MULTI-MODALITY NETWORK FOR IMPROVED WORKFLOW

• US 20090276515A1
• Filed: 04/22/2009
• Published: 11/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Choudhury, Rahul, So, Maz, Thomas, Lewis, Teo, Tat-Jin, Knight, Jon M.
• Application Number:
  US12/427,941
• Publication Number:
  US 20090276515A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00477 Coupling A61B2017/0046 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/256 having a database of accessory information, e.g. including context sensitive help or scientific articles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/374 NMR or MRI
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3784 both receiver and transmitter being in the instrument or receiver being also transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/25 User interfaces for surgical systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• 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: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• 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 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods for multi-modality networks that provide access to different medical devices though a common operator interface. In an example embodiment, a multi-modality network comprises a host computer and a plurality of medical devices. The medical devices may support different diagnostic and/or therapeutic modalities. The host computer communicates with the medical devices through a communications network. In one embodiment, the host computer includes a display and a control console that allow the physician or operator to control the different medical devices and view images and measurements from the different medical devices through a common interface. Further, the host computer may provide computing resources, e.g., a general purpose image processor, that can be shared among the different modalities.

Claims

1. A medical network, comprising:

a host computer, wherein the host computer comprises

a storage medium storing a plurality of modules; and

a computer processor; and

a plurality of medical devices communicatively coupled to the host computer, wherein at least one of the medical devices comprises

a storage medium storing a program, wherein the program identifies at least one of the plurality of modules; and

a device processor, wherein the device processor is configured to send the program to the host computer;

wherein the computer processor is configured to use the received program to determine which of the plurality of modules to use for the medical device.

2. The network of claim 1, wherein the medical devices comprise an ultrasound imaging device, an optical imaging device, or an MRI device.

3. The network of claim 1, wherein the plurality of modules comprise a plurality of display layouts.

4. The network of claim 1, wherein the plurality of modules comprise a plurality of data structures.

5. The network of claim 4, wherein the computer processor uses the received program to determine which of the plurality of data structures to use to process data from the corresponding medical device.

6. The network of claim 1, wherein the plurality of modules comprise a plurality of program modules.

7. The network of claim 6, wherein each of the program modules comprises instructions for performing a predefined function.

8. The network of claim 1, further comprising a network hub coupled between the host computer and the medical devices, wherein the network hub comprises at least one coupler that couples communications between the host computer and the medical devices while providing electrical isolation between the host computer and the medical devices.

9. The network of claim 8, wherein the at least one coupler comprises an optical coupler or a transformer.

10. The network of claim 8, wherein the network hub is coupled to at least one of the medical device via a separate link.

11. The network of claim 8, wherein the network hub is coupled to two or more of the medical devices via a shared transmission line.

12. The network of claim 1, wherein the host computer is communicatively coupled to at least one of the medical devices via an Ethernet link.

13. The network of claim 1, further comprising a touch screen control panel coupled to the host computer, wherein the computer processor uses the received program to determine a set of controls to display on the touch screen control panel for the medical device.

14. The network of claim 13, wherein the plurality of modules comprises a plurality of controls, and the computer processor uses the received program to determine which of the plurality of controls to display on the touch screen for the medical device.

15. A medical network, comprising:

a host computer, wherein the host computer comprises

a storage medium storing a plurality of programs; and

a computer processor; and

a plurality of medical devices communicatively coupled to the host computer, wherein at least one of the medical devices comprises

a storage medium storing an identifier that identifies the corresponding medical device; and

a device processor, wherein the device processor is configured to send the identifier to the host computer;

wherein the computer processor is configured to use the received identifier to recognize the corresponding medical device and determine which of the plurality of programs to use for the medical device.

16. The network of claim 15, wherein the medical devices comprise an ultrasound imaging device, an optical imaging device, or an MRI device.

17. The network of claim 15, further comprising a network hub coupled between the host computer and the medical devices, wherein the network hub comprises at least one coupler that couples communications between the host computer and the medical devices while providing electrical isolation between the host computer and the medical devices.

18. A medical network, comprising:

a host computer, wherein the host computer comprises

a storage medium storing a predetermined network address and/or network link associated with a medical device; and

a computer processor, wherein the computer processor is configured to automatically recognize the medical device when the medical device is communicatively coupled to the host computer via the predetermined network address and/or network link.

19. The network of claim 18, wherein the medical device comprises an ultrasound imaging device, an optical imaging device, or an MRI device.

20. The network of claim 18, further comprising a network hub coupled between the host computer and the medical device, wherein the network hub comprises at least one coupler that couples communications between the host computer and the medical device while providing electrical isolation between the host computer and the medical device.