Method and system for constructing formulae for processing medical data

• US 5,715,451 A
• Filed: 07/20/1995
• Issued: 02/03/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uniloc Luxembourg S.à r.l. (f/k/a Uniloc Luxembourg S.A.) (Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited)
• Original Assignee: Spacelabs Medical Incorporated (OSI Systems Incorporated)
• Inventors: Marlin, Tom
• Primary Examiner(s): Amsbury, Wayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coby, Frantz
• Application Number:
  US08/504,703
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• Field of Search: 395/615, 395/202, 395/203, 364/413.02, 364/413.09, 364/413.01, 364/413.06, 128/642, 128/670, 128/671
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/60 for the operation of medical equipment or devices
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A method and system for constructing formulae for processing medical data is provided by a formula construction facility. In a preferred embodiment, the facility displays a list of time-indexed medical values. A user selects the name of a time-indexed medical value from the displayed list. The facility also displays a list of time intervals for qualifying individual values of the identified time-indexed medical value. The user similarly selects an interval from the displayed list of time intervals. The facility further displays a list of functions for reducing the individual values of the selected time-indexed medical value whose effective times are within the identified time interval to a single value. In response, the user selects a function from the displayed list of functions. The facility then stores a formula for applying the selected function to individual values of the selected time-indexed medical value whose effective times are within the selected time interval in order to reduce the individual values to a single value.

Claims

1. A method in a computer system for constructing, in response to input from a user using a window-based user interface, a formula for producing a textual patient information string from a selected time-indexed medical data variable having a value for each of a plurality of times, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving input via the window-based user interface specifying a period of time during which the medical data variable is to be analyzed;

displaying via the window-based user interface names of a plurality of functions capable of aggregating a plurality of values into a single value;

receiving input via the window-based user interface indicating that the user selected the name of a selected function from the displayed function names;

receiving input via the window-based user interface specifying a manner of manipulating a single value to produce a textual string conveying patient information; and

based upon the receiving steps, creating a formula that specifies;

identifying values of the selected time-indexed medical data variable having times within the specified period of time,

applying the selected function to the identified values of the selected time-indexed medical data variable to aggregate the identified values into a single value, and

manipulating the single value in the specified manner to produce a textual string conveying patient information based on the values of the selected time-indexed medical data variable,

such that the formula may be used to generate and display a textual string conveying patient information based on the values of the selected time-indexed medical data variable.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected time-indexed medical data variable is one of a plurality of time-indexed medical data variables each having a name, further including the steps of:

displaying via the window-based user interface the names of the plurality of time-indexed medical data variables; and

receiving via the window-based user interface input indicating that the user selected the name of the selected time-indexed medical data variable from the displayed variable names.

3. A method in a computer system for constructing, in response to input from a user using a window-based user interface, a formula based on one or more of a plurality of time-indexed medical values, each time-indexed medical value having a name and being capable of having associated with it one or more individual medical values each having an effective time at which the individual medical value reflected the condition of a patient, the constructed formula having an effective time and referencing subsets of the individual medical values of each parameter upon which it is based whose effective times occur within a specified interval, the constructed formula being usable to generate individual medical values of a new time-indexed medical value, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying via the window-based user interface a list of the names of the time-indexed medical values;

receiving input via the window-based user interface identifying a time-indexed medical value whose name the user has selected from the displayed list of time-indexed medical value names;

displaying via the window-based user interface a list of time intervals for qualifying individual values of the identified time-indexed medical value;

receiving input via the window-based user interface identifying a time interval that the user has selected from the displayed list of time intervals;

displaying via the window-based user interface a list of functions for reducing the individual values of the identified time-indexed medical value whose effective times are within the identified time interval to a single value;

receiving input via the window-based user interface identifying a function that the user has selected from the displayed list of functions; and

storing a formula for applying the identified function to individual values of the identified time-indexed medical value whose effective times are within the identified time interval in order to reduce the individual values to a single value,

such that the stored formula may be used to generate individual medical values for a new time-indexed medical value.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the single value to which the identified function of the formula stored in the storing step reduces the individual values is a numerical value.

5. The method of claim 3, further including the steps of:

determining whether the stored formula is invalid; and

if the stored formula is invalid, displaying the formula via the window-based user interface such that the portion of the formula that is invalid is highlighted.

12. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of generating individual values for the new time-indexed medical values using the stored formula.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of displaying the generated individual values for the new time-indexed medical values.

6. A method in a computer system for constructing, in response to user interface interactions by a user using a window-based user interface, a formula for deriving a medical conclusion from one of a plurality of time-indexed medical data inputs, the time-indexed medical data inputs each having events, the events each having multiple data components including a time, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving input via the window-based user interface identifying a time-indexed medical data input upon which the formula is to be based;

receiving via the window-based user interface an instruction identifying a time interval qualifying the events of the identified time-indexed medical data input;

receiving via the window-based user interface an instruction identifying a selection function for selecting one event from the events of the time-indexed medical data input qualified by the identified time interval;

receiving via the window-based user interface an instruction identifying a data component of each event of the time-indexed medical data input; and

storing a formula for applying the identified selection function to events of the identified time-indexed medical data input whose effective times are within the identified time interval in order to select one of the events, and for extracting the identified data component of the selected event,

such that the formula may be used to derive and display a medical conclusion from the identified time-indexed medical data input.

7. An apparatus for constructing, in response to input from a user using a window-based user interface, a formula for producing a textual patient information string from a selected time-indexed medical data variable having a value for each of a plurality of times, the method comprising the steps of:

a formula construction subsystem for constructing a formula for producing a displayable textual patient information string from a selected time-indexed medical data variable;

a display device coupled to the formula construction subsystem to display via the window-based user interface names of a plurality of functions capable of aggregating a plurality of values into a single value;

an input device coupled to convey to the formula construction subsystem from the user;

input specifying a period of time during which the medical data variable is to be analyzed,

input indicating that the user selected the name of a selected function from the displayed function names, and

input specifying a manner of manipulating a single value to produce a textual string conveying patient information; and

a memory coupled to the formula construction subsystem to store a formula that specifies;

identifying values of the selected time-indexed medical data variable having times within the specified period of time,

applying the selected function to the identified values of the selected time-indexed medical data variable to aggregate the identified values into a single value, and

manipulating the single value in the specified manner to produce a textual string conveying patient information based on the values of the selected time-indexed medical data variable.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the selected time-indexed medical data variable is one of a plurality of time-indexed medical data variables each having a name, and wherein the display device is also coupled to display the names of the plurality of time-indexed medical data variables, and wherein the input device is also coupled to convey input indicating that the user selected the name of the selected time-indexed medical data variable from the displayed variable names.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the input device is a pointing device.

10. An apparatus for constructing a formula based on one or more of a plurality of time-indexed medical values in response to input from a user using a window-based user interface, each time-indexed medical value having a name and being capable of having associated with it one or more individual medical values each having an effective time at which the individual medical value reflected the condition of a patient, the constructed formula having an effective time and referencing subsets of the individual medical values of each parameter upon which it is based whose effective times occur within a specified interval, comprising:

a formula construction subsystem for constructing a formula based on one or more of the plurality of time-indexed medical values in response to input from a user;

a display device coupled to the formula construction subsystem to display via the window-based user interface;

a list of the names of the time-indexed medical values;

a list of time intervals for qualifying individual values of the identified time-indexed medical value, and

a list of functions for reducing the individual values of the identified time-indexed medical value whose effective times are within the identified time interval to a single value;

an input device coupled to convey to the formula construction subsystem from the user;

input identifying a time-indexed medical value whose name the user has selected from the displayed list of time-indexed medical value names,

input identifying a time interval that the user has selected from the displayed list of time intervals, and

input identifying a function that the user has selected from the displayed list of functions; and

a memory coupled to the formula construction subsystem to store a formula constructed by the formula construction subsystem for applying the identified function to individual values of the identified time-indexed medical value whose effective times are within the identified time interval in order to reduce the individual values to a single value,

such that the formula stored in the memory may be used to generate individual values of a new time-indexed medical value.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the input device is a pointing device.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of generating individual values for the new time-indexed medical values using the stored formula.