EP2238552A1 - Telemedicine unit - Google Patents

Telemedicine unit

Info

Publication number
EP2238552A1
EP2238552A1 EP09705767A EP09705767A EP2238552A1 EP 2238552 A1 EP2238552 A1 EP 2238552A1 EP 09705767 A EP09705767 A EP 09705767A EP 09705767 A EP09705767 A EP 09705767A EP 2238552 A1 EP2238552 A1 EP 2238552A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
doctor
unit
patient
telemedicine
telemedicine unit
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP09705767A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Kurt Christensen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Medisat AS
Original Assignee
Medisat AS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Medisat AS filed Critical Medisat AS
Publication of EP2238552A1 publication Critical patent/EP2238552A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
    • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
    • G16H40/00—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices
    • G16H40/60—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices
    • G16H40/67—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the operation of medical equipment or devices for remote operation

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a portable telemedicine unit e.g. for use in private homes by a patient for receiving remote treatment from a doctor via a public communication network.
  • Video communication is a known technology, but it requires that the user has at his or her disposal a computer configured to transfer data to and from the hospital. Elderly people often do not have or know how to operate a computer, meaning that the patients have to go to the hospital or a medical clinic every time they need to have a test taken or to be hospitalized in periods where multiple testing of the patient is necessary.
  • the hospitals are today more than ever experiencing a constant demand for more resources. This is especially because of lack of space e.g. shortage of hospital beds and a lack of doctors. An easier way to monitor patients at home, especially chronically diseased patient, would relief the hospitals and the doctors.
  • the object of the invention is to solve the problems described above.
  • a portable telemedicine unit e.g. for use in private homes by a patient for obtaining a visual communication and receiving remote treatment from a doctor via a public communication network, wherein said unit is communicatively connected to different medical equipment, said unit comprises:
  • the unit could be shaped as a suitcase which makes it possible to have live videoconferences as well as real time data transmissions from medico technical equipments that are plugged in via both cable connections and wireless technologies.
  • the patient can be monitored at home and treated by a specialized doctor or nurse from the hospital.
  • the telemedicine unit can be combined with various means of medico technical equipment which can be read and remotely controlled by the one in charge of the treatment, e.g. the doctor.
  • the patient and doctor can, at the same time, see and talk to each other via a built-in screen and microphone. In this way, the patients will experience the same close personal contact with the doctor as when admitted to the hospital, but in the comfortable environment of their own home.
  • the telemedicine unit also includes RFID technology in the touch panel which enables the doctor to easily view what kinds of medicine has been prescribed to the patient via the RFID tags that are tagged to all prescribed medicine. This simplifies the prescription of medicine to the patient.
  • the telemedicine unit also has the possibility of connection of an extra camera, e.g. with an enlargement part if such one is needed in the consultation with the doctor.
  • the telemedicine unit has a headphone outlet which enables the connection of a teleloop, whereby the communication system can also be used for hearing-disabled people.
  • the invention also comprises a doctor-section of the communication system which is made up of a specially modified telemedicine workstation, which contains all the necessary applications for dial-up video consultation and data retrievement from the patient-section.
  • figure 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating the communication system
  • figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a communication sequence between the doctor and the patient
  • figure 3 is a schematic drawing of the portable telemedicine unit
  • figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the methodology in the router when determining which network to use.
  • Figure 1 illustrates a two-way communication setup where a patient is communicating with his or her doctor.
  • a patient 101 with the portable telemedicine unit shaped as a suitcase 102 open in front of him or her communicates via a connection 104 - cable or wireless - with the doctor 103.
  • the communication would typically be via a public communication network such as the internet, and a secure communication line could be obtained e.g. by using virtual private network (VPN).
  • VPN virtual private network
  • the telemedicine unit is set up to connect both via a number of available cable connections and available wireless technologies 104.
  • a telemedicine unit is installed at the patient's home.
  • cable connection e.g. ADSL
  • wireless technologies e.g. Clearwire, 3G 1 NMT or satellite can be used.
  • the telemedicine unit is setup to switch from cable connection to wireless technology if the cable connection is disrupted.
  • the doctor-section of the communication system is made up of a specially modified telemedicine workstation, which contains all the necessary applications for dial-up video consultation and data retrievement from the patient-section.
  • the telemedicine unit With the telemedicine unit the patient can be monitored at home and treated by a specialized doctor or nurse from the hospital.
  • the telemedicine unit can be combined with various means of medico technical equipment which can be read and remotely controlled by the one in charge of the treatment, e.g. the doctor.
  • the patient and doctor can, at the same time, see and talk to each other via a built-in screen and microphone. In this way, the patients will experience the same close personal contact with the doctor as when admitted to the hospital, but in the comfortable environment of their own home.
  • the telemedicine unit also includes RFID technology in the touch panel which enables the doctor to easily view what kinds of medicine has been prescribed to the patient via the RFID tags that are tagged to all prescribed medicine. This simplifies the prescription of medicine to the patient.
  • the telemedicine unit also has the possibility of connection of an extra camera, e.g. with an enlargement part if such one is needed in the consultation with the doctor.
  • the telemedicine unit has a headphone outlet which enables the connection of a teleloop, whereby the communication system can also be used for hearing-disabled people.
  • Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the steps involved in one preferred embodiment when a heart patient has been discharged from the hospital, but still needs daily blood pressure and EKG measurements. The patient turns on the telemedicine unit and contact to the doctor is initiated
  • the doctor instructs the patient on how to apply the equipment for the blood pressure measurement 202 and verifies that the equipment is correctly applied via the camera integrated in the telemedicine unit.
  • the doctor then initiates measurement of the blood pressure 203 from his location.
  • the patient removes the equipment for the blood pressure measurement and attaches the new equipment for measuring the EKG as instructed by the doctor 204. Again the doctor verifies that the new equipment is attached correctly before initiating the measurement 205.
  • the patient removes the equipment.
  • the doctor and the patient afterwards discuss the results of both measurements 206 and agree upon how to proceed from there. Finally, the contact is terminated 207.
  • the applied medical equipment is of cause of different origin than the ones mentioned above.
  • the telemedicine unit comprises a loudspeaker 305 (SPK), a microphone 307 (MIC) and a display 311 (DSP) for the interactive communication between the patient and the doctor situated at remote locations.
  • the loudspeaker 305 (SPK), microphone 307 (MIC), and display 311 (DSP) are connected to a video unit 309 (V_U) receiving a video signal and distributing the content of this signal to these devices.
  • the video unit 309 (V_U) is also connected to a router 313 (R) for transferring video content to and from the telemedicine unit.
  • the router 313 (R) also transfers data to and from the connected medical equipment and an input for control parameters from the doctor's PC 303 controlling the medical equipment connected to the telemedicine unit.
  • the above mentioned communication could be obtained by connecting the router 313 (R) to a RS 232 server 315 (RS232 S), which is connected to a multiplex board 317 (MUX).
  • the multiplex board 317 (MUX) is controllable from the doctor's PC and can switch between the different RS 232 connections 319, 321 , 323, 325, which each e.g. may be connected to a Bluetooth device or the previously mentioned RFID tag. Via the RS232 connections it is possible to connect the medical equipment to the telemedicine unit.
  • the data connection, communication and data transfer 302 may be in the form of Edge, 3G, WIFI (Hotspots etc.), Ethernet, ordinary broadband, satellite and router or switch.
  • the doctor's PC 303 at the hospital comprises software which makes it possible to control the telemedicine unit and especially to transmit video and audio information, control the audio, volume, and to control the medical equipment.
  • the doctor's PC 303 could communicate via a router.
  • FIG 4 a schematic diagram illustrating the methodology in the router 313 (R) is shown, where a primary and secondary connection is read 403 (R PC & SC) after the router is started 401 (S).
  • the read parameters, a primary connection ID and a secondary connection ID have been saved in a database 405 (PCJD + SCJD).
  • the router waits for the primary connection 407 (WJ 3 C) in a predefined time interval and at timeout a check on the primary connection is performed 409 (C_O?).
  • connection with the primary connection 407 WJ 3 C
  • the system uses the secondary connection 411 (U_SC). If the answer is positive (Y) and the primary connection is established 413 (U_PC), the procedure ends 415 (E).

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable telemedicine unit e.g. for use in private homes by a patient for receiving remote treatment from a doctor via a public communication network, wherein said unit is communicatively connected to different medical equipment, said unit comprises: - means for receiving instructions from a doctor performing said treatment, - means for transmitting data from said medical equipment to said doctor based on said received instructions.

Description

Telemedicine unit
The present invention relates to a portable telemedicine unit e.g. for use in private homes by a patient for receiving remote treatment from a doctor via a public communication network.
Background
The majority of patients do not wish to be admitted to a hospital for longer time than necessary, but patients with chronicle diseases e.g. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease patients (COPD), heart-patients, diabetics and people with asthma often experience frequent and long-term admittance to a hospital because sending them home is too risky for their health. Patients suffering from a chronicle disease need to have taken a lot of clinical tests, sometimes several times a day, which is inconvenient for the patients if they have to go to the hospital every time a test has to be taken. Instead hospitalization is often the result, but this is inconvenient for both the patient - because of exclusion from everyday life, the hospital - because the patient takes up a hospital bed and the society - because of the cost associated with a hospitalization.
An important thing when performing clinical tests is visual contact between the doctor and the patient; if the patients on his or her own should operate the medico technical devices, a great risk of false results would appear. Video communication is a known technology, but it requires that the user has at his or her disposal a computer configured to transfer data to and from the hospital. Elderly people often do not have or know how to operate a computer, meaning that the patients have to go to the hospital or a medical clinic every time they need to have a test taken or to be hospitalized in periods where multiple testing of the patient is necessary.
The hospitals are today more than ever experiencing a constant demand for more resources. This is especially because of lack of space e.g. shortage of hospital beds and a lack of doctors. An easier way to monitor patients at home, especially chronically diseased patient, would relief the hospitals and the doctors.
Object and description of the invention
The object of the invention is to solve the problems described above.
This is obtained by a portable telemedicine unit e.g. for use in private homes by a patient for obtaining a visual communication and receiving remote treatment from a doctor via a public communication network, wherein said unit is communicatively connected to different medical equipment, said unit comprises:
- means for receiving instructions from a doctor performing said treatment, - means for transmitting data from said medical equipment to said doctor based on said received instructions.
The unit could be shaped as a suitcase which makes it possible to have live videoconferences as well as real time data transmissions from medico technical equipments that are plugged in via both cable connections and wireless technologies.
With the telemedicine unit the patient can be monitored at home and treated by a specialized doctor or nurse from the hospital. The telemedicine unit can be combined with various means of medico technical equipment which can be read and remotely controlled by the one in charge of the treatment, e.g. the doctor. The patient and doctor can, at the same time, see and talk to each other via a built-in screen and microphone. In this way, the patients will experience the same close personal contact with the doctor as when admitted to the hospital, but in the comfortable environment of their own home. In one embodiment, the telemedicine unit also includes RFID technology in the touch panel which enables the doctor to easily view what kinds of medicine has been prescribed to the patient via the RFID tags that are tagged to all prescribed medicine. This simplifies the prescription of medicine to the patient.
In another embodiment the telemedicine unit also has the possibility of connection of an extra camera, e.g. with an enlargement part if such one is needed in the consultation with the doctor.
In another embodiment the telemedicine unit has a headphone outlet which enables the connection of a teleloop, whereby the communication system can also be used for hearing-disabled people.
The invention also comprises a doctor-section of the communication system which is made up of a specially modified telemedicine workstation, which contains all the necessary applications for dial-up video consultation and data retrievement from the patient-section.
Brief description of the drawings
In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described referring to the figures, where
figure 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating the communication system,
figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a communication sequence between the doctor and the patient,
figure 3 is a schematic drawing of the portable telemedicine unit, figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the methodology in the router when determining which network to use.
Description of preferred embodiments Figure 1 illustrates a two-way communication setup where a patient is communicating with his or her doctor. A patient 101 with the portable telemedicine unit shaped as a suitcase 102 open in front of him or her communicates via a connection 104 - cable or wireless - with the doctor 103. The communication would typically be via a public communication network such as the internet, and a secure communication line could be obtained e.g. by using virtual private network (VPN).
In an embodiment, for the patient 101 to communicate with the doctor 103 the patient needs to open the suitcase 102 and press one button in the touch panel 106 to immediately receive visual contact with the doctor 103 through the doctor's computer system 105. In order to always ensure that contact between the patient and the doctor is possible, the telemedicine unit is set up to connect both via a number of available cable connections and available wireless technologies 104.
E.g. prior to discharging patients with, for example, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) from the hospital a telemedicine unit is installed at the patient's home. For connection of the telemedicine unit both cable connection e.g. ADSL and wireless technologies e.g. Clearwire, 3G1 NMT or satellite can be used. The telemedicine unit is setup to switch from cable connection to wireless technology if the cable connection is disrupted.
The doctor-section of the communication system is made up of a specially modified telemedicine workstation, which contains all the necessary applications for dial-up video consultation and data retrievement from the patient-section. With the telemedicine unit the patient can be monitored at home and treated by a specialized doctor or nurse from the hospital. The telemedicine unit can be combined with various means of medico technical equipment which can be read and remotely controlled by the one in charge of the treatment, e.g. the doctor. The patient and doctor can, at the same time, see and talk to each other via a built-in screen and microphone. In this way, the patients will experience the same close personal contact with the doctor as when admitted to the hospital, but in the comfortable environment of their own home.
The telemedicine unit also includes RFID technology in the touch panel which enables the doctor to easily view what kinds of medicine has been prescribed to the patient via the RFID tags that are tagged to all prescribed medicine. This simplifies the prescription of medicine to the patient.
The telemedicine unit also has the possibility of connection of an extra camera, e.g. with an enlargement part if such one is needed in the consultation with the doctor.
The telemedicine unit has a headphone outlet which enables the connection of a teleloop, whereby the communication system can also be used for hearing-disabled people.
Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the steps involved in one preferred embodiment when a heart patient has been discharged from the hospital, but still needs daily blood pressure and EKG measurements. The patient turns on the telemedicine unit and contact to the doctor is initiated
201. The doctor instructs the patient on how to apply the equipment for the blood pressure measurement 202 and verifies that the equipment is correctly applied via the camera integrated in the telemedicine unit. The doctor then initiates measurement of the blood pressure 203 from his location. When the measurement is finished, the patient removes the equipment for the blood pressure measurement and attaches the new equipment for measuring the EKG as instructed by the doctor 204. Again the doctor verifies that the new equipment is attached correctly before initiating the measurement 205. When the EKG measurement is finished, the patient removes the equipment. The doctor and the patient afterwards discuss the results of both measurements 206 and agree upon how to proceed from there. Finally, the contact is terminated 207. In the case where the patient is suffering from a different disease than heart disease the applied medical equipment is of cause of different origin than the ones mentioned above.
In figure 3 a schematic drawing of the telemedicine unit is illustrated. The telemedicine unit comprises a loudspeaker 305 (SPK), a microphone 307 (MIC) and a display 311 (DSP) for the interactive communication between the patient and the doctor situated at remote locations. The loudspeaker 305 (SPK), microphone 307 (MIC), and display 311 (DSP) are connected to a video unit 309 (V_U) receiving a video signal and distributing the content of this signal to these devices. The video unit 309 (V_U) is also connected to a router 313 (R) for transferring video content to and from the telemedicine unit.
The router 313 (R) also transfers data to and from the connected medical equipment and an input for control parameters from the doctor's PC 303 controlling the medical equipment connected to the telemedicine unit.
The above mentioned communication could be obtained by connecting the router 313 (R) to a RS 232 server 315 (RS232 S), which is connected to a multiplex board 317 (MUX). The multiplex board 317 (MUX) is controllable from the doctor's PC and can switch between the different RS 232 connections 319, 321 , 323, 325, which each e.g. may be connected to a Bluetooth device or the previously mentioned RFID tag. Via the RS232 connections it is possible to connect the medical equipment to the telemedicine unit.
The data connection, communication and data transfer 302 may be in the form of Edge, 3G, WIFI (Hotspots etc.), Ethernet, ordinary broadband, satellite and router or switch.
The doctor's PC 303 at the hospital comprises software which makes it possible to control the telemedicine unit and especially to transmit video and audio information, control the audio, volume, and to control the medical equipment. The doctor's PC 303 could communicate via a router.
In figure 4 a schematic diagram illustrating the methodology in the router 313 (R) is shown, where a primary and secondary connection is read 403 (R PC & SC) after the router is started 401 (S).
The read parameters, a primary connection ID and a secondary connection ID have been saved in a database 405 (PCJD + SCJD).
The router waits for the primary connection 407 (WJ3C) in a predefined time interval and at timeout a check on the primary connection is performed 409 (C_O?).
If the answer is negative (N) - a connection is not obtained, it uses the secondary connection 411 (U_SC) and waits for the primary connection 407 (WJ3C) again and checks if a connection is obtained 409 (C_O?).
If connection with the primary connection 407 (WJ3C) is not obtained, the system uses the secondary connection 411 (U_SC). If the answer is positive (Y) and the primary connection is established 413 (U_PC), the procedure ends 415 (E).

Claims

Claims
1. A portable telemedicine unit e.g. for use in private homes by a patient for receiving remote treatment from a doctor via a public communication network, wherein said unit is communicatively connected to different medical equipment, said unit comprises:
- means for receiving instructions from a doctor performing said treatment,
- means for transmitting data from said medical equipment to said doctor based on said received instructions.
2. A portable telemedicine unit according to claim 1 , wherein said unit further comprises means for detecting the protocols available for communicating on said public communication network and adjusting the method of communicating accordingly.
3. A portable telemedicine unit according to claim 1 , wherein said unit further comprises RFID technology
4. A portable telemedicine unit according to claim 1 , wherein said unit further comprises means for connecting.
5. A portable telemedicine unit according to claim 1 , wherein said unit further comprises a headphone outlet which enables the connection of a teleloop.
EP09705767A 2008-01-31 2009-02-02 Telemedicine unit Withdrawn EP2238552A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DK200800018U DK200800018U3 (en) 2008-01-31 2008-01-31 Patient case for remote communication
DKPA200801515A DK178789B1 (en) 2008-01-31 2008-11-04 telemedicine Unit
PCT/DK2009/000024 WO2009095021A1 (en) 2008-01-31 2009-02-02 Telemedicine unit

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2238552A1 true EP2238552A1 (en) 2010-10-13

Family

ID=39223109

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP09705767A Withdrawn EP2238552A1 (en) 2008-01-31 2009-02-02 Telemedicine unit

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP2238552A1 (en)
DK (2) DK200800018U3 (en)
WO (1) WO2009095021A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10089443B2 (en) 2012-05-15 2018-10-02 Baxter International Inc. Home medical device systems and methods for therapy prescription and tracking, servicing and inventory
US10779733B2 (en) 2015-10-16 2020-09-22 At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. Telemedicine application of video analysis and motion augmentation

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6539281B2 (en) * 2001-04-23 2003-03-25 Accenture Global Services Gmbh Online medicine cabinet
US20020186243A1 (en) * 2001-06-06 2002-12-12 Robert Ellis Method and system for providing combined video and physiological data over a communication network for patient monitoring
DE60322560D1 (en) * 2002-10-09 2008-09-11 Estron As TELELOOP SYSTEM
US8002701B2 (en) * 2006-03-10 2011-08-23 Angel Medical Systems, Inc. Medical alarm and communication system and methods
US20070219830A1 (en) * 2006-03-16 2007-09-20 Warner Adrian F System and method of remote care on-line monitoring

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO2009095021A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DK200800018U3 (en) 2008-03-28
DK178789B1 (en) 2017-02-06
WO2009095021A1 (en) 2009-08-06
DK200801515A (en) 2009-08-01

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