TECHNICAL MEDICAL DEVICE HAVING A TOUCHSCREEN AND METHOD

• US 20120212434A1
• Filed: 02/14/2012
• Published: 08/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH (Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA)
• Original Assignee: Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH (Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA)
• Inventors: Bluemler, Holger, Wehmeyer, Wolfgang
• Granted Patent: US 9,189,597 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/14 Dialysis systems; Artificial kidneys; Blood oxygenators semi-permeable membranes characterised by the material, manufacturing processes therefor B01D71/00; Reciprocating systems for treatment of body fluids, e.g. single needle systems for hemofiltration or pheresis
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/505 Touch-screens; Virtual keyboard or keypads; Virtual buttons; Soft keys; Mouse touches
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04144 using an array of force sensing means position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells G06F3/0447
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of technical medical devices like dialysis machines. The invention is based on the improvement of a technical medical device in such way that operator inputs are more convenient and more reliable via a touchscreen display. The inventive technical medical device therefore comprises a touchscreen having two redundant finger-position sensors. At least one of these sensors may comprise additional piezoelectric elements, which can modify at least partial areas of the touchscreen such that they are differentiated from their surrounding areas by an elevation, a recess, a vibration or a change in the surface roughness sensed, and it also comprises a control unit for doing so. A control unit differentiates intentional and unintentional operating entries, and in the event of failure of the visual display device of the touchscreen display ensures at least a restricted operability of the touchscreen display.

Claims

1. A technical medical device having at least one touchscreen, characterized in that

the touchscreen has two redundant sensors for detecting the position of a finger pressure on the touchscreen.

2. The technical medical device according to claim 1, wherein

the technical medical device is a blood treatment device and is equipped in particular for hemodialysis, for hemofiltration, for hemodiafiltration, for plasma-pheresis or for automatic peritoneal dialysis.

3. The technical medical device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

at least one of the sensors comprises a plurality of piezoelectric elements.

4. The technical medical device according to claim 3, wherein

the piezoelectric elements can be controlled to undergo deformation.

5. The technical medical device according to claim 4, wherein

the deformation is a recess or an elevation and/or vibration perpendicular to the surface of the touchscreen.

6. The technical medical device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein

the technical medical device includes a control unit which is equipped to apply an electrical voltage to each piezoelectric element and/or to measure the electrical voltage drop across each piezoelectric element.

7. The technical medical device according to claim 6, wherein

the control unit is equipped to determine the positions and the application of force of any finger pressure on the touchscreen from the measured voltages of each piezoelectric element.

8. A method for display on a technical medical device having at least one touchscreen, characterized in that

tactile signals are generated on the touchscreen.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein

the technical medical device is a blood treatment device and is equipped in particular for hemodialysis, for hemofiltration, for hemodiafiltration, for plasma-pheresis or for automatic peritoneal dialysis.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein

the tactile signal is a deformation.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein

the deformation is a recess or an elevation and/or a vibration perpendicular to the surface of the touchscreen.

12. The method for display and input of information on a technical medical device having at least one touchscreen, characterized in that

two redundant sensors are used to determine the position of a finger pressure on the touchscreen.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein

at least one sensor for detection of the position of a finger pressure on the touchscreen comprises a plurality of piezoelectric elements.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein

a control unit is provided and is equipped to detect the signals of the two redundant sensors for detecting the position of a finger pressure on the touchscreen.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein

the control unit concludes that there is a fault case when only one sensor signal is detected.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein

the control unit concludes that there has been an unintentional finger pressure when the sensor signal is too low.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein

it is possible to recognize whether the visual display of the touchscreen is functioning, and in the event it is found that the visual display of the touchscreen is not functioning, the piezoelectric elements can be controlled in such a way that partial areas of the touchscreen have different tactile properties.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein

a finger pressure on one of the partial areas of the touchscreen triggers a predefined action of the technical medical device.

19. The method according to claim 14, wherein

the control unit is equipped to analyze the signals of the two redundant sensors for detecting the position of a finger pressure on the touchscreen so that the positions of multiple fingers depressing the touchscreen at the same time can be ascertained.