Patient initiated on-demand remote medical service with integrated knowledge base and computer assisted diagnosing characteristics

• US 20070156626A1
• Filed: 01/04/2006
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Avinash, Gopal, Liu, Ray, Roehm, Steven
• Granted Patent: US 8,827,905 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2505/07 Home care
• 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: A61B 5/02 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse, heart rate, blood pressure or blood flow; Combined pulse/heart-rate/blood pressure determination; Evaluating a cardiovascular condition not otherwise provided for, e.g. using combinations of techniques provided for in this group with electrocardiography or electroauscultation; Heart catheters for measuring blood pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/74 Details of notification to user or communication with user or patient indicating measured values G01D7/00; user input means input or output arrangements for computers G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/903 Radio telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/902 Application using ai with detail of the ai system
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/924 Medical

Abstract

The present invention is a system and method of remote patient monitoring to allow a patient to initiate and activate sensing systems. In the system and method, standard parameters can be sensed, and the information can then be processed and sent to the physician or clinician. The clinician then has the ability to remotely configure or reconfigure the parameters of the sensing system so as to probe for more targeted information based on the initial sensed data.

Claims

1. A system for remotely monitoring patient healthcare characteristics, the system comprising:

a plurality of sensors configured in a home environment of a patient, and further configured to collect a set of patient health characteristics from a patient;

a central hub configured in the home environment, wherein the central hub receives the set of patient health characteristics;

a wireless network configured to couple the plurality of sensors and the central hub;

a clinician hub coupled with the central hub, the clinician hub configured to receive a patient status from the central hub and to send the patient status to an appropriate clinician;

a graphical patient interface configured to allow the patient to activate the plurality of sensors, and further configured to allow the patient to communicate with the clinician; and

a graphical user interface configured such that the clinician can access the clinician hub and reconfigure the central hub, and further configured to allow the clinician to communicate with the patient.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the size of the plurality of sensors are in a range from micro-scale to millimeter-scale.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the plurality of sensors may be any of a number of sensor types including:

invasive implantable;

non-invasive, portable device embeddable; and

, non-invasive, home device embeddable.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clinician hub is configured outside of the home environment.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the patient status includes a report when the set of patient health characteristics is within a predetermined normal range, and the patient status including the report and an alarm when the set of patient health characteristics are not in the predetermined normal range.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central hub is further configured to evaluate the set of patient health characteristics as best, comparative or cumulative.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of sensors is directly coupled with the central hub through the wireless network.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors are coupled with the central hub through the wireless network in an ad-hoc fashion.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a sensing sub-system configured to receive the set of patient health characteristics from the plurality of sensors, and further configured relay the set of patient health characteristics to the central hub.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clinician reconfigures the central hub to alter the set of patient health characteristics collected by the plurality of sensors.

11. A method of remotely monitoring patient healthcare characteristics, the method comprising:

activating a plurality of sensors, wherein the plurality of sensors are activated with a graphical patent interface;

collecting a set of patient healthcare characteristics from a patient with the plurality of sensors;

processing the set of patient healthcare characteristics in a central hub, wherein the plurality of sensors and the central hub are configured in a home environment, and further wherein the plurality of sensors send a patient status from the central hub to a clinician hub;

directing the patient status with the clinician hub to an appropriate clinician; and

accessing the patient status by the clinician with a graphical user interface, wherein the graphical patient interface and the graphical user interface are configured to communicate with one another.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the size of the plurality of sensors are in a range from micro-scale to millimeter-scale.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the plurality of sensors may be any of a number of sensor types including:

invasive implantable;

non-invasive, portable device embeddable; and

, non-invasive, home device embeddable.

14. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the clinician hub is configured outside of the home environment.

15. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the patient status includes a report when the set of patient health characteristics is within a predetermined normal range, and the patient status includes the report and an alarm when the set of patient health characteristics are not in the predetermined normal range.

16. The system as claimed in claim 11, further comprising evaluating the set of patient health characteristics as best, comparative or cumulative with the central hub.

17. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of sensors is directly coupled with the central hub through the wireless network.

18. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the plurality of sensors are coupled with the central hub through the wireless network in an ad-hoc fashion.

19. The system as claimed in claim 11, further comprising receiving the set of patient health characteristics from the plurality of sensors with a sensing sub-system, and further comprising relaying the set of patient health characteristics to the central hub with the sensing sub-system.

20. A remote monitoring system, comprising:

a plurality of sensors configured in a home environment of a patient, and further configured to collect a set of patient health characteristics from a patient;

a central hub configured in the home environment, wherein the central hub receives the set of patient health characteristics;

a wireless network configured to couple the plurality of sensors and the central hub;

a clinician hub coupled with the central hub, the clinician hub configured to receive a patient status from the central hub and to send the patient status to an appropriate clinician wherein the patient status includes a report when the set of patient health characteristics is with a predetermined normal range, and the report and an alarm when the set of patient health characteristics are not in the predetermined normal range;

a graphical patient interface configured to allow the patient to activate the plurality of sensors, and further configured to allow the patient to communicate with the clinician; and

a graphical user interface configured such that the clinician can access the clinician hub and reconfigure the central hub, wherein the clinician reconfigures the central hub to alter the set of patient health characteristics collected by the plurality of sensors, and further configured to allow the clinician to communicate with the patient.