INDICATOR APPARATUS FOR HEALTHCARE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20090214009A1
• Filed: 02/12/2009
• Published: 08/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Schuman, Richard J. SR., Collins, Williams F. JR.
• Granted Patent: US 8,384,526 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/106.20
• 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 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/746 Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms alarms per se G08B
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7465 Arrangements for interactive communication between patient and care services, e.g. by using a telephone network telemetry of measured physiological signal A61B5/0002
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/00 Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/222 Personal calling arrangements or devices, i.e. paging systems selective calling systems and call receivers H04W84/00, H04W68/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/06 using electric transmission , e.g. involving audible and visible signalling through the use of sound and light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

An indicator apparatus is configurable for use in a healthcare communication system, such as a nurse call system. The indicator apparatus includes a visual indicator. The visual indicator is operable to selectively display one or more colors in response to calls received by the healthcare communication system.

Claims

1. An indicator apparatus for a patient-nurse communication system, comprising:

a base mountable to a wall or a ceiling,

at least one visual indicator supported by the base, the at least one visual indicator being configured to display one or more of a plurality of colors, and

electrical circuitry operably coupled to the at least one visual indicator and configured to receive electrical signals indicative of at least one color to be displayed by the at least one visual indicator in response to a call from a call-originating device of a patient-nurse communication system, wherein the at least one color to be displayed is variable depending on a call type.

2. The indicator apparatus of claim 1, comprising a plurality of visual indicators operably coupled to the electrical circuitry to display at least one color in response to calls from a call-originating device of a patient-nurse communication system, wherein the electrical circuitry is configured to send a first electrical signal indicative of at least one color to a first visual indicator of the plurality of visual indicators in response to a first call and send a second electrical signal indicative of at least one color to a second visual indicator of the plurality of visual indicators in response to a second call.

3. The indicator apparatus of claim 1, comprising a speaker, wherein the electrical circuitry is configured to receive an electrical signal from the patient-nurse communication system to play a sound file through the speaker in response to a call from a call-originating device of the patient-nurse communication system, and the sound file to be played is variable depending on a call type.

4. The indicator apparatus of claim 1, wherein each visual indicator has a length, a width, and a thickness, and the thickness of the visual indicator is less than the length and the thickness of the visual indicator is less than the width.

5. The indicator apparatus of claim 1, comprising a cover defining an interior region, wherein the at least one visual indicator is positioned in the interior region, the cover has first and second faces that are spaced by a thickness, and the first and second faces are substantially parallel.

6. The indicator apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one color to be displayed is variable depending on criteria relating to at least one of the call-originating device, call type, call priority, and patient location.

7. A patient-nurse communication system, comprising:

an indicator apparatus comprising a base mountable to a wall or a ceiling, a multi-color light source supported by the base, and electrical circuitry operably coupled to the light source and configured to receive electrical signals from the patient-nurse communication system indicative of at least one color to be displayed by the light source,

a memory comprising at least one parameter relating to a call from a call-originating device of the patient-nurse communication system, and

computer circuitry configured to access the memory, read the at least one parameter, identify at least one color to be illuminated by the light source based on the at least one parameter, and send an electrical signal to the light source to illuminate the at least one selected color in response to the call.

8. The patient-nurse communication system of claim 7, wherein the at least one parameter associates a call type of the call from the call-originating device with a color.

9. The patient-nurse communication system of claim 7, wherein the indicator assembly comprises a speaker, and the computer circuitry is configured to execute computer program logic to select a sound file in response to a call from a call-originating device of the patient-nurse communication system and send an electrical signal to the indicator assembly to play the sound file through the speaker in response to the call.

10. The patient-nurse communication system of claim 9, comprising a memory, wherein the sound file is one of a plurality of sound files stored in the memory.

11. The patient-nurse communication system of claim 7, wherein the computer circuitry is configured to receive data indicative of changes to the at least one parameter from a network and store the parameter changes in the memory.

12. The patient-nurse communication system of claim 7, comprising a visual indicator illuminatable by the light source, wherein the visual indicator has a length, a width, and a thickness, and the thickness of the visual indicator is less than the length and the thickness of the visual indicator is less than the width.

13. The patient-nurse communication system of claim 12, wherein the visual indicator has a first face and a second face spaced from the first face by the thickness to define an interior region of the visual indicator, and the interior region of the visual indicator comprises plastic.

14. The patient-nurse communication system of claim 7, comprising a cover defining an interior region, wherein a visual indicator is positioned in the interior region, the visual indicator is illuminatable by the light source, the cover has first and second faces that are spaced by a thickness, and the first and second faces are substantially parallel.

15. The patient-nurse communication system of claim 14, wherein the visual indicator comprises a plurality of light guides positioned in the interior region and aligned in a plane that is substantially parallel to the first and second faces.

16. An indicator apparatus for a patient-nurse communication system, comprising:

an indicator housing,

a cover coupled to the indicator housing and defining an interior region,

a plurality of visual indicators extending from the indicator housing and located in the interior region of the cover, the visual indicators being configured to selectively illuminate in response to signals received from a call-originating device of a patient-nurse communication system, and

a mounting plate coupled to the indicator housing, the mounting plate including a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion spaced from the first mounting portion, each mounting portion having a plurality of vertically aligned and laterally elongated mounting ports.

17. The indicator apparatus of claim 16, wherein the indicator housing has a first thickness, further comprising a second housing spaced from the indicator housing and defining a second interior region, electronic circuitry located in the second interior region, the electronic circuitry being operably coupled to the visual indicators, the second housing having a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is less than the second thickness.

18. The indicator assembly of claim 17, wherein the indicator housing is mountable to the first mounting portion and the second housing is mountable to the second mounting portion.

19. The indicator assembly of claim 16, comprising an elongated slot defined by the indicator housing, wherein the slot is configured to receive a visual indicator in either a first orientation or a second orientation substantially perpendicular to the first orientation.