SYSTEM AND METHOD OF COMMUNICATING DATA FOR A HOSPITAL

• US 20070208833A1
• Filed: 03/02/2007
• Published: 09/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: St. Louis University
• Original Assignee: St. Louis University
• Inventors: Bucholz, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 8,626,953 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications

Abstract

A system used by a local health care facility to communicate with a remote health care facility via a data communication network. A controller at the local health care facility controls communication on the data communication network, including data communicated between the local health care facility and the remote health care facility. One or more devices located at the local health care facility transmit data to the remote health care facility via the data communication network. Additionally, the one or more devices receive control data via the data communication network and perform one or more functions in response to the received control data.

Claims

1. A system for use in a local health care facility comprising:

a local area network at the local health care facility, said local area network having a firewall which controls communication with devices located at the local health care facility and connected to the local area network;

a plurality of local devices at the local health care facility connected to the local area network, each said local device responsive to control signals provided via the local area network;

a remote device in communication with the local area network and remote from the local health care facility;

an audio device at the local health care facility connected to the local area network for generating an audio signal from a sound pattern exposed to said audio device, said sound pattern requesting communication between one or more of the local devices to the remote device via the local area network; and

a controller at the local health care facility and connected to the local area network for controlling the firewall as a function of the communication requested by the audio device, said controller controlling the firewall to selectively link one or more of the local devices to the remote device via the local area network and to selectively permit said one or more local health care facility devices to transmit data signals via said link and receive control signals via said link.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the firewall to exclusively permit data signals having a particular content to be transmitted by the one or more local health care facility devices via the controller link.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of remote devices in communication with the local area network and remote from the local health care facility;

a processing device coupled to the plurality of remote devices and the local area network, said processing device receiving data from the controller via the local area network, said received data indicating the one or more local devices selected by the controller for linking to a remote device, said processing device locating said remote device based on the received data.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the received data identifies a specific remote device and the processing device locates said specific remote device.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the received data identifies one or more medical credentials of a user of a remote device and the processing device locates a particular remote device as a function of said identified medical credentials and as a function of users available to operate the plurality of remote devices.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the received data includes a first collection of data for requesting communication with a remote device, and a second collection of data requested by the processing device after receiving said first data collection, said second collection of data identifying a particular remote device.

7. A system for use in a local health care facility comprising:

a local area network at the local health care facility, said local area network having a firewall which controls communication with devices located at the local health care facility and connected to the local area network;

a master controller located at the local health care facility and connected to the local area network for controlling the firewall;

a local device located at the local health care facility and connected to the local area network having a first control form associated therewith, said device comprises;

a controller for receiving control data permitted for communication via the first communication network, and

a controllable component responsive exclusively to signals transmitted from the controller, said signals being influenced by control data received by the controller;

a remote device in communication with the local area network, said remote device having a display and browser interface for obtaining remote control data for controlling the local device from a user of the remote device, wherein said display and user interface displays a second control form, said remote user interacts with the displayed second control form, and the second control form associates the user interaction with said remote control data; and

wherein said remote device controls said local device as a function of said remote control data and said firewall, said remote control data communicated via the local area network to the controller of the local device.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the second control form is based on the user of the remote computing device.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the user of the remote device is associated with an access level for controlling the local device and the second control form is based on said access level associated with the user.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the user of the remote device has preferences associated with the second control form and the second control form is based on said user preferences.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein the second control form has at least one standardized feature associated with a function performed by the controllable component of the local device, said standardized feature appearing substantially similar in a plurality of control forms wherein said function is performed by a plurality of devices associated with the plurality of control forms.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein the master controller controls the firewall to restrict the control data communicated via the local area network and the second control form is based on said restrictions.

13. The system of claim 7 wherein the master controller includes an input device for obtaining an input signal from a user and the master controller controls the firewall based on said input signal.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the input device receives a signal from the master controller and communicates said received signal to the user, said received signal is transmitted to the master controller from the remote device via the local area network.

15. A method for selectively communicating between a local health care professional and a remote health care professional using a data communication network, said local health care professional located at a local health care facility and said remote health care professional located remote to said local health care facility, said method comprising:

generating a video signal by an imaging device coupled to a controller, said imaging device and said controller located at the local health care facility, said controller connected to the data communication network;

generating a first audio signal by an audio device located at the local health care facility and coupled to the controller, said first audio signal representative of a request verbalized by the local health care professional to permit transmitting of the video signal generated by the imaging device via the data communication network and to permit transmitting and receiving of audio signals by said audio device via the data communication network;

configuring by the controller a firewall associated with the data communication network as a function of the permissions represented in the first audio signal;

generating a second audio signal by the audio device, said second audio signal representative of information verbalized by the local health care professional for communicating to the remote health care professional;

transmitting the video signal and the second audio signal by the controller via the data communication network to a remote device associated with the remote health care professional;

generating a third audio signal by the audio device, said third audio signal representative of a request verbalized by the local health care professional to permit a local device located at the local health care facility and coupled to the data communication network to transmit data signals to the remote device via the data communication network and to permit the local device to receive control signals from the remote device via the data communication area network;

configuring by the controller the firewall associated with the local area network as a function of the permissions represented in the third audio signal;

transmitting by the local device data signals to the remote device via the data communication network;

receiving by the local device control signals from the remote device; and

performing a function by the local device in response to the control signals received from the remote device.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the permission represented by the third audio signal specifies a particular content permitted for transmitting by the local device to the remote device.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the particular content permitted is content associated with a particular patient.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the permission represented by the third audio signal specifies a permitted function for performing by the local device in response to the control signal received from the remote device, and wherein the controller configures the firewall to restrict the control signals received by the local device to a control signal associated with performing the particular function.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising receiving by the audio device via the data communication network and the controller an audio signal transmitted by the remote device, said received audio signal representative of information verbalized by the remote health care professional for communicating to the local health care professional.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the controller is affixed to the body of the local health care professional.