Medical environment monitoring system

• US 10,496,886 B1
• Filed: 12/28/2016
• Issued: 12/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ocuvera LLC
• Original Assignee: Ocuvera LLC
• Inventors: Rush, Benjamin D., Brown-Kramer, Joshua M., Sabalka, Lucas A., Gansemer, Brian S., Upton, Clay T., Bauer, Paul B., Unterseher, Andrew R., Origas, Benjamin J., Durham, Douglas W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fernandes, Patrick
• Application Number:
  US15/392,222
• Time in Patent Office: 1,070 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1114 Tracking parts of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1115 Monitoring leaving of a patient support, e.g. a bed or a wheelchair
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1123 Discriminating type of movement, e.g. walking or running A61B5/1116, A61B5/112 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1128 using image analysis A61B5/1127 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4815 Sleep quality
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20076 Probabilistic image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30196 Human being; Person
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/103 Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/20 Movements or behaviour, e.g. gesture recognition recognition of facial expressions G06V40/16
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0476 Cameras to detect unsafe condition, e.g. video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/207 using a single 2D image sensor

Abstract

A system and a method are described for monitoring a medical care environment. In one or more implementations, a method includes identifying a first subset of pixels within a field of view of a camera as representing a bed. The method also includes identifying a second subset of pixels within the field of view of the camera as representing an object (e.g., a subject, such as a patient, medical personnel; bed; chair; patient tray; medical equipment; etc.) proximal to the bed. The method also includes determining an orientation of the object within the bed.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring a medical care environment, the system comprising:

at least one computing device in communication with at least one imaging device, the at least one imaging device having an imaging plane, the at least one imaging device configured to capture a plurality of images comprising a plurality of pixels, the plurality of images representing the medical care environment corresponding to a physical space, the physical space including at least one of a bed or a chair the at least one computing device including;

a memory configured to store one or more modules;

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured by a fusion engine and the one or more modules to cause the processor to;

identify one or more first pixels of the plurality of pixels as representing the at least one of the bed or the chair;

identify one or more second pixels of the plurality of pixels as representing a portion of a body of a subject proximate to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

process, via a first processing technique, the one or more second pixels to generate a first possible orientation signal of the portion of the body with respect to the imaging plane, the first possible orientation signal representing a position of the portion of the body with respect to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

process, via a second processing technique via the fusion engine, the one or more second pixels to generate a second possible orientation signal of the portion of the body with respect to the imaging plane, the second possible orientation signal representing the position of the portion of the body with respect to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

determine a probability distribution based upon the first possible orientation signal and the second possible orientation signal via the fusion engine;

determine a transitional state of the subject based upon the probability distribution; and

issue an electronic communication based upon the transitional state of the subject, the electronic communication comprising an alert indicating the transitional state of the subject.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more modules to cause the processor to process, via at least one of the first processing technique or the second processing technique, at least one image of the plurality of images to identify a second position corresponding least one of a second subject or an object relative to the subject.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more modules to cause the processor to process an image of the plurality of images to detect at least one of a presence or an absence of a gesture;

and provide an indication associated with the at least one of the presence or the absence of the gesture.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more modules to cause the processor to track the one or more second pixels through the plurality of images;

determine an activity parameter of the subject based upon tracking the one or more second pixels; and

issue an activity electronic communication indicating the activity parameter when the activity parameter is outside of an activity threshold.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of images comprise a plurality of depth frame images.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the one or more modules to cause the processor to determine the probability distribution based upon the first possible orientation signal, the second possible orientation signal, and at least one characteristic of the subject via the fusion engine.

7. A method for monitoring a subject within a medical care environment, the method comprising:

identifying, via a processor configured by a fusion engine, one or more first pixels of a plurality of pixels as representing at least one of a bed or a chair, the plurality of pixels captured by an imaging device, the plurality of pixels representing a physical space;

identifying, via the processor, one or more second pixels of the plurality of pixels as representing a portion of body of the subject proximate to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

processing, via a first processing technique via the processor, the one or more second pixels to generate a first possible orientation signal of the portion of the body with respect to an imaging plane of the imaging device, the first possible orientation signal representing a position of the portion of the body with respect to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

processing, via a second processing technique via the processor, the one or more second pixels to generate a second possible orientation signal of the portion of the body with respect to the imaging plane, the second possible orientation signal representing the position of the portion of the body with respect to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

determining, via the processor, a probability distribution based upon the first possible orientation signal and the second possible orientation signal via the fusion engine;

determining, via the processor, a transitional state of the subject based upon the probability distribution; and

issuing, via the processor, an electronic communication based upon the transitional state of the subject, the electronic communication comprising an alert indicating the transitional state of the subject.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, further comprising identifying, via the processor, a presence of a gesture based upon the one or more second pixels;

and providing an indication associated with the presence of the gesture.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

tracking, via the processor, the one or more second pixels through a plurality of images captured by the imagine device;

determining an activity parameter of the subject based upon tracking the one or more second pixels; and

issuing an activity electronic communication indicating the activity parameter when the activity parameter is outside of an activity threshold.

10. The method as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

processing, via a third processing technique via the processor, the one or more second pixels to generate a third possible orientation signal of the portion of the body, the third possible orientation signal representing the position of the portion of the body with respect to the at least one of the bed or the chair; and

determining the probability distribution based upon the first possible orientation signal, the second possible orientation signal, and the third possible orientation signal via the fusion engine.

11. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein determining the probability distribution further comprises determining the probability distribution based upon the first possible orientation signal, the second possible orientation signal, and at least one characteristic of the subject via the fusion engine.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the at least one characteristic comprises at least one of age, gender, weight, body type, body dimensions, diagnoses, time of day, gait characteristics, mental status, physical restrictions, facial deformities, sleeping abnormalities, angle of bed, dimensions of bed, fall risk score, patient schedule, subject ethnicity, subject skin tone, and bed characteristics.

13. A method for monitoring a medical care environment, the method comprising:

receiving, via a processor configured by a fusion engine, a plurality of images, each image of the plurality of images comprising a plurality of pixels captured by an imaging device having an imaging plane, the plurality of images representing the medical care environment corresponding to a physical space, the physical space including at least one of a bed or a chair;

identifying, via the processor, one or more first pixels of the plurality of pixels as representing the at least one of the bed or the chair;

identifying, via the processor, one or more second pixels of the plurality of pixels as representing a body part of a subject proximate to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

processing, via a first processing technique via the processor, the one or more second pixels to generate a first possible orientation signal of the body part with respect to the imaging plane, the first possible orientation signal representing a position of the body part with respect to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

processing, via a second processing technique via the processor, the one or more second pixels to generate a second possible orientation signal of the body part with respect to the imaging plane, the second possible orientation signal representing the position of the body part with respect to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

determining, via the processor, a probability distribution based upon the first possible orientation signal and the second possible orientation signal via the fusion engine;

determining, via the processor, a transitional state of the subject based upon the probability distribution; and

issuing, via the processor, an electronic communication based upon the transitional state of the subject, the electronic communication comprising an alert indicating the transitional state of the subject.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising:

processing, via a third processing technique via the processor, the one or more second pixels to generate a third possible orientation signal of the body part with respect to the imaging plane, the third possible orientation signal representing the position of the body part with respect to the at least one of the bed or the chair;

processing, via a fourth processing technique via the processor, the one or more second pixels to generate a fourth possible orientation signal of the body part with respect to the imaging plane, the fourth possible orientation signal representing the position of the body part with respect to the at least one of the bed or the chair; and

determining, via the processor, the probability distribution based upon the first possible orientation signal, the second possible orientation signal, the third possible orientation signal, and the fourth possible orientation signal via the fusion engine.

15. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein determining the transitional state of the subject based upon the probability distribution comprises determining an activity level associated with the subject.

16. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein determining the transitional state of the subject based upon the probability distribution comprises determining the transitional state of the subject within the bed based upon the probability distribution.

17. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising identifying, via the processor, one or more third pixels of the plurality of pixels as representing at least one of a second subject or an object relative to the subject.

18. The method as recited in claim 13, further comprising tracking, via the processor, the one or more second pixels through the plurality of images;

determining, via the processor, whether the one or more second pixels corresponds to a gesture; and

causing issuance of a second electronic communication indicating the gesture has been performed when the one or more second pixels corresponds to the gesture.