Medical device system and a method for locating medical devices and mobile control units of said medical device system

• US 10,274,577 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2015
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trumpf Medizin Systeme GmbH & Co. KG (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trumpf Medizin Systeme GmbH & Co. KG (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Marka, Rudolf, Ozhan, Serhan, Han, Gel
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Donado, Frank E
• Application Number:
  US15/322,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20170123043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2051 Electromagnetic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2072 Reference field transducer attached to an instrument or patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/98 using electromagnetic means, e.g. transponders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02521 using a radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0258 by combining or switching between measurements derived from different systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/007 with remote control systems remote control in general G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

A medical apparatus system is provided, the medical apparatus system comprising: at least one medical apparatus (2), at least one mobile control unit (3), for a medical apparatus (2), having a WLAN transmitting module (4) and a further radio transmitting module (5), at least one WLAN access point (6) having at least one antenna, at least one further radio reading module (7), and control device (8) connected to the at least one WLAN access point (7) and the at least one further radio reading module (7) in order to locate the medical apparatus and/or the mobile control unit in a process reliable manner.

Claims

1. A medical apparatus system, comprising

at least one medical apparatus having a WLAN transmitting module and a further radio transmitting module and at least one mobile control unit, for a medical apparatus, having a WLAN transmitting module and a further radio transmitting module, at least one WLAN access point having at least one antenna, at least one further radio reading module, and a control device connected to the at least one WLAN access point to determine a WLAN position of the at least one medical apparatus and the at least one mobile control unit based on a signal from the WLAN transmitting module of the respective at least one of the medical apparatus or the mobile control unit, the control device also connected to the at least one further radio reading module to determine a radio position of the at least one medical apparatus and the at least one mobile control unit based on a signal from the further radio transmitting module of the respective at least one of the medical apparatus or the mobile control unit, the control device determining a position of the at least one medical apparatus and the at least one mobile control unit by superimposing the radio position on the WLAN position.

2. The medical apparatus system of claim 1, wherein the at least one WLAN access point comprises transmitting and receiving devices for different frequencies.

3. The medical apparatus system of claim 2, wherein at least three WLAN access points are provided.

4. The medical apparatus system of claim 3, wherein the WLAN access points are configured to detect a strength of a signal of the at least one WLAN transmitting module of the respective at least one of the medical apparatus or the mobile control unit.

5. The medical apparatus system of claim 4, wherein the control device comprises a memory area for data sets of signal strength combinations for individual positions of the at least one medical apparatus and of the at least one mobile control unit.

6. The medical apparatus system of claim 5, wherein the control device comprises a memory area for data sets of a map including a floor plan of an area in which the signal strength combinations are detected.

7. The medical apparatus system of claim 6, wherein the detected area comprises rooms in a section of a building and an area outside the rooms, and an individual WLAN access point is respectively provided in the rooms and an individual WLAN access point is provided in the area outside the room, and the control device is configured to determine on the basis of the stored data sets whether a currently detected position of the at least one medical apparatus or of the at least one mobile control unit is located inside or outside of one of the rooms and in which room.

8. The medical apparatus system of claim 1, wherein the at least one further radio reading module is configured to detect a strength of a signal of the at least one further radio transmitting module of the respective at least one of the medical apparatus or the mobile control unit.

9. The medical apparatus system of claim 8, wherein an individual further radio reading module is provided in a room, and wherein the medical apparatus system is configured to determine via the strength of the signal whether the at least one further radio transmitting module of the respective at least one of the medical apparatus or the mobile control unit is located inside or outside of the room.

10. The medical apparatus system of claim 1, wherein the further radio transmitting module of the respective least one of the medical apparatus or the mobile control unit is a Bluetooth Low Energy transmitting module and the further radio reading module is a Bluetooth Low Energy reading module.

11. The medical apparatus system of claim 1, wherein the further radio transmitting module of the respective at least one of the medical apparatus or the mobile control unit and the further radio reading module are RFID modules.

12. A medical apparatus control system with a medical apparatus system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one medical apparatus can be actuated by the mobile control unit.

13. The medical apparatus system of claim 1, wherein the WLAN position and the radio position are determined simultaneously.

14. A method for locating medical apparatuses and mobile control units comprises

determining a signal strength of a detected signal of at least one WLAN transmitting module of a respective medical apparatus or mobile control unit via a WLAN access point to determine a WLAN position of the medical apparatus and mobile control unit,

determining a signal strength of a detected signal of at least one further radio transmitting module via a further radio reading module of a respective medical apparatus or mobile control unit to determine a radio position of the medical apparatus and mobile control unit, and

determining a position of the medical apparatus and of the mobile control unit by superimposing the radio position on the WLAN position.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the signal strength of the WLAN transmitting module of the respective at least one of the medical apparatus or the mobile control unit and of the further radio transmitting module of the respective at least one of the medical apparatus or the mobile control unit are determined simultaneously.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the position is determined by several WLAN access points and by a further radio reading module assigned to a room of a section of a building.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein an actuation function of a mobile control unit for the medical apparatus to be actuated is deactivated if it is determined that the mobile control unit is not in the same room of a section of a building as the medical apparatus to be controlled.

18. The method of claim 14 with a medical apparatus system, wherein the signal strength combinations of the individual positions are determined by a detection device in advance.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining the WLAN position and the radio position simultaneously.