The present invention relates to medical equipment and, more particularly, to a tutorial system that comprises a combination of a medical apparatus and a tutorial component for operating the apparatus.
Medical equipment ranges from simple to extremely complicated. Additionally, medical equipment is also used in a variety of environments, such as hospitals, nursing homes, and even a patient's personal home. With all the ranges in the complexity of medical equipment and environments that the equipment may be used, there is one common factor, that whoever uses the equipment must be educated on the proper operation of the equipment. Regardless of whether the complexity of the equipment, from complicated equipment such as ventilators, surgical equipment, or radiological equipment, to simpler equipment, such as, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machines, portable oxygen tanks, or therapeutic mattresses such as low-air loss mattresses, or the skill level of the person using the equipment, from a doctor to a layperson assisting a patient at home, any persons operating medical equipment needs adequate training on the features of that specific equipment.
Most medical facilities operate around the clock, with the facility's personnel scheduled in multiple shifts throughout the day. The vendor of the medical equipment is often responsible for the initial training of the facility's personnel on the proper operation of the equipment. This training is often done at the time of installation. Since the vendor of the medical equipment often cannot be present at the medical facility for each shift, only those personnel who are able to be present at the time of installation are trained directly by the vendors. Adding to this training problem is the fact that certain shifts and certain medical facilities experience a high turnover in personnel and/or utilize temporary employees. Thus, a large amount of the training of personnel on these many types of medical equipment is dependant upon information being passed from the personnel on one shift to the personnel on another shift.
Training personnel on the proper operation of medical equipment is imperative and all personnel are at some point must be trained, either by the vendor companies or by their colleagues or superiors. In fact, medical equipment operation training is so important that most, if not all, state governments and medical bodies require training of everyone who is involved in operating medical equipment within the facility. Most states conduct compliance audits to ensure that everyone operating medical equipment in the facility is properly educated on the use of that equipment. Typically, the state will ask a facility to explain how the personnel were initially educated and the procedures for continuing education as well as new-hire education. Failure to pass these audits can have great economic impact on the medical facility, not only in potential fines imposed by the state, but also in the facilities insurance ratings and credibility in the community.
In addition to the medical personnel operating medical equipment, the patients themselves or a non-licensed person administering care to the patient may also operate the medical equipment. In these situations, the person operating the equipment is often trained informally by medical personnel, who were previously trained by the product manufacturer. With each step away from the original equipment manufacturer, it becomes more likely that details in the use of the equipment are missed or inaccurately explained.
Improper use of medical equipment may also result in damage to the equipment being, thereby making it necessary for a medical facility to replace medical equipment more often than it may have had to otherwise. Most medical facilities are on conservative spending budgets and it is financially draining to replace equipment that was damaged by the patients or the staff due to misuse or improper instruction.
But the most severe consequence in this lack of training on the proper use of medical equipment is the potential injury to a patient. Situations where the medical equipment malfunctions or the caregiver uses the equipment incorrectly require immediate attention.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a tutorial system that provides users of medical equipment with immediate and on the spot instructions on how to use the medical equipment. It would further be desirable to have a combination of a medical apparatus and a tutorial system that educates a user how to operate that particular apparatus.
The present invention is directed to a system for providing instantaneous tutoring to a user of a medical apparatus how to operate the medical apparatus. The system includes the medical apparatus in combination with a tutorial component that provides instructions on use and operation of the medical apparatus. The system further includes an input instrument that a user activates to start receiving instructions. When the user has activated the input instrument, the instrument sends a signal to a processing agent which activates the instructions stored in data storage and causes the instructions to be broadcast through an output instrument.
The present invention describes a tutorial system that allows a user of a medical apparatus to receive instantaneous instruction on the use and operation of that medical apparatus.
Exemplary Tutorial System
As illustrated in
Exemplary Tutorial Component
Processing agent 124 can be a microcontroller, an embedded processor, or another similar device. For example, in an embodiment where tutorial component 120 is incorporated within medical apparatus 110, the microcontroller used to operate medical apparatus 110 may also be used as processing agent 124 for tutorial component 120.
Data storage 125 stores instructions 126 for operating medical apparatus 110 and, preferably, also stores logic 127 to manage instructions 126. Instructions 126 may be stored in one or more of a variety of media types, such as a voice file or a video file.
Logic 127 causes instructions 126 to start playing at the beginning of an entire instructions file, or, if applicable, at the beginning of a segment of the instructions file, if the instructions are broken into segments. Logic 127 may be loaded into data storage 125 in the form of a software program, machine language instructions, or both, executable by processing agent 124. Alternatively, logic 127 may be stored in processing agent 124.
Exemplary Cycle of Operation of a Tutorial System
While exemplary embodiments have been described, persons of skill in the art will appreciate that variations may be made without departure from the scope and spirit of the invention. It should be understood that this and other arrangements described herein are set forth for purposes of example only. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other arrangements and other elements can be used instead, and some elements may be omitted altogether. The true scope and spirit of the invention is defined by the appended claims, which may be interpreted in light of the foregoing.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 10867961 | Jun 2004 | US |
Child | 11152355 | Jun 2005 | US |