteristic, the receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000 is configured to receive information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

The information indicating the transmission target of the first data may be any information which indicates who or where the data should be transmitted to. This can include, for example, an IP address, an ID number, an email address, a telephone number, a name of the transmission target or the like. However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard.

It will be appreciated that, at the time the first data is received from the at least one data source by the receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000, it is not necessary for the apparatus 3000 to know where that data will be transmitted (i.e. the transmission target of the first data). Instead, the apparatus 3000 may receive the first data from the data source and analyse the first data in order to determine a portion of that first data having a predetermined characteristic. Then, the apparatus 3000 may wait for an instruction of the transmission target of the first data.

Indeed, in some examples, the apparatus 3000 may wait once the first data has been analysed until a request for the first data has been received from a potential transmission target. The receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000 may then receive or acquire the additional information of the transmission target of the first data.

However, in other examples, the information indicating a transmission target of the first data and the additional information of the transmission target of the first data may be received at the same time at which the first data for transmission is received by the receiving unit 3002. This may be the situation whereby the data has been received from the data sources under a specific request for the first data. In such an example situation, the second receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000 may receive the information regarding the transmission source simultaneously to the reception and analysis of the first data.

The receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000 may receive the information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data by any suitable means depending on the situation. Indeed, the information may be received by any wired or wireless communication means. In some examples, the receiving unit may be a network connection such as network connection 1008 of apparatus 1000 described with reference to Figure 1 of the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard.

Turning now to Figure 5 of the present disclosure, an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied is illustrated.

In this example, a medical environment comprising two areas 4002 and 4004 is shown. The two areas 4002 and 4004 may be areas of a hospital (such as hospital 2000 described with reference to Figure 2 of the present disclosure) located within a first region 4000. In this example, this first region 4000 is a geographical or political region such as the European Union.

First data generated by one or more data sources within the hospital area 4002 may be received by the receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000. The analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 may then analyse this first data in order to identify a portion or portions of the first data comprising personal and private information (as an example of the portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic). In this example, once the analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 has detected the portion of the first data having the personal and private information, the apparatus 3000 waits until a request for the first data is received by receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000.

In this example, there are many different regions where a transmission target may be located. Moreover, there are many different statuses of transmission target within each of these regions. Different types of communications may be required to transmit data to and/or receive data from the transmission target depending on the region in which that transmission target is located. Moreover, different types of restrictions on the transmission of personal and private information may apply depending on the region in which the transmission target is located and/or the status of the transmission target within any given region.

As a first example, data may be transferred between devices within a room in the hospital area 4002. Such a room may be an operating room or the like. Data within this room in the hospital area 4002 may be transmitted over a local network.

As a second example, data may be transmitted between devices in different rooms within the hospital area 4002 (e.g. between devices in different operating rooms). Data transmitted between the devices in different rooms in the hospital area 4002 may be transmitted over a network such as an intranet specific to hospital area 4002.

As a third example, data may be transmitted between devices in different areas within the hospital. This may include data transmitted between a device located in the hospital area 4002 and a device location in the hospital area 4004. Such a transmission of data may be performed over a network specific to the hospital building itself (e.g. a hospital building intranet).

As a fourth example, data may be transmitted between a device in a hospital area (such as hospital area 4002) and a device outside of the hospital located within the same geographical or political area as the hospital. In this example, this may be transmission from a device located in a hospital located in the European Union to a device located outside of the hospital but which is also located in the European Union. Such a transmission may take place over a network such as the internet within this region.

Finally, as a fifth example, data may be transmitted between a device in a hospital area (such as hospital area 4002) and a device outside of the hospital located in a different geographical or political area. In this example, this may be transmission from a device located in a hospital located in the European Union and to a device located outside of the hospital but which is located outside the European Union - such as a device located in Japan 4008 or the United States of America 4010.

These are examples of five different types of communication which may occur within a medical environment. However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this respect and transmission may occur over any suitable network depending on the circumstances.

Moreover, while different types of communication may be required or performed in in to transmit data to transmission targets in different locations, it will also be appreciated that the location of the target may also indicate or impact the permission level of that transmission target to access or receive certain types of data (such as certain types of personal and private data). For example, a transmission target in a certain region, such as a transmission target in the same region as hospital 4002, may be able to receive a very large number of different types of personal and private data. However, a transmission target in a certain other region, such as transmission target in region 4010, may not be able to receive and access the same levels of personal and private data. Therefore, the location information of the transmission target can affect both the type of communication which is required to performed transmission of data and also the type of data which can be transmitted.

Concerning Figure 5 of the present disclosure, it will also be appreciated that communication may take place to a transmission target (person or device) having a different status. The status of the transmission target may indicate the permission level of that transmission target to access or receive certain types of data (such as certain types of personal and private data).

In the example of Figure 5 of the present disclosure, there are three different types of status of the transmission target. The first of these example status is where the transmission target (the device to which the data is to be sent) is used by a professor. The professor has a high permission status and is able to access and receive a significant amount of personal and private data; this is important in order that the professor can provide the necessary medical care, assistance and support. A second example status is where the transmission target is used by an assistant. The assistant needs access to a certain amount of the personal and private data in order that they can assist the professor in providing the necessary medical care, assistance and support. However, there is certain types of personal and private data (such as full access to the patient’s medical records) which the assistant may not need access to. Therefore, the assistant may have a lower permission status that the professor in this example. Finally, a third example status is where the transmission target is used by a student. The student may be receiving the data for training purposes (so they can learn how to perform an operation, for example). However, the student does not need access to certain types of personal and private information in order to learn how to perform the operation (e.g. the patient’s name and address). Therefore, in this example, the student may have the lowest permission status being able to access or receive only a small portion of the data which is necessary for training.

Furthermore, as explained above, it will be appreciated that the ability of the transmission target to access or receive certain types of personal and private information may also vary depending on the location of the transmission target (i.e. based on both location information and status information). For example, if the transmission target is a professor 4006 located within the same geographical or political region as the hospital (source of data) then the professor may, for example, be able to access or receive all types of personal and private data. However, if the transmission target is a professor located in a different geographical or political region than the hospital (source of data) then the professor may, for example, have a lower permission status and not be able to receive all types of personal and private data; certain information such as the patient’s name and address may not be accessible to the professor located in this different geographical or political region. As such, it will be appreciated that the ability of a transmission target to access or receive certain types of information may depend on the status of the transmission target, the location of the transmission target or a combination of the status information and the location information of the transmission target. Hence, the receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000 of the present disclosure is configured to receive information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

It will be appreciated that the type and format of the status information and location information of the transmission target is not particularly limited in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure; any information which indicates the status and/or location of the target can be used as required. However, in some examples, the additional information comprising location information of the target includes one or more of information regarding a region in which the target is located, Global Navigation Satellite System information or IP address information of the transmission target. This enables apparatus 3000 to identify the location of the transmission target. In fact, any information which enables the location of the target to be identified can be considered as location information of the target in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

Moreover, examples of the status information of the transmission target may include the occupation of the transmission target (e.g. Professor, assistant, student or the like), a value indicating the access rights of the transmission target (e.g. a level of permission to access certain types of data), a list of types of data which the transmission target is able to access (e.g. vital signs of a patient and the age of the patient) a list of types of data which the target is not able to access (e.g. a patient’s name and address) or the like.

Consider, again, the example of Figure 4 of the present disclosure. In this example, a number of examples of personal and private data of a patient are shown, with these examples of personal and private data being stored in the first column 7008 of a data table 7000. Data table 7000 may also be a database or other data format used to store the relevant information. The subsequent columns 7002, 7004 and 7006 of the data table 7000 provide an example of status information in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. In this example, column 7002 contains status information of a transmission target in a first region, column 7004 contains status information of a transmission target in a second region and column 7006 contains status information of a transmission target in a third region. The status information 7002 of the transmission target in the first region shows that the transmission target is able to receive a wide range of types of personal and private data of the patient. This includes, for example, pictures (including, in this example, still images and video) of a patient (or part of a patient) during an operation from which the patient can be identified. However, the status information 7004 and 7006 of the transmission target in the second and third regions shows that the transmission targets in these regions do not have the necessary permissions in order to receive pictures of a patient during an operation from which the patient can be identified. Thus, the status information of the transmission target indicates the type of data which can or cannot be accessed or received by the transmission target.

However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard. Any information which provides an indication of the type of data which can or cannot be accessed or received by the transmission target can be considered as status information of the transmission of the target in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

In this manner, the receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000 receives the information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data.

As explained with reference to Figure 3 of the present disclosure, apparatus 3000 further comprises a generating unit 3008 configured to generate data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

In a medical environment such as a hospital or the like, certain restrictions within the medical environment may make transfer of the patient data from one location to another very difficult. In particular, personal data (such as information regarding the patient) may be subject to a number of conditions of use which make transfer of the data very complex. Having detected and identified the portions of the first data which may be subject to these restrictions or conditions of use (i.e. the portion of the first data having the predetermined characteristic) the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 is therefore configured to modify the first data which has been received by receiving unit 3002 based on the information regarding the transmission target which has been received by receiving unit 3006 in order that data suitable for transmission to the transmission target is produced. This enables data to be transmitted within a medical environment while ensuring that the restrictions governing the use of the data are satisfied.

Moreover, the amount of processing which is performed on the first data will depend on who is viewing the data (the status of the transmission target) and where they are viewing that data from (the location of the transmission target). Therefore, an adaptive and dynamic level of processing can be performed by apparatus 3000 on the first data thus improving efficiency when generating the data for transmission in the medical environment. In fact, by generating the first data based on the status of the transmission target, the data can be modified in accordance with the intended purpose of that data (i.e. what the transmission target will do/needs to do with the data). Thus, apparatus 3000 can ensure that the data which has been generated for transmission in the medical environment is suitable for the intended purpose of the transmission target. The type of modification which is performed on the first data will depend, at least in part, on the type of the first data itself and the predetermined characteristic of the portion of the first data which has been identified. However, generally, it will be appreciated that modification of the first data by the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 changes the first data such that the predetermined characteristic of the first data is changed and the data is suitable for transmission to the transmission target.

In some examples, modifying the at least one portion of the data comprises editing the at least one portion of the data to remove the at least one predetermined characteristic. In an example where the predetermined characteristic of the first data is that the data enables a patient to be identified, removing the predetermined characteristic of the first data comprises removing the feature or features from the first data which enable the patient to be identified. Indeed, in some examples, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 may be configured to delete the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic to generate the data to be transmitted to the transmission target (i.e. all of the first data except the detected portion of the first data having the predetermined characteristic). By deleting or removing the first portion of the data in this manner, the first data can be safely and effectively transmitted to the transmission target.

Alternatively, in some examples, modifying the at least one portion of the data may comprise editing the at least one portion of the data such that the accuracy of the at least one portion of the data is reduced to a predetermined threshold value. By reducing the accuracy of the data in the at least one portion of the data, it can make it much more difficult to use that information in order to identify the patient (such that the information is no longer considered to be private and personal data). Nevertheless, even with reduced accuracy, the data can, in many circumstances, still be used for its intended purpose. Therefore, modifying the at least one portion of the data to reduce the accuracy of the data to a predetermined threshold value provides an efficient and reliable method for generating data suitable for transmission to the transmission target in a medical environment.

Of course, it will be appreciated that the actions of the generating unit to modify the first data to generate the first data depend on the status information and location information of the transmission target which have been received. Consider an example where the analysing unit 3004 of the apparatus 3000 detects a portion of the first data having the predetermined characteristic (e.g. being personal or private data which can be used in order to identify a patient). The portion of the first data in this example is a portion of the first data which includes the name and address of the patient. The information indicating the status information and location information of the transmission target indicates that the transmission target is unable to receive information which contains the address of the patient. Therefore, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 modifies the portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic to remove the address of the patient from the first data. The name of the patient can remain in the first data in this example, as the transmission target is able to receive personal and private information indicating the name of the patient. Accordingly, the generating unit 3008 generates a version of the first data suitable for transmission to the transmission target in the medical network which comprises all the first data except the address of the patient. In this way, the transmission target (which may be a medical professional) can quickly and easily obtain the portions of the first data for which they have the relevant access rights.

Figure 6 of the present disclosure illustrates an example system in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. This system may be a system present within a medical environment such as a hospital or the like.

In this example, three data sources 5000A, 5000B and 5000C provide data to a receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000. In this specific example, each of the data sources 5000A, 5000B and 5000C is an image capture device located in an operating room (such as operating room 2004 as described with reference to Figure 2 of the present disclosure). Accordingly, these data source 5000A, 5000B and 5000C provide image data to the receiving unit 3002 as the first data for transmission.

The receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 receives this image data for transmission from each of the data sources 5000A, 5000B and 5000C over a network connection. The receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000 then passes this image data to the analysing unit 3004 of apparatus 3000.

The analysing unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 then analyses the image data in order to identify a portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic (being, in this example, data which is private or personal data which enables a patient to be identified). The analysis unit may identify that: the image data from data source 5000A contains no private or personal data; the image data from data source 5000B contains a portion which shows the patient’s face (and thus is a portion with private and personal information) and that the image data from data source 5000C is an image with a portion showing the blood pressure of the patient (and thus is a portion with private and personal information).

Once the data has been analysed by analysis unit 3004 of apparatus 3000, it is passed to generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000.

At the same time, in this example, receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000 receives a request from a transmission target 5004 for the transmission of the first data. That is, the transmission target 5004 (who, in this example, is a student located outside the hospital) requests that the apparatus 3000 transmits the data received from the data sources 5000A, 5000B and 5000C to the transmission target 5004. This is such that the student can study the data from the data sources 5000A, 5000B and 5000C in order to learn how the surgeon operating in the operating room 2004 performs the operation on the patient (i.e. as part of medical training). The request for the transmission of the data comprises information indicating a transmission target of the first data (e.g. an identification number of the student) and additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target. In this example, the status information indicates that the transmission target is a student and the location information indicates that the student is located in a region outside the geographical and/or political region in which the hospital is located.

Once the information regarding the transmission target has been received, the receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000 is configured to pass this information to the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000.

Upon receiving the output from the analysing unit 3004 and the receiving unit 3006, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 is configured to generate the data for transmission to the target in the medical network (i.e. the transmission target, namely the student, 5004).

In this example, the status information of the student and the location information of the student indicate the type of data which the student is able to receive. The generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 therefore generates the data for transmission, by modifying the image data received by receiving unit 3002 of apparatus 3000, in order that the data is suitable for transmission to the student.

Concerning the image data received from 5000A, the generating unit 3008 knows from the analysis performed by analysing unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 that the image data from 5000A does not comprise any personal or private information. Therefore, the generating unit 3008 generates the image data received from the data source 5000A as the data for transmission to the student. In other words, because the image data received from data source 5000A does not contain any private and personal data there is not restriction on its use and the entire image data may be transmitted to the student.

Concerning the image data received from 5000B, the generating unit 3008 knows from the analysis performed by analysing unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 that the image data from data source 5000B contains a portion which comprises personal and private information. In particular, the generating unit 3008 knows that the portion which comprises personal and private information is a region of the image data which shows the face of the patient. From the status information and location information of the student which has been received by receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000, the generating unit 3008 knows that the student is not able to receive any data which contains a picture of a patient’s face (e.g. from consultation with a data table such as that described with reference to Figure 4 of the present disclosure). Accordingly, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 is configured to generate a version of the first data (modified data) which is suitable for transmission to the student.

In this example, the generating unit is configured to edit the at least one portion of the data such that the patient’s face is no longer visible in the image data received from data source 5000B. This may comprise cropping the image such that the patient’s face is removed from the image. Alternatively, this may comprising performing image processing on the image in order to blur the portion of the image comprising the patient’s face such that the patient’s face can no longer be seen in the image data. Once the generating unit 3008 has generated the data for transmission to the student 5004 from the data received from data source 5000B (i.e. by removing the patient’s face from the image data) the generating unit 3008 may be configured to transmit this modified data to the student. Therefore, even though the image data from the data source 5000B contains certain information which the student is not able to access or receive (namely, in this example, an image of the face of the patient) apparatus 3000 is able to efficiently and effectively generate a version of the data received from 5000B which is suitable for transmission to the student. Moreover, because the generating unit is able to generate the data in a substantially real time environment, the student is still able to monitor the progress of the operation and learn from the actions of the surgeon in the operating room 2004. Indeed, because only the portion of the data received from the data source 5000B which shows the patient’s face is adapted or modified by the generating unit 3008, the image data from data source 5000B can still be used for its intended purpose of training of the student, as the details of the actions performed by the surgeon during the surgical operation in the operating room 2004 will still be visible for the student.

Concerning the image data received from data source 5000C, the generating unit 3008 knows form the analysis performed by analysing unit 3004 of apparatus 3000 that the image data from data source 5000C contains a portion which comprises personal and private information. In particular, the generating unit 3008 knows that the portion of the image data 5000C which comprises personal and private information is a region of the image data which shows the blood pressure of the patient. From the status information and the location information of the student which has been received by the receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000, the generating unit 3008 knows that the student is not able to receive any data which contains this information (e.g. from consultation with a data table such as that described with reference to Figure 4 of the present disclosure). More specifically, the generating unit 3008 may understand that there is a restriction on the provision of information regarding the blood pressure of the patient to the student to a given degree of accuracy; the student may receive information regarding the blood pressure of the patient, but only within a range of +/- 10 percent of systolic pressure and +/- 10 percent of diastolic pressure of the patient. By limiting the accuracy of the blood pressure information which can be provided to the student, any chance of the blood pressure being used to identify the patient is removed. However, since the blood pressure information (within a certain range) is still provided to the student, the student can still use this information for its intended educational purpose during the surgical operation.

Therefore, in this example, the generating unit 3008 is configured to modify the image data received from data source 5000C in order to reduce the accuracy of the information contained in the detected portion of the data (i.e. reduce the accuracy of the blood pressure reading in this example) such that the modified data from data source 5000C is suitable for transmission to the student.

Data from the data sources 5000A, 5000B and 5000C once processed by apparatus 3000 can therefore be provided to the student in the medical environment. In some examples of the present disclosure, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 may generate instructions to control an external entity or device to modify the data received from the data sources in order to generate the data for transmission to the transmission target. Alternatively, the generating unit 3008 may generate the data for transmission to the transmission target and then provide this modified data to an external entity or device which is configured to transmit the data to the transmission target. Hence, an optional external entity 5002 is illustrated in the system of Figure 5 of the present disclosure which may, optionally, receive the data from the data sources 5000A, 5000B and 5000C. Then, under the control of apparatus 3000, this optional external entity or device 5002 may be configured to either modify the data received from the data sources to generate the data for transmission to the transmission target and/or perform operations to transmit the modified data to the transmission target 5004. This may be particularly effective when a particular type of communication is required to transmit the data to the transmission target 5002, as the apparatus 3000 can choose an external entity or device 5002 to perform the communications with the transmission target 5004 depending on the type of communication which is required.

Of course, the present disclosure is not particularly limited to the specific example described with reference to Figure 6 of the present disclosure. For example, since the generating unit 3008 is configured to generate the data for transmission to the transmission target in accordance with the status information and location information of the transmission target, a change in either the status information and location information of the transmission target may change the nature of the data which is generated by generating unit 3008.

The way in which the generating unit 3008 modifies the first data which has been received may depend at least on the type and format of the data which has been received. In some examples (where the first data is image data) the generating unit 3008 may perform image processing on the first data in order to generate the data for transmission. Alternatively, where the first data is audio data, the generating unit 3008 may perform audio processing on the first data (such as blanking a portion of the audio) in order to generate the data for transmission to the transmission target. Alternatively, where the first data is a text document or other form of document, the generating unit 3008 may perform certain processing on the text document or other form of document in order to redact a certain portion of the document in order to generate data for transmission to the transmission target.

Furthermore, in some examples, the generating unit 3008 may be configured to use a trained model in order to generate the data for transmission. The trained model may be trained on historical data and/or simulated data. Once the model has been trained, the first data received by receiving unit 3002 and the information regarding the transmission target received by receiving unit 3006 of apparatus 3000 can be provided to the trained model as an input. The trained model will then provide a modified version of the first data which can be transmitted to the transmission target. In some examples, the trained model may be a machine learning model or a neural network model. This may be particularly advantageous and enable the generating unit 3008 to rapidly and efficiently generate the data for transmission to the transmission target.

However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard and any suitable method of generating the data for transmission to the transmission target can be used in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure as required.

In some examples of the present disclosure, the generating unit of the apparatus 3000 may be configured to modify the at least one portion of the data in order to bring a sensitivity level of the data (an indication of the type of personal or private information included in the data) into alignment with a permission level of the transmission target (an indication of the type of personal or private data which the transmission target is authorised to receive or access).

Specifically, in some examples of the disclosure, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 may be configured to modify the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of the status information and location information by determining a permission level of the transmission of the target using the at least one of the status information and location information; determining a sensitivity level of the first data in accordance with the at least one portion which has been detected; and modifying the at least one portion having the predetermined characteristic of the data to match the sensitivity level of the data with the permission level of the transmission target.

For example, if the first data (data for transmission) contains a certain type of personal and private information such as vital signs of a patient, then the first data may be assigned a medium sensitivity level (since, it is difficult to identify a patient using the vital signs alone as described with reference to Figure 4 of the present disclosure). However, if the first data contains a second type of personal and private information such as the name and/or address of the patient, then the first data may be assigned a second, higher, sensitivity level (as it is very easy to identify a patient using the name and/or address of the patient). In some examples, the sensitivity level of the first data may be determined based on the sensitivity level of the most sensitive piece of information contained within that data (i.e. the piece of information which is most able to be used in order to identify the patient). However, in other examples, the sensitivity level of the first data may be determined based on a combination of the sensitivity level of the individual pieces of information contained in the first data (e.g. an aggregate value or a sum of the individual values, or the like).

In some examples, the generating unit 3008 may determine the sensitivity level of a piece of information contained in the at least one portion of the data using a look-up table or the like (such as the data table described with reference to Figure 4 of the present disclosure). The generating unit 3008 may determine the permission level of the transmission target based on the status information and the location information of the target. For example, the generating unit may use the status information and the location information of the target to retrieve the permission level of the transmission target from a look-up table or the like. Alternatively, the generating unit 3008 may calculate the permission level of the target based on the information which has been provided (status and location information) in order to determine the permission level. In general, it will be appreciated that the permission level of the transmission target indicates the type of personal information which the transmission level can receive.

As such, a comparison of the permission level of the transmission target with the sensitivity level of the first data may indicate that the sensitivity level of the first data is too high in comparison to the transmission level of the first data (i.e. that the first data contains a type of personal and private information - such as the name and/or address of the patient) which the transmission target is not authorised to receive. Therefore, the generating unit 3008 may modify the first data in order to match the sensitivity level of the data with the permission level of the transmission target. Matching the sensitivity level of the data with the permission level of the transmission target in the present disclosure includes reducing the sensitivity level of the data such that it is equal to or less than the permission level of the transmission target. In some examples, the sensitivity level of the first data may be reduced by removing the information within the portion of the first data which has a sensitivity level exceeding the permission level of the transmission target (e.g. removing the information such as the name and/or address of the patient). However, any suitable method of modifying the first data may be used by generating unit 3008 in order to match the sensitivity level of the first data with the permission level of the transmission target.

Consider, again, the situation described with reference to Figure 6 of the present disclosure. In this example, data from one or more data sources 5000A, 5000B and 5000C is received by apparatus 3000 for transmission to a transmission target 5004. However, in some examples, the data from the one or more data sources 5000A, 5000B and 5000C may be received by apparatus 3000 for transmission to a plurality of transmission targets (including a plurality of independent transmission targets). Apparatus 3000 may receive the request for transmission to a plurality of transmission targets either at the time when the data from the transmission sources is received or, alternatively, at a time later than this (e.g. following a request for the data from a plurality of transmission targets, for example).

When there are a plurality of transmission targets for the first data (the data for transmission) it will be appreciated that the different transmission targets may have different status information and/or different location information (and thus, different permission levels). For example, a first one of the plurality of transmission targets may be located within a first geographical and/or political region (such as region 4000 as described with reference to Figure 5 of the present disclosure). A second of the plurality of transmission targets may be located in a second geographical and/or political region (such as region 4008 as described with reference to Figure 5 of the present disclosure). Accordingly, the first and the second of the plurality of transmission targets may have different location information. This may impact the type of data which the transmission target can receive and thus the type of modification which needs to be performed on the first data in order to generate the data for transmission.

Accordingly, in some examples, the generating unit 3008 may be configured to independently generate data for transmission for each of the transmission targets in accordance with their specific status and location information. In fact, when the transmission target comprises a plurality of independent transmission targets having a respective plurality of permission levels, the generating unit 3008 may be configured to generate data for transmission to each of the independent targets in accordance with their respective permission levels (with the permission level being determined in accordance with the location and status information of the transmission target).

Consider, now, the example of Figure 7A of the present disclosure. Figure 7A illustrates an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied.

In this example, a surgeon may be performing a surgical operation in a hospital 6000. Accordingly, one or more data sources located in the hospital 6000 capture data regarding the surgical operation being performed by the surgeon. During the surgical operation, the surgeon may wish to receive remote medical support from one or more medical professionals located outside of the hospital 6000. Moreover, a number of students may wish to use the data captured by the one or more data sources located in the hospital 6000 for training purposes in order to learn how to perform the surgical operation. Therefore, during the surgical operation being performed by the surgeon 6000, data from the one or more data sources may be provided to apparatus 3000 for transmission to a plurality of transmission sources.

As explained with reference to Figure 2 of the present disclosure, the data from the one or more data sources may contain certain information (such as personal and private information of the patient) which is subject to a number of restrictions or conditions on use which prevent the data from the data sources (first data) from being transmitted directly to the transmission sources. Indeed, the type of restriction or condition on use may vary depending on the location information and the status information of each of the individual transmission targets.

Accordingly, generating unit 3008 is configured to generate data which is suitable for transmission to the transmission targets in accordance with the permission status of the transmission targets (determined from the location information and status information of each of the transmission targets).

Indeed, in this example of Figure 7A of the present disclosure, the plurality of transmission targets may include transmission target 6002, 6004, 6006 and 6008. As illustrated in Figure 7A of the present disclosure, each of these transmission targets may have a different permission status. Indeed, in this example, transmission target 6002 has the highest permission status while transmission target 6008 has the lowest permission status. Transmission target 6002 may be a professor or other medical professional (who requires unrestricted access to a vast amount of the first data) while transmission target 6008 may be a student (who requires access only to a portion of the first data necessary to understand the steps in the surgical operation from a training perspective).

In this example, the generating unit 3008 may thus generate a specific version of the data for transmission for each of the individual transmission targets in accordance with their respective permission levels.

This is particularly advantageous as each transmission target can then receive a individually tailored version of the first data which complies with the necessary conditions and restrictions of use of the first data which apply to that transmission target based on its location and status information.

However, in some examples, the generating unit 3008 may be configured to perform a modification of the first data in order to generate a version of the first data which is suitable for transmission to each of the plurality of transmission targets. Specifically, when the transmission target comprises a plurality of independent targets having a respective plurality of permission levels, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 may be configured to modify the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic in accordance with the permission level of the target having the lowest permission status amongst the plurality of independent targets (where the permission level of the target is determined based on the location information and/or the status information of each individual transmission target).

Consider, now, Figure 7B of the present disclosure. Figure 7B illustrates an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied. Indeed, the example situation in Figure 7B of the present disclosure is the same as described with reference to Figure 7A of the present disclosure (details of this situation will not be repeated for brevity of the disclosure). However, in contrast to the situation described with reference to Figure 7A of the present disclosure, in this example (described with reference to Figure 7B of the present disclosure) the generating unit 3008 may be configured to generate a version of the first data as data for transmission to the transmission targets in the medical environment which can be transmitted to each of the transmission targets at the same time.

Here, the transmission target with the lowest permission level is transmission target 6008. This can be seen in Figure 7B of the present disclosure, where the permission levels of transmission targets 6006, 6004 and 6002 are respectively higher than the permission level of the transmission target 6008. Accordingly, the generating unit 3008 may be configured to select the permission level of the transmission target with the lowest permission level (i.e. the permission level of transmission target 6008) as the permission level 6010 to be used when generating the data for transmission. In other words, the permission level of the transmission target having the lowest permission level from amongst the plurality of transmission targets is selected as a representative permission level to be used in generating the data for transmission.

Generating unit 3008 may then generate the data for transmission to the plurality of transmission targets using this representative permission level 6010. The data for transmission in the medical environment generated by generating unit 3008 is then suitable for transmission to all of the plurality of individual transmission targets.

Advantageously, in this example, only a single variation of the first data needs to be prepared by apparatus 3000. Therefore, the use of a representative transmission level in order to generate data which can be transmitted to a plurality of transmission targets is particularly efficient and effective.

However, in some examples, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 may be configured to perform a modification of the first data in order to generate a version of the first data which is suitable for transmission to at least a portion of the plurality of transmission targets. That is, in the example of Figure 7B of the present disclosure, a single version of data for transmission is produced based on the permission level of the transmission target with the lowest transmission level. However, it may be that the version of the data for transmission produced in this way is too restricted for use for the intended purpose of one or more of the transmission targets having a higher permission level. Consider, for example, that the transmission target 6008 is a student, and the student is restricted from receiving an accurate version of the vital signs of the patient. Generating unit 3008 may then generate a version of the data for transmission to the plurality of transmission targets which has been modified such that the information regarding the vital signs of the patient has been removed or modified such that it is less accurate (such that it is no longer considered as private and personal information). While this modified version of the first data (i.e. the data for transmission) may then be suitable for transmission to all of the transmission targets (being no longer subject to restrictions or conditions of use), it will be appreciated that transmission target 6002 (being a professor or other medical professional providing remote medical assistance during treatment of the patient) may actually require the original information regarding the vital signs of the patient. Therefore, the modified version of the data (where the vital signs of the patient had been removed, or where the accuracy of the vital signs had been reduced) may not provide the transmission target 6002 with enough information in order provide appropriate medical assistance.

Hence, in certain embodiments of the disclosure, generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 may generate a version of the first data which is suitable for transmission to at least a portion of the plurality of transmission targets. Specifically, in some examples where the transmission target comprises a plurality of independent transmission targets having a respective plurality of permission levels, generating unit 3008 may be configured to remove at least one of the plurality of independent transmission targets having a respective permission level below a predetermined threshold value before generating the data for transmission.

Consider the example of Figure 7C of the present disclosure. Figure 7C illustrates an example situation to which embodiments of the disclosure may be applied. Indeed, the example situation in Figure 7C of the present disclosure is the same as described with reference to Figure 7A and 7B of the present disclosure (details of this situation will not be repeated for brevity of the disclosure).

In this example, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 may set a threshold level T which is the minimum sensitivity level of the data which is required by the transmission target 6002 (corresponding to a medical professional providing remote medical support from a first location in this example). If the sensitivity level of the data is reduced below this threshold value, then the data which is provided to the transmission target 6002 will not be suitable for its intended purpose (i.e. for the medical professional to perform remote medical support). Therefore, this is the minimum sensitivity level to which the data can be reduced during modification by the generating unit 3008.

Transmission targets 6002 and 6004 have a permission level above this threshold sensitivity level. Therefore, if the data is modified based on this representative threshold value, transmission targets 6002 and 6004 will be able to receive the data. However, transmission targets 6006 and 6008 have a permission level below the threshold sensitivity level which is required. Therefore, if the data is modified based on this representative threshold value, transmission targets 6006 and 6008 will not have the necessary permission level in order to receive this data.

Thus, in this example, the generating unit 3008 is configured to remove the transmission targets 6006 and 6008 from the plurality of transmission targets. These transmission targets will not be able to receive the data from apparatus 3000. However, for the remaining transmission targets (6002 and 6004 in this example) a single variation of the data can be generated by generating unit 3008 for transmission. This provides a particularly efficient and effect method of generating the data for transmission (as only a single variation of the data needs to be produced for the remaining transmission targets) while ensuring that the transmission targets which receive the modified data will be able to use that data for the intended purpose (as the sensitivity level of the data has only been reduced to a threshold value).

Furthermore, in some examples, individual variations of the data may be generated by generating unit 3008 for the transmission targets which have been removed from the plurality of transmission targets (i.e. transmission targets 6006 and 6008 in this specific example) based on the location information and status information of those individual transmission targets, such that even the transmission targets which have been removed from the plurality of transmission targets can receive a version of the data. Nevertheless, because at least a portion of the transmission targets (namely 6002 and 6004) receive a single variation of the data, the efficiency and effectiveness of the generation of the data for transmission in the medical environment can be improved.

In fact, in some examples, a single second variation of the data for transmission may be generated for the transmission targets which have been removed from the plurality of transmission targets based on a representative permission level of these removed transmission targets (e.g. based on the lowest permission level of the transmission targets which have been removed from the plurality of transmission targets). In this way, two variations of the data may be produced by generating unit 3008; a first variation have a sensitivity level at or above a threshold value for at least a portion of the plurality of transmission targets which have a permission level high enough to receive this data and a second variation for the remaining transmission targets which has a reduced sensitivity level (with more data removed or modified) such that it can be received by these remaining transmission targets with a lower permission level. In this way, an appropriate variation of the data for the respective transmission targets can be generated efficiently and effectively.

Of course, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not particularly limited to these examples described with reference to Figures 7A, 7B and 7C of the present disclosure. In particular, the number of transmission targets to which the data should be transmitted once received from the data sources may be significantly higher than the four transmission targets described with reference to these examples.

In this way, the generating unit 3008 of apparatus 3000 can generate data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

In accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, apparatus 3000 is able to generate data suitable for transmission to a transmission target in a medical environment by modifying the data received from a data source in accordance with information regarding the transmission target.

By generating the data for transmission in this way, apparatus 3000 is able to generate data which can be transmitted to the target even when certain restrictions or conditions of use prohibit the data from being transmitted in a native form to the transmission target. Moreover, by generating the data which can be transmitted to the transmission target in this way, apparatus 3000 can ensure that the data can still be used for its intended purpose when it is received by the transmission target. Embodiments of the disclosure are particularly advantageous in a medical environment, as appropriate data which can be used for its intended purpose to provide medical support, assistance or training can be efficiently and effectively produced even when the data from the data sources comprises personal and private information (or other information subject to restrictions or conditions of use).

Figure 8 illustrates a method in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The method illustrated in Figure 8 of the present disclosure is a method of generating data for transmission in a medical environment, and may be performed by an apparatus such as apparatus 3000 described with reference to Figure 3 of the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard.

The method starts at step S8000 and proceeds to step S8002.

In step S8002, the method comprises receiving first data for transmission from at least one data source.

In step S8004, the method comprises analysing the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic.

Once the first data has been analysed in step S8004, the method proceeds to step S8006.

In step S8006, the method comprises receiving information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

The method then proceeds to step S8008.

In step S8008, the method comprises generating data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

The method then proceeds to, and ends with, step S8010.

Of course, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not particularly limited to the example method illustrated in Figure 8 of the present disclosure. For example, a number of the steps of the method may be performed either in sequence or in parallel. Analysis of the first data may be performed at the same time as the information of the transmission target is received, for example. Moreover, while the method of Figure 8 of the present disclosure proceeds to step S8010 once the data for transmission to the target has been generated, the method may alternatively comprise returning to the step S8002 where further data for transmission is received. In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure may be arranged in accordance with the following numbered clauses:

1. A method of generating data for transmission in a medical environment, the method comprising: receiving first data for transmission from at least one data source; analysing the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receiving information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generating data for transmission to the target in the medical environment by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

2. The method according to clause 1, wherein modifying the at least one portion of the data comprises editing the at least one portion of the data to remove the at least one predetermined characteristic.

3. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein the first data comprises at least one of a picture, a video, an audio recording, a document and text information, and wherein editing the at least one portion of the data to remove the at least one predetermined characteristic comprises blurring the first data.

4. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein modifying the at least one portion of the data comprises editing the at least one portion of the data to reduce the accuracy of the at least one portion of the data to a predetermined threshold value.

5. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic comprises at least one of data which enables a person to be identified, data indicating a name of a patient, data indicating location information of a patient, data indicating a home address of a patient, data indicating an email address of the patient, data indicating an IP address of a patient, data indicating an advertising identifier of a patient’s phone, data indicating a medical record of a patient, and data indicating vital signs of a patient.

6. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein the vital signs of the patient include at least one of blood pressure, body temperature, oxygen saturation, respiration rate and pulse rate.

7. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein modifying the at least one portion of the data comprises deleting the at least one portion of the data. 8. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein the method comprises analysing the first data in accordance with at least one of the accuracy of the data, a recognition level of the data and a dependency of the data on second data, and detecting the at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic when a result of the analysis exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

9. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein analysing the first data to detect the at least one portion of the first data having the predetermined characteristic comprises use of a trained model.

10. The method according to clause 9, wherein the trained model is a machine learning or neural network model.

11. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein the additional information comprising location information of the target includes one or more of information regarding a region in which the target is located, Global Navigation Satellite System information or IP address information.

12. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein the method comprises acquiring information indicating the transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data when a request for the first data is received.

13. The method according to any preceding clause, wherein modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of the status information and location information comprises: determining a permission level of the transmission of the target using the at least one of the status information and location information; determining a sensitivity level of the first data in accordance with the at least one portion which has been detected; and modifying the at least one portion having the predetermined characteristic of the data to match the sensitivity level of the data with the permission level of the transmission target.

14. The method according to clause 13, wherein when the transmission target comprises a plurality of independent targets having a respective plurality of permission levels, the method comprises modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic in accordance with the permission level of the target having the lowest permission status amongst the plurality of independent targets.

15. The method according to clause 13, wherein when the transmission target comprises a plurality of independent transmission targets having a respective plurality of permission levels, the method comprises generating data for transmission to each of the independent targets in accordance with their respective permission levels.

16. The method according to clause 13, wherein when the transmission target comprises a plurality of independent transmission targets having a respective plurality of permission levels, the method comprises removing at least one of the plurality of independent transmission targets having a respective permission level below a predetermined threshold value.

17. An apparatus for generating data for transmission in a medical environment, the apparatus comprising circuitry configured to: receive first data for transmission from at least one data source; analyse the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receive information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generate data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

18. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when the instructions are implemented by the computer, cause the computer to perform a method of generating data for transmission in a medical environment, the method comprising: receiving first data for transmission from at least one data source; analysing the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receiving information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generating data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target. Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

In so far as embodiments of the disclosure have been described as being implemented, at least in part, by software-controlled data processing apparatus, it will be appreciated that a non-transitory machine- readable medium carrying such software, such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, semiconductor memory or the like, is also considered to represent an embodiment of the present disclosure.

It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity has described embodiments with reference to different functional units, circuitry and/or processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, circuitry and/or processors may be used without detracting from the embodiments.

Described embodiments may be implemented in any suitable form including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. Described embodiments may optionally be implemented at least partly as computer software running on one or more data processors and/or digital signal processors. The elements and components of any embodiment may be physically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way. Indeed the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of other functional units. As such, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in a single unit or may be physically and functionally distributed between different units, circuitry and/or processors.

Although the present disclosure has been described in connection with some embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. Additionally, although a feature may appear to be described in connection with particular embodiments, one skilled in the art would recognize that various features of the described embodiments may be combined in any manner suitable to implement the technique.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1) A method of generating data for transmission in a medical environment, the method comprising: receiving first data for transmission from at least one data source; analysing the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receiving information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generating data for transmission to the target in the medical environment by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

2) The method according to claim 1, wherein modifying the at least one portion of the data comprises editing the at least one portion of the data to remove the at least one predetermined characteristic.

3) The method according to claim 1, wherein the first data comprises at least one of a picture, a video, an audio recording, a document and text information, and wherein editing the at least one portion of the data to remove the at least one predetermined characteristic comprises blurring the first data.

4) The method according to claim 1, wherein modifying the at least one portion of the data comprises editing the at least one portion of the data to reduce the accuracy of the at least one portion of the data to a predetermined threshold value.

5) The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic comprises at least one of data which enables a person to be identified, data indicating a name of a patient, data indicating location information of a patient, data indicating a home address of a patient, data indicating an email address of the patient, data indicating an IP address of a patient, data indicating an advertising identifier of a patient’s phone, data indicating a medical record of a patient, and data indicating vital signs of a patient.

6) The method according to claim 5, wherein the vital signs of the patient include at least one of blood pressure, body temperature, oxygen saturation, respiration rate and pulse rate.

7) The method according to claim 1, wherein modifying the at least one portion of the data comprises deleting the at least one portion of the data.

8) The method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises analysing the first data in accordance with at least one of the accuracy of the data, a recognition level of the data and a dependency of the data on second data, and detecting the at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic when a result of the analysis exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

9) The method according to claim 1, wherein analysing the first data to detect the at least one portion of the first data having the predetermined characteristic comprises use of a trained model.

10) The method according to claim 9, wherein the trained model is a machine learning or neural network model.

11) The method according to claim 1, wherein the additional information comprising location information of the target includes one or more of information regarding a region in which the target is located, Global Navigation Satellite System information or IP address information.

12) The method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises acquiring information indicating the transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data when a request for the first data is received.

13) The method according to claim 1, wherein modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of the status information and location information comprises: determining a permission level of the transmission of the target using the at least one of the status information and location information; determining a sensitivity level of the first data in accordance with the at least one portion which has been detected; and modifying the at least one portion having the predetermined characteristic of the data to match the sensitivity level of the data with the permission level of the transmission target.

14) The method according to claim 13, wherein when the transmission target comprises a plurality of independent targets having a respective plurality of permission levels, the method comprises modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic in accordance with the permission level of the target having the lowest permission status amongst the plurality of independent targets.

15) The method according to claim 13, wherein when the transmission target comprises a plurality of independent transmission targets having a respective plurality of permission levels, the method comprises generating data for transmission to each of the independent targets in accordance with their respective permission levels. 16) The method according to claim 13, wherein when the transmission target comprises a plurality of independent transmission targets having a respective plurality of permission levels, the method comprises removing at least one of the plurality of independent transmission targets having a respective permission level below a predetermined threshold value.

17) An apparatus for generating data for transmission in a medical environment, the apparatus comprising circuitry configured to: receive first data for transmission from at least one data source; analyse the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receive information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generate data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.

18) A computer program product comprising instructions which, when the instructions are implemented by the computer, cause the computer to perform a method of generating data for transmission in a medical environment, the method comprising: receiving first data for transmission from at least one data source; analysing the first data to detect at least one portion of the first data having a predetermined characteristic; receiving information indicating a transmission target of the first data and additional information of the transmission target of the first data, the additional information comprising at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target; and generating data for transmission to the target in the medical network by modifying the at least one portion of the data having the predetermined characteristic based on the at least one of status information and location information of the transmission target.