Integrated physiology and imaging workstation

• US 20070016034A1
• Filed: 05/15/2006
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Donaldson, Brenda
• Granted Patent: US 7,572,223 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/437
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/04 Measuring blood pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0833 involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0841 for locating instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/582 Remote testing of the device
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A physiology workstation includes a communications interface conveying physiology signals and ultrasound data representative of a region of interest. The ultrasound data is obtained by an ultrasound device in real-time during a procedure. Also includes is a physiology processing unit, an ultrasound processing unit, and a display unit displaying the physiology signals and the ultrasound images, the physiology signals and ultrasound signals being presented jointly to a user in real-time during the procedure being carried out on the subject. The display unit includes at least one monitor co-displaying the physiology signals and ultrasound images in adjacent windows on a single display. The physiology processing unit, ultrasound processing unit and display unit are located in a control room divided from a procedure room. The communications interface extends between the procedure and control rooms and the physiology processing unit is configured to remotely control the ultrasound system via the communications interface.

Claims

1. A physiology workstation, comprising:

a communications interface conveying physiology signals derived from a subject and ultrasound data representative of a region of interest of the subject, the ultrasound data being obtained by an ultrasound device in real-time during a procedure carried out on the subject;

a physiology processing unit receiving and processing the physiology signals;

an ultrasound processing unit receiving and processing the ultrasound data to generate ultrasound images, the physiology processing unit combining the physiology signals with the ultrasound images from the ultrasound processing unit; and

a display unit displaying the physiology signals and the ultrasound images, the physiology signals and ultrasound signals being presented jointly to a user in real-time during the procedure being carried out on the subject;

wherein the display unit includes at least one monitor, the monitor co-displaying the physiology signals and ultrasound images in adjacent windows on a single display; and

wherein the physiology processing unit, ultrasound processing unit and display unit are located in a control room that is divided from a procedure room where the subject is located, the communications interface extending between the procedure and control rooms and the physiology processing unit configured to remotely control the ultrasound system via said communications interface.

2. The workstation of claim 1, wherein the display unit includes at least one monitor that simultaneously displays physiology signals in real-time, previously acquired physiology signals, ultrasound images in real-time, and images acquired from at least one of a MR, CT, ultrasound, PET, NM and X-ray system.

3. The workstation of claim 1, further comprising an ultrasound device having at least one of an intracardiac electrophysiology catheter, a handheld probe, an intravascular ultrasound catheter, an intraoperative probe, and a transesophageal probe.

4. The workstation of claim 1, further comprising an ultrasound device having an intravascular ultrasound catheter.

5. The workstation of claim 1, further comprising a scan converter module located proximate the ultrasound device and remote from the ultrasound processor unit, the scan converter module operating upon ultrasound signals received from the ultrasound device to form ultrasound images, the ultrasound images including at least one of color flow, power Doppler, B-mode, spectral Doppler, 3-D or 4-D reconstruction of 2-D obtained images, ARFI and M-Mode information, the scan converter module conveying the ultrasound images over the communications interface to the ultrasound processor unit.

6. The workstation of claim 1, further comprising a scan converter module located proximate the ultrasound device and remote from the ultrasound processor unit, the scan converter module operating upon ultrasound signals received from the ultrasound device to form ultrasound images, the ultrasound images including 3-D or 4-D reconstruction of 2-D obtained images, the scan converter module conveying the ultrasound images over the communications interface to the ultrasound processor unit.

7. The workstation of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound processor unit comprises a mid-processor, located remote from ultrasound device, that receives complex data pairs as the ultrasound data over the communications interface, the mid-processor operating upon the data pairs to form vector data values associated with ultrasound images, the mid-processor processing the data pairs based on at least one of color flow, power Doppler, B-mode, spectral Doppler, 3-D or 4-D reconstruction of 2-D obtained images, ARFI and M-Mode operations to form the vector data values.

8. The workstation of claim 1, further comprising a scan converter module located proximate the ultrasound device and remote from the ultrasound processor unit, the scan converter module operating upon ultrasound signals received from the ultrasound device to form ultrasound images, the ultrasound images including 3-D or 4-D reconstruction of 2-D obtained images, the scan converter module conveying the ultrasound images over the communications interface to the ultrasound processor unit.

9. The workstation of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound processor unit comprises a scan converter module, located remote from ultrasound device, that receives vector data values as the ultrasound data over the communications interface, the scan converter operating upon the vector data values to form ultrasound images, the ultrasound images including 3-D or 4-D reconstruction of 2-D obtained images.

10. The workstation of claim 1, further comprising memory storing non-ultrasound and ultrasound images each having a time stamp identifying when the non-ultrasound and ultrasound images were obtained with respect to an ECG, the physiology processing unit generating the time stamps.

11. A physiology system, comprising:

EP leads configured to be attached to a subject located in a procedure room;

an ultrasound system for obtaining ultrasound images of a region of interest of the subject;

a physiology processing unit communicating with the physiology leads and ultrasound system, the physiology processing unit receiving and processing physiology signals from the physiology leads and ultrasound images;

a display unit, joined to the physiology processing unit, displaying the physiology signals; and

an ultrasound remote interface, joined to the physiology processing unit, for entering at least one of ultrasound control parameters and ultrasound modes, the ultrasound system adjusting operation based on at least one of ultrasound control parameters and the ultrasound modes entered at the physiology processing unit.

wherein the ultrasound having a remote interface, wherein the remote interface includes a secondary U/S keyboard, a mouse, or soft key functions, or a combination thereof, wherein the U/S keyboard, mouse, or soft keys are located proximate the display unit, the ultrasound system further having a primary U/S keyboard.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising an physiology user interface controlling physiology operations, wherein the ultrasound remote interface is presented on the display unit as a virtual keyboard comprised of ultrasound keys assigned to the ultrasound control parameters and modes, the ultrasound keys being selectable through both the EP and HD user interface.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising an user interface including soft keys having first and second functional states, the first functional states being associated with physiology operations and the second functional state being associated with ultrasound operations.

14. A physiology workstation, comprising:

a communications interface conveying physiology signals derived from a subject and ultrasound data representative of a region of interest of the subject, the ultrasound data being obtained by an ultrasound device in real-time during a procedure carried out on the subject;

a physiology processing unit receiving and processing the physiology signals;

an ultrasound processing unit receiving and processing the ultrasound data to generate ultrasound images, the physiology processing unit combining the physiology signals with the ultrasound images from the ultrasound processing unit; and

a display unit displaying the physiology signals and the ultrasound images, the physiology signals and ultrasound signals being presented jointly to a user in real-time during the procedure being carried out on the subject;

wherein the display unit includes at least one monitor, the monitor co-displaying the physiology signals and ultrasound images in adjacent windows on a single display; and

an ultrasound device having an intravascular ultrasound catheter.

15. The workstation of claim 14, wherein the ultrasound processor unit comprises a scan converter module, the scan converter operating upon vector data values to form ultrasound images, the ultrasound images including 3-D or 4-D reconstruction of 2-D obtained images.