System for animal health diagnosis

• US 20040039258A1
• Filed: 08/05/2003
• Published: 02/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hemopet
• Original Assignee: Hemopet
• Inventors: Jean, Dodds W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,548,839 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/40 Animals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 20/00 ICT specially adapted for functional genomics or proteomics, e.g. genotype-phenotype associations
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 20/20 Allele or variant detection, e.g. single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP] detection
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 50/00 ICT programming tools or database systems specially adapted for bioinformatics
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/921 Diet management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/923 by comparison of patient data to other data

Abstract

A diagnosis of the health of an animal is obtained through a combination of computerized data and human interpretation. Data relates to the physical characteristics of the animal, and includes data obtained from a physical inspection of the animal. A blood or other fluid sample is used to obtain a computer generated laboratory analysis. This is reported through an internet network to the clinical pathologist. The clinical pathologist has the data relating to the physical characteristics, and thereby makes a diagnosis of the animal health. A drop-down menu on a computer screen provides supplemental reports to support the diagnosis. This can be enhanced by further input from the pathologist through keyboard entry into the computer to obtain an integrated computer report having the laboratory analysis, supplemental report, and selectively an enhanced report. The integrated report is electronically communicated to a client.

Claims

1. A method of obtaining and electronically delivering a diagnosis of the health of an animal through a combination of computerized data and human interpretation related to the animal comprising:

obtaining data relating to the physical characteristics of the animal, the data being obtained from at least one of a physical inspection and family and breed history of the animal, and the data submitted to a clinical pathologist;

securing a blood sample from the animal and submitting the blood or other body fluid sample for laboratory analysis;

obtaining a computer generated report of the laboratory analysis;

reporting the analysis through a network, selectively an internet network, to the clinical pathologist, the clinical pathologist having the data relating to the physical characteristics, and thereby making a diagnosis of the animal health;

obtaining from a drop-down menu on a computer screen a supplemental report to support the diagnosis;

selectively enhancing the supplemental report by a further input from the pathologist through data entry, selectively keyboard entry, into the computer;

obtaining an integrated computer report having the laboratory analysis, supplemental report, and selectively an enhanced report; and

communicating the integrated or enhanced report to a remotely located client, such communicating being electronic.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the laboratory analytical report is reporting in a first computer program and the drop down-menu is in a second computer program, and wherein the data from the first computer program is transferred to the second computer program.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the electronic communication to the client is selectively by email or fax, and wherein the second computer program includes a utility to transmit the integrated report from the second program through the utility.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the drop down menu is contained in a toolbar supplementing an application, selectively a word processing, program.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the tool bar includes icons defining predetermined supplemental report characteristics, and wherein selected icons may be used by the clinical pathologist to supplement the laboratory analytical report.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the icons are grouped for animal characteristics dependant on age and sex.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the icons are grouped for animal characteristics dependant on animal grouping.

8. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the icons are grouped for selected disease states, the states being selectively thyroid disease, behavior, autoimmune disease, and cancer.

9. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein in the icons are grouped for selected levels of immunity from infectious disease, the titer of immunity from the disease agent(s) in the animal, and the need for vaccination of the animal against the disease.

10. A method of providing a customized and electronically deliverable diagnosis of the health of an animal through a combination of computerized data and human interpretation related to the animal comprising:

obtaining data relating to the physical characteristics and family and breed history of the animal, the data being obtained from at least one of a physical inspection of the animal, and the data submitted to a clinical pathologist;

securing a blood sample from the animal and submitting the blood sample for laboratory analysis;

obtaining a computer generated report of the laboratory analysis;

reporting the analysis through a network, selectively an internet network, to the clinical pathologist, the clinical pathologist having the data relating to the physical characteristics and family and breed history, and thereby making a diagnosis of the animal health;

obtaining from a drop-down menu on a computer screen a supplemental report to support the diagnosis;

selectively enhancing the supplemental report by a further input from the pathologist through entry, selectively keyboard entry, into the computer;

obtaining an integrated computer report having the laboratory analysis, supplemental report, and selectively an enhanced report; and

communicating the integrated or enhanced report to a remotely located client, such communicating being electronic.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the laboratory analytical report is reporting in a first computer program and the drop down-menu is in a second computer program, and wherein the data from the first computer program is transferred to the second computer program.

12. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the electronic communication to the client is selectively by e-mail or fax, and wherein the second computer program includes a utility to transmit the integrated report form the second program through the utility.

13. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the drop-down menu is contained in a toolbar supplementing an application, selectively a word processing, program.

14. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the tool bar includes icons defining predetermined supplemental report characteristics, and wherein selected icons may be used by the clinical pathologist to supplement the laboratory report.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the icons are grouped for animal characteristics dependant on age and sex.

16. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the icons are grouped for animal characteristics dependant on animal grouping.

17. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the icons are grouped for selected disease states, examples of the states being selectively thyroid disease, behavior, autoimmune disease, and cancer.

18. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein in the icons also can be grouped for selected levels of immunity from infectious disease, that being the titer of immunity from the disease agent(s) in the animal, and therefore the need for vaccination of the animal against the disease.

19. A system for obtaining and electronically delivering a diagnosis of the health of an animal through a combination of computerized data and human interpretation related to the animal comprising:

data relating to the physical characteristics of the animal, the data being obtained from at least one of a physical inspection of the animal, and the data submitted to a clinical pathologist;

a laboratory analysis report of a blood or other body fluid sample from the animal;

the analysis being obtained through a network, selectively an internet network, sent to a clinical pathologist, the clinical pathologist having the data relating to the physical characteristics, and thereby permitting a diagnosis of the animal health;

a drop-down menu on a computer screen supplemental reports to support the diagnosis;

an input, selectively a keyboard or voice recognition software program, to selectively enhance the supplemental report by further input from the pathologist into a computer; and

an integrated computer report having the laboratory analysis, supplemental report, and selectively an enhanced report.

20. A system as claimed in claim 19 including an electronically communicated integrated or enhanced report to a remotely located client.

21. A system as claimed in claim 20 wherein the laboratory analytical report is in a first computer program and the drop down-menu is in a second computer program, and wherein the data from the first computer program is transferred to the second computer program.

22. A system as claimed in claim 21 wherein the electronic communication to the client is selectively by email or fax, and wherein the second computer program includes a utility to transmit the integrated report form the second program through the utility.

23. A system as claimed in claim 21 wherein the drop down menu is contained in a tool bar supplementing an application, selectively a word processing, program.

24. A system as claimed in claim 21 wherein the tool bar includes icons defining predetermined supplemental report characteristics, and wherein selected icons may be used by the clinical pathologist to supplement the laboratory analytical report.

25. A method of obtaining and electronically delivering a diagnosis of the health of an animal through a combination of computerized data and human interpretation related to the animal comprising:

obtaining data relating to the physical characteristics and family and breed history of the animal, the data being obtained from at least one of a physical inspection of the animal or other analysis of the animal, and the data is submitted to a clinical pathologist;

securing a blood sample or other bodily fluid from the animal and submitting the blood or other body fluid sample for laboratory analysis;

obtaining a computer generated report of the laboratory analysis;

relating the report to a selected supplemental database for supplemental analysis, the supplemental analysis being related to the data relating to the physical characteristics, and thereby making a diagnosis of the animal health;

generating a supplemental report to support the diagnosis;

selectively enhancing the supplemental report by a further input from a pathologist through data entry, selectively keyboard entry, into the computer;

obtaining an integrated computer report having the laboratory analysis, supplemental report, and selectively an enhanced report; and

communicating the integrated or enhanced report to a remotely located client, such communicating being electronic.

26. A method of obtaining and electronically delivering an assessment of the thyroid function of an animal through a combination of computerized data and human interpretation related to the animal comprising:

obtaining data relating to the physical characteristics and family and breed history of the animal, the data being obtained from at least one of a physical inspection of the animal or other analysis of the animal, and the data is submitted to a clinical pathologist;

securing a blood sample from the animal and submitting the blood or other body fluid sample for laboratory analysis of the total T4, total T3, free T4, free T3, T3 autoantibody, T4 autoantibody and thyroglobulin autoantibody, and selectively endogenous TSH;

obtaining a computer generated report of the laboratory analysis;

reporting the analysis through a network, selectively an internet network, to the clinical pathologist, the clinical pathologist having the data relating to the physical characteristics and family and breed history, and thereby making a first assessment off the thyroid function of the animal;

obtaining from a drop-down menu on a computer screen a supplemental report to support the assessment;

selectively enhancing the supplemental report by a further input from the pathologist through data entry, selectively keyboard entry, into the computer;

obtaining an integrated computer report having the laboratory analysis, supplemental report, and selectively an enhanced report; and

communicating the integrated or enhanced report to a remotely located client, such communicating being electronic.

27. A method as claimed in claim 26 wherein the drop-down menu is contained in a toolbar supplementing an application, selectively a word processing, program.

28. A method as claimed in claim 27 wherein the tool bar includes icons defining predetermined supplemental report characteristics, and wherein selected icons may be used by the clinical pathologist to supplement the laboratory report.

29. A method as claimed in claim 28 wherein the icons are grouped for animal characteristics dependant on age and sex.

30. A method as claimed in claim 28 wherein the icons are grouped for animal characteristics dependant on animal grouping.

31. A method as claimed in claim 26 wherein the assessment is dependant on animal grouping.

32. A method as claimed in claim 26 wherein the assessment is dependant on animal age and sex.

33. A method of obtaining and electronically delivering an assessment of the thyroid function of an animal through a combination of computerized data and human interpretation related to the animal comprising:

obtaining data relating to the physical characteristics of the animal, the data being obtained from at least one of a physical inspection of the animal or other analysis of the animal, and the data is submitted to a clinical pathologist;

securing a blood sample or other bodily fluid from the animal and submitting the blood or other body fluid sample for laboratory analysis of the total T4, total T3, free T4, free T3, T3 autoantibody, T4 autoantibody and thyroglobulin autoantibody, and selectively endogenous TSH;

obtaining a computer generated report of the laboratory analysis;

relating the report to a selected supplemental database for supplemental analysis, the supplemental analysis being related to the data relating to the physical characteristics, and thereby making a first assessment off the thyroid function of the animal;

selectively enhancing the supplemental report by a further input from a pathologist through data entry, selectively keyboard entry, into the computer;

obtaining an integrated computer report having the laboratory analysis, supplemental report, and selectively an enhanced report; and

communicating the integrated or enhanced report to a remotely located client, such communicating being electronic.

34. A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein the drop-down menu is contained in a toolbar supplementing an application, selectively a word processing, program.

35. A method as claimed in claim 34 wherein the tool bar includes icons defining predetermined supplemental report characteristics, and wherein selected icons may be used by the clinical pathologist to supplement the laboratory report.

36. A method as claimed in claim 35 wherein the icons are grouped for animal characteristics dependant on age and sex.

37. A method as claimed in claim 35 wherein the icons are grouped for animal characteristics dependant on animal grouping.

38. A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein the assessment is dependant on animal grouping.

39. A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein the assessment is dependant on animal age and sex.