Emergency response device for summoning a responder and routing said responder to a victim

• US 8,559,913 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2004
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Thijs, Jeroen Adrianus Johannes, Muesch, Guido, Muehlsteff, Jens, Pinter, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jama, Isaak R
• Application Number:
  US10/596,424
• Publication Number:
  US 20070218869A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,225 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 607/32
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3904 External heart defibrillators [EHD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/004 Alarm propagated along alternative communication path or using alternative communication medium according to a hierarchy of available ways to communicate, e.g. if Wi-Fi not available use GSM
• 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 27/001 Signalling to an emergency team, e.g. firemen
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

The invention relates to an emergency response system. The emergency response system (10) comprises a central station (4) for receiving information about emergencies, whereby position information of a victim is provided and stored in a look-up table (6) of the central station (4). The central station addresses a list (7) of publicly available actuatable emergency response devices and selects a suitable device. The central station (4) transmits a trigger signal by means of a suitable communication network (3) to the selected remote actuatable emergency response device (14), which comprises communication means (13) for activating the signaling means (15) upon receipt of the trigger signal. Also, the actuatable emergency response device (14) comprises storage means (11) arranged to store the position information of the emergency response device and the provided position information of the victim. Upon receipt of a suitable signal from the communication means (13), the signaling means (15) start broadcasting a message arranged to attract as many potential emergency responders to the victim as possible. The emergency response device (14) comprises navigation means (20), arranged to provide a routing to the victim, which is being fed-back to the responder by the user interface. The invention further relates to an emergency response device and a method for summoning an emergency responder and for routing said responder to the victim.

Claims

1. A method for summoning an emergency responder and for routing said responder to a victim, said method comprising the steps of:

providing an actuatable emergency response device;

actuating the emergency response device by transmitting a trigger signal to the emergency response device, said trigger signal comprising position information of the victim;

broadcasting a message by a signaling unit of the emergency response device for summoning an emergency responder in a vicinity of the emergency response device;

activating by the emergency response device a navigation unit of the emergency response device in response to the emergency response device detecting an interaction between the emergency responder and the emergency response device;

determining a routing of the emergency responder to the victim with the activated navigation unit of the emergency response device;

providing feedback of the routing to the emergency responder on a user interface of the emergency response device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the emergency response device is an automated external defibrillator.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the navigation unit is activated in response to the defibrillator being lifted.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the actuatable emergency response device is one of a plurality of publicly available emergency response devices.

5. The method according to claim 4, further including:

selecting one of the plurality of publicly available actuatable emergency response devices based on a comparison between pre-stored position information of the plurality of publicly available emergency response devices and the position information of the victim.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the routing of the emergency responder to the victim is based on the position information of the victim and position information of the emergency response device and is not determined until an interaction between the emergency responder and the emergency response device is detected.

7. The method according to chum 1, wherein the navigation unit stores a floor plan of at least is portion of a building in which the emergency response device is located and the provided feedback displays at least a portion of the floor plan, as part of the routing fed back to the emergency responder.

8. An emergency response system for summoning an emergency responder and for routing said responder to a victim, said system comprising:

a central station for actuating a remote emergency response device by transmitting a trigger signal to said device upon receiving a victim signal indicative of a victim in need of said emergency response device, the central station including a look-up table of pre-stored position information of publicly available actuatable emergency response devices, wherein the central station selects one or more emergency response devices based on emergency response device position and automatically transmits the trigger signal including victim position information to the selected one or more emergency response devices, the selection of emergency response devices being based on a comparison between pre-stored position information of available emergency response devices and the position information of the victim, and the selectable one or more emergency response devices comprises;

communication unit which receives the trigger signal and activates a signaling unit upon receipt of the trigger signal to broadcast a message for summoning emergency responders to the emergency response device;

a navigation unit which in response to detecting an inter of the emergency responder with the emergency response device determines a route for the emergency responder between the emergency response device, and the victim based on the victim position information and the emergency response device position; and

a user interlace which feeds back the route to the emergency responder.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the emergency response device further includes:

an automatic external defibrillator.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the user interface includes;

a display which displays instructions to guide the emergency responder along the route and through stops of delivering a defibrillation shock.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the user interface includes:

a display configured to project the routing 0.1 instructions and a map of the routing instructions.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein there are a plurality of emergency response devices and the central station transmits the trigger signal to more than one of the emergency response devices.

13. The system according to claim 8, wherein the routing of the emergency responder to the victim based on the position information of the victim and position information of the emergency response device is not determined until an interaction between the emergency responder and the emergency response device is detected.

14. An emergency response device for summoning an emergency responder and for routing said responder to a victim upon receipt of a trigger signal indicating position information of the victim, said emergency response device comprising:

a communication unit configured to receive the trigger signal and to activate a signaling unit upon receipt of the trigger signal;

the signaling unit being configured to broadcast a message for summoning an emergency responder to the victim;

a navigation unit configured to determine a routing of the emergency responder to the victim based on the position information of the victim and position information of the emergency response device;

a user interface configured to feed back the routing to the emergency responder; and

a detector of the emergency response device configured to activate the navigation unit in response to detecting an interaction between the emergency responder and the emergency response device, such that the routing of the emergency responder to the victim based on the position information of the victim and position information of the emergency response device is not determined until an interaction between the emergency responder and the emergency response device is detected.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the communication unit is configured to communicate by wireless telecommunication.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein the signaling unit includes:

a wireless communication unit configured to contact all wireless communication units located in a vicinity of the wireless communication.

17. The device according to claim 14, wherein the signaling unit includes:

a loud speaker configured for broadcasting a verbal message.

18. The device according to claim 14, wherein the device further includes:

an automated external defibrillator.

19. The device according to claim 14, wherein the navigation unit stores a floor plan of at least a portion of a building in which the emergency response device is located and the user interface displays at least a portion of the to plan as part of the muting fed back to the emergency responder.

20. The device according to claim 14, wherein the detector include:

a movement detector configured to detect when the emergency response device is picked up by the emergency responder.