METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A SPECIALIZED COMPUTER INPUT DEVICE

• US 20140139465A1
• Filed: 11/19/2013
• Published: 05/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Philips Medical Systems Technologies Ltd. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Algotec Systems Ltd. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Grosberg, Ron R.
• Granted Patent: US 10,001,918 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45512 Command shells
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A system and method for controlling a standalone computer through a separate touch screen input device.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a standalone computer, comprising:

providing a separate touch screen input device and an interactive software program for being operated by the standalone computer;

assigning a plurality of interaction elements for controlling functions on the interactive software program;

providing a desktop, comprising a selection of the plurality of interaction elements having a layout;

displaying the desktop to a user by the separate touch screen input device; and

controlling the interactive software program by the user through manipulation of one or more interaction elements on the desktop, wherein the controlling comprises manipulating an interaction element on the desktop by the user, sending a command from the separate touch screen input device to the standalone computer according to the manipulated interaction element, and invoking a function at the interactive software program according to the command.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the layout comprises a specified layout, and the method further comprises specifying the specified layout according to one or more requests of the user.

3. The method of any of claim 1, wherein the layout comprises a configurable layout, and the method further comprises configuring the configurable layout according to one or more requests of the user.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising substituting a different layout for a current layout according to a request by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the layout is determined according to a layout database.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein any changes to the layout are stored in the layout database.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the assigning the plurality of interaction elements further comprises creating an operations table featuring an assignment of each interaction element to a command to be sent to the standalone computer, wherein each command corresponds to an operation.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the interaction element comprises a button, trackball, track pad, mouse, other pointing device or a gestured command on a touch screen.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information from the interactive software program by the touch screen input device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch screen input device comprises a microphone, the method further comprising:

receiving verbal dictation from the user; and

converting the verbal dictation to text.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the invoking the command at the interactive software program further comprises receiving the command by a translation module operated by the standalone computer;

and

translating the command for the interactive software program by the translation module.

12. A method for controlling a standalone computer, comprising providing a separate touch screen input device;

providing a medical imaging software program for being operated by the standalone computer;

assigning a plurality of interaction elements for controlling functions on the medical imaging software program, wherein each function corresponds to an operation assignment;

providing a desktop, comprising a selection of the plurality of interaction elements having a layout;

displaying the desktop to a user by the separate touch screen input device; and

controlling the medical imaging software program by the user through manipulation of one or more interaction elements on the desktop.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the layout comprises a specified layout, and the method further comprises specifying the specified layout according to one or more requests of the user.

14. The method of any of claim 12, wherein the layout comprises a configurable layout, and the method further comprises configuring the configurable layout according to one or more requests of the user.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the assigning the plurality of interaction elements further comprises creating an operations table featuring an assignment of each interaction element to a command to be sent to the standalone computer.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving information from the medical imaging software program by the touch screen input device.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the touch screen input device comprises a microphone, further comprising:

receiving verbal dictation from the user; and

converting the verbal dictation to text.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the invoking the command at the interactive software program further comprises:

receiving the command by a translation module operated by the standalone computer; and

translating the command for the interactive software program by the translation module.

19. A system comprising:

a touch screen input device, the touch screen input device comprising a virtualization program, a layout database and an operations database; and

a standalone computer in communication with the touch screen input device, the standalone computer comprising an interactive software program and a translation module, wherein the touch screen input device displays a plurality of interaction elements to a user in a layout and wherein the user interacts with the interaction elements to send one or more commands to the standalone computer, wherein the translation module of the standalone computer translates the one or more commands to one or more functions for the interactive software program to perform.