Patent Application
20150190208
The present disclosure relates generally to medical equipment and, more particularly, to user interfaces that enable the identification and/or selection of information associated with the use of the medical equipment.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
An end-user (e.g., clinician or health care provider) utilizing medical equipment (e.g., administration of a particular protocol) may define event markers. These event markers indicate important interventions or steps during a medical procedure. For example, a cardiac procedure (e.g., bypass) may include a variety of steps such as endotracheal intubation, inducing hypothermia, clamping arteries, replacing valves, and/or recovery. Also, these event markers may be linked to reimbursement codes that enable health care providers to charge for specific interventions or events. As a result, making event markers readily available to a health care provider may have important economic consequences. However, different users and different procedures require different event markers. Typically, a large number of event markers are created making it difficult for the user to locate and select the correct marker during a procedure. Often times, the desired event marker may be buried among multiple markers, making selection of a marker a frustrating experience for the user, and, in some cases, preventing the use of the event markers, which may diminish the economic value of utilizing event markers in seeking reimbursement, thus reducing the value of the medical monitoring system.
Advantages of the disclosed techniques may become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
One or more specific embodiments of the present techniques will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Also, as used herein, the term “over” or “above” refers to a component location on a sensor that is closer to patient tissue when the sensor is applied to the patient.
The present embodiments relate to a system that facilitates user interaction with a patient monitoring system and associated medical devices. For example, the system may include a user interface (e.g., touchscreen or touch-free gesture recognition user interface) that facilitates the identification of a specific user, identification and/or selection of specific procedures (e.g., coronary bypass artery surgery or graft or any other procedure), and/or the identification and/or selection of specific event markers (e.g., potential steps to be performed during a procedure) associated with a specific procedure and/or user. The user interface may be coupled to one or more medical devices of the patient monitoring system or integrated within one or more of the medical devices. The user interface may recognize or detect specific gestures that enable the identification and/or selection of the user, procedure, and other information. Once identified, the patient monitoring system may retrieve and display event markers and/or settings (e.g., patient monitoring or medical device settings such as display settings, alarm thresholds, etc.) for the identified user. Also, the patient monitoring system may retrieve and display event markers and/or settings for an identified or selected procedure. The patient monitoring system may associate into a single file values for one or more physiological parameters obtained from the patient undergoing the procedure, user identification information (e.g., user code or ID) associated with the specific user, a procedure code identifying the selected procedure performed on the patient, and/or any event markers selected by the specific user during the procedure. The procedure code and/or event markers may be linked to reimbursement codes that enable health care providers to charge for specific interventions. This system may make it easier and more intuitive for users to identify themselves and to personalize settings when using medical equipment. In addition, the ability to customize with the system facilitates reimbursement by encouraging the use of the event markers.
With this in mind,
The patient monitoring system 12 may include one or more medical devices or monitors 16 (e.g., pulse oximeter, regional oximeter, blood pressure device, ventilator, etc.) that may each be configured to monitor one or more physiological parameters (e.g., oxygen saturation, regional oxygen saturation, pulse rate, blood pressure, etc.). The user interface 14 interface may be separate from and coupled to the patient monitoring system 12 (e.g., one or more of the medical devices or monitors 16). In certain embodiments, the patient monitor 16 may be part of or integral to one or more of the medical devices or monitors 16. In embodiments, where the user interface 14 includes a touchscreen, the touchscreen may be part of a respective display 18 of the one or more devices or monitors 16.
One or more of these devices or monitors 16 may be coupled to one or more sensors (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection) (see
As discussed above, the system 10 facilitates user interaction with the patient monitoring system 12 via the user interface 14 to make it easier and more intuitive for users to identify themselves and to personalize settings when using medical equipment (e.g., devices or monitors 16).
After associating the identifying gesture 40 with the user ID 36 for the user, the patient monitoring system 12 may receive further gestures 48 from the user via the user interface 14 that may be associated or linked with specific procedures (e.g., procedure codes) (block 50). In certain embodiments, the further gestures 48 may be associated or linked with specific event markers. The gestures 48 (and associated procedure codes) may be stored (e.g., on memories 28, 30) by the patient monitoring system 12 in association with the specific user (block 52). The patient monitoring system 12 may further receive specific customized event markers 54 from the user to be associated with the specific user and/or specific procedure (block 56). The event markers 54 may be inputted by the user via the input components of the monitors 18, 20 and/or selected from a list of potential event markers 54 provided to the user by the monitors 18, 20. The customized event markers 56 may then be stored (e.g., on memories 28, 30) in association with the specific user and/or specific procedure (block 58). The patient monitoring system 12 may further receive customized settings 60 (i.e., user preferred settings) from the user (block 62). The settings 60 may include how different values of one or more of the physiological parameters are displayed (e.g., on displays 18, 22), an order of display for the physiological parameters, one or more alarm thresholds for one or more of the physiological parameters, what indices and ratios to calculate and display, and other settings. The user may provide different settings for different procedures. The customized settings 60 may then be stored (e.g., on memories 28, 30) in association with the specific user and/or specific procedure (block 64).
Prior to, subsequent to, and/or concurrent with retrieving the event markers and/or settings, the patient monitoring system 12 may open a data file (block 84) to associate or store together clinical data 86 (e.g., values of one or more physiological parameters gathered or collected from the patient during a procedure), procedure selections 88 (and associated procedure codes), event marker selections 90, and/or user identification information associated with the identified user (e.g., user ID 36). Upon opening the data file, the patient monitoring system 12 may receive clinical data 86 (e.g., oxygen saturation values, regional saturation values, pulse rate, blood pressure, etc.) gathered from the patient (block 92). In addition, patient monitoring system 12 may receive the selection of one or more procedures 88 from the user (block 94). In certain embodiments, the selection of the procedure 88 may be inputted by the user via input components of the monitors 16, 20. In other embodiments, the selection of the procedure 88 may be made via a gesture detected by the user interface 14. For example, a unique gesture may be made by the user that when detected by the user interface 14 results in the identification or selection of a specific procedure. Alternatively, the user may use a generic gesture that enables scrolling through a list of procedures and then use a subsequent generic gesture that enables the selection of a specific procedure from the list. In certain embodiments, the specific event markers for a user may overlap one or more event markers associated with a specific procedure. Further, the patient monitoring system 12 may receive the selection of one or more event markers 90 from the user (block 96). In certain embodiments, the selection of the event marker 90 may be inputted by the user via input components of the monitors 16, 20. In other embodiments, the selection of the event marker 90 may be made via a gesture detected by the user interface 14. For example, the user may use a generic gesture that enables scrolling through a list of event markers (e.g., specific to the user and/or selected procedure) and then use a subsequent generic gesture that enables the selection of a specific procedure from the list. In certain embodiments the user may use a generic gesture that identifies a specific event marker.
In certain embodiments, the method 66 further includes displaying procedure specific event markers and/or settings based on the selected procedure (block 98). This may be in conjunction with display of user specific event markers and/or settings or in lieu of. The method 66 may also include storing the received clinical data, any selected event marker(s), user ID 36, and/or procedure code for a selected procedure to the single data file (block 100). The single data file may be stored or saved on the memory 28 of the respective device or monitor 16. Also, the file may be stored on a removable storage medium (e.g., flash memory, USB flash drive, etc.). The file may also be transferred (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection) to the multi-parameter patient monitor 20 (block 102) for storage on the memory 30. In addition, the file may be transferred to the electronic medical records database 31 and/or the billing system 32, via the network 29, from the monitors 16, 20. Utilization of the system 10 via these methods 34, 66 may make it easier and more intuitive for users to identify themselves and to personalize settings when using medical equipment. In addition, the ability to customize with the system 10 facilitates reimbursement by encouraging the use of the event markers.
As discussed above, the system 10 includes the user interface 14.
Alternative to or in conjunction with the touchscreen 104, the user interface 14 may include a touch-free gesture recognition user interface 112 as depicted in
In addition, the screen 116 may also display one or more values 130 for one or more physiological parameters (e.g., regional oxygen saturation, oxygen saturation, pulse rate, blood pressure, hydration level, etc.). In addition, graphs and/or waveforms 132 related to the physiological parameters may be shown on the screen 116. In certain embodiments, other information related to the physiological parameters may be shown. For example, trend data, alarm thresholds, alarms, and other information may be displayed on the screen 116. The physiological parameters and related information may be shown according to the specific settings for the user and/or the procedure.
As described above, one or more medical device or monitors 16 may used in the patient monitoring system 12.
As noted, the system 12 includes the sensor 134 that is communicatively coupled to the patient monitor 16. The sensor 134 may be reusable, entirely disposable, or include disposable portions. If the sensor 134 is reusable, it may include a disposable adhesive pad that may be replaced. Although only one sensor 134 is shown coupled to the monitor 16 in
The monitor 16 may be any suitable monitor, such as an INVOS® System monitor available from Covidien Corporation. The monitor 16 includes the monitor display 18 configured to display information regarding the physiological parameters monitored by the sensor 134, information about the system, and/or alarm indications. In addition, the monitor 134 may display information related to the user, a selected procedure, potential event markers, selected event markers, and other information (see
The monitor 16 may be any suitable monitor, such as an INVOS® System monitor available from Covidien Corporation. In certain embodiments, the sensor 134 may be a wireless sensor 134. Accordingly, the wireless sensor 134 may establish a wireless communication with the patient monitor 16, the multi-parameter patient monitor 20, and/or network 29 using any suitable wireless standard. In certain embodiments, a pre-amplifier may be utilized between the sensor 134 and monitor 16. In this embodiment, wireless communication may occur between the pre-amplifier, sensor 134, monitor 20, and/or the network 29. By way of example, the wireless module may be capable of communicating using one or more of the ZigBee standard, WirelessHART standard, Bluetooth standard, IEEE 802.11x standards, or MiWi standard.
As provided herein, the sensor 134 may be configured to perform regional oximetry. Indeed, in one embodiment, the sensor 134 may be an INVOS® cerebral/somatic sensor available from Covidien Corporation. In regional oximetry, by comparing the relative intensities of light received at two or more detectors, it is possible to estimate the blood oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in a region of a body. For example, a regional oximeter may include a sensor to be placed on a patient's forehead and may be used to calculate the oxygen saturation of a patient's blood within the venous, arterial, and capillary systems of a region underlying the patient's forehead (e.g., in the cerebral cortex). As illustrated in
The emitter 136 and the detectors 138 may be arranged in a reflectance or transmission-type configuration with respect to one another. However, in embodiments in which the sensor 134 is configured for use on a patient's forehead, the emitter 136 and detectors 138 may be in a reflectance configuration. An emitter 136 may also be a light emitting diode, superluminescent light emitting diode, a laser diode, or a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). An emitter 136 and the detectors 138 may also include optical fiber sensing elements. Also, the emitter 136 may include two light emitting diodes (LEDs) 144 and 146 that are capable of emitting at least two wavelengths of light, e.g., red or near infrared light. In one embodiment, the LEDs 144 and 146 emit light in the range of about 600 nm to about 1000 nm. In a particular embodiment, the one LED 144 is capable of emitting light at 730 nm and the other LED 146 is capable of emitting light at 810 nm. In another particular embodiment, the emitter 136 may include four LEDs configured to emit at least four wavelengths of light of peak wavelengths of approximately 730 nm, 770 nm, 810 nm and 850 nm. It should be understood that, as used herein, the term “light” may refer to one or more of ultrasound, radio, microwave, millimeter wave, infrared, near-infrared, visible, ultraviolet, gamma ray or X-ray electromagnetic radiation, and may also include any wavelength within the radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, or X-ray spectra, and that any suitable wavelength of light may be appropriate for use with the present disclosure.
In any suitable configuration of the sensor 134, the detectors 138A and 138B may be an array of detector elements that may be capable of detecting light at various intensities and wavelengths. In one embodiment, light enters the detector 138 (e.g., detector 138A or 138B) after passing through the tissue of the patient 148. In another embodiment, light emitted from the emitter 136 may be reflected by elements in the patient's tissue to enter the detector 138. The detector 138 may convert the received light at a given intensity, which may be directly related to the absorbance and/or reflectance of light in the tissue of the patient 148, into an electrical signal. That is, when more light at a certain wavelength is absorbed, less light of that wavelength is typically received from the tissue by the detector 138, and when more light at a certain wavelength is reflected, more light of that wavelength is typically received from the tissue by the detector 138. After converting the received light to an electrical signal, the detector 138 may send the signal to the monitor 16, where physiological characteristics may be calculated based at least in part on the absorption and/or reflection of light by the tissue of the patient 148.
In certain embodiments, the medical sensor 134 may also include an encoder 150 that may provide signals indicative of the wavelength of one or more light sources of the emitter 136, which may allow for selection of appropriate calibration coefficients for calculating a physical parameter such as blood oxygen saturation. The encoder 150 may, for instance, include a coded resistor, an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), or other coding device (such as a capacitor, inductor, programmable read only memory (PROM), RFID, parallel resident currents, or a colorimetric indicator) that may provide a signal to the microprocessor 24 related to the characteristics of the medical sensor 134 to enable the microprocessor 24 to determine the appropriate calibration characteristics of the medical sensor 134. Further, the encoder 150 may include encryption coding that prevents a disposable part of the medical sensor 134 from being recognized by a microprocessor 24 unable to decode the encryption. For example, a detector/decoder 152 may translate information from the encoder 150 before the processor 24 can properly handle it. In some embodiments, the encoder 150 and/or the detector/decoder 152 may not be present.
In certain embodiments, the sensor 134 may include circuitry that stores patient-related data (e.g., rSO2) and provides the data when requested. The circuitry may be included in the encoder 150 or in separate memory circuitry within the sensor 134. Examples of memory circuitry include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), a FLASH memory, a PROM, an EEPROM, a similar programmable and/or erasable memory, any kind of erasable memory, a write once memory, or other memory technologies capable of write operations. In one embodiment, patient-related data, such as the rSO2 values, trending data, or patient monitoring parameters, may be actively stored in the encoder 150 or memory circuitry.
Returning to
In some embodiments, the processor 24 may execute code that utilizes the detected gestures to identify a specific user, to select or identify specific procedures, and/or to select specific event markers (i.e., potential steps of a procedure to be performed on a patient). Further, the processor 24 may retrieve and cause to be displayed (e.g., on display 18) event markers and/or settings (e.g., patient monitoring or medical device settings such as display settings, alarm thresholds, etc.) for the identified user and/or for an identified or selected procedure. The processor 24 may associate into a single file values for one or more physiological parameters obtained from the patient undergoing the procedure, user identification information (e.g., user code or ID) associated with the specific user, a procedure code identifying the selected procedure performed on the patient, and/or any event markers selected by the specific user during the procedure.
In an embodiment, based at least in part upon the received signals corresponding to the light received by detector 138, the processor 24 may calculate the oxygen saturation (e.g., regional oxygen saturation) using various algorithms. These algorithms may use coefficients, which may be empirically determined. For example, algorithms relating to the distance between an emitter 136 and various detector elements in a detector 138 may be stored in the ROM memory 156 and accessed and operated according to processor instructions. Additionally, algorithms may use the value of LED wavelengths encoded in sensor encoder 150, enabling the algorithm to compensate for LED wavelengths that diverge from nominal wavelengths.
While the disclosure may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and have been described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the embodiments provided herein are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the various embodiments may cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the following appended claims.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/924,014, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USER INTERACTION WITH MEDICAL EQUIPMENT”, filed Jan. 6, 2014, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61924014 | Jan 2014 | US |
