System and method for rapid location of an alarm condition

• US 8,686,851 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2011
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Davis, Carl Claude
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US13/155,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20120313775A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,028 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.11, 340/539.12, 340/539.16, 340/573.1, 340/539.13, 345/419, 345/629, 345/633, 701/300, 701/533, 705/2, 705/3, 455/404.2, 455/466
• US Class Current: 340/539.12
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/043 detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A method of notifying a clinician of an alarm condition for a patient including the steps of receiving notice of the alarm condition, identifying a location of the patient, identifying a location of the clinician, calculating guidance information based on the location of the clinician and the location of the patient, and providing the guidance information to a clinician using a portable notification device. The method may further include the steps of identifying a direction and/or an orientation of the clinician, and calculating and displaying the guidance information based on the direction and/or orientation of the clinician.

Claims

1. A method of notifying a clinician of an alarm condition for a patient, the method comprising:

receiving notice of the alarm condition and alarm information regarding the nature of the alarm condition;

identifying a location of the patient;

identifying a location of the clinician;

calculating guidance information based on the location of the clinician and the location of the patient; and

providing the guidance information and the alarm information to the clinician using a portable notification device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable notification device is a wearable display device worn on a users'"'"' head and providing guidance information within the user'"'"'s field of view.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the wearable display device is glasses with a head up display.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the wearable display devices is an augmented reality display utilizing at least one arrow to indicate the guidance information, and wherein the augmented reality display is updated to account for movement of the wearable display device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable notification device is a handheld display device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable notification device is includes an auditory notification device presenting auditory guidance information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating guidance information is further based on a floor plan of a healthcare facility.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of calculating guidance information comprises calculating directions from the location of the clinician to the location of the patient.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the location of the clinician includes identifying the location of the portable notification device utilizing a location tracking system within a healthcare facility.

10. The method of claim 1, further including identifying a direction of the portable notification device based on input from a direction sensor in the portable notification device, and wherein the step of calculating guidance information further includes calculating guidance information based on the direction of the portable notification device.

11. The method of claim 1, further including the step of identifying an orientation of the portable notification device based on input from an orientation sensor in the portable notification device, and wherein the step of calculating guidance information further includes calculating guidance information based on the orientation of the portable notification device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the guidance information using the portable notification device further includes providing physiologic information of the patient using the portable notification device.

13. The method of claim 1, further including the steps of:

receiving notice of a second alarm condition and second alarm information regarding the nature of the second alarm condition;

identifying a second location of a patient associated with the second alarm condition;

identifying an updated location of the clinician;

calculating guidance information based on the updated location of the clinician and the second location of the patient associated with the second alarm condition; and

providing the guidance information and the second alarm information using the portable notification device such that the clinician is able to determine which alarm condition is a higher priority.

14. A method of notifying a clinician of an alarm condition for a patient using a portable notification device, the method comprising:

receiving notice of the alarm condition at the portable notification device;

identifying a location of the patient in a healthcare facility;

identifying a position of the clinician in the healthcare facility, wherein identifying the position of the clinician comprises;

identifying the location of the portable notification device;

identifying a direction of the portable notification device; and

identifying an orientation of the portable notification device;

calculating guidance information, based on the location of the patient and the position of the clinician;

displaying the guidance information on the portable notification device;

identifying an updated position of the clinician in the healthcare facility as the clinician moves toward the patient; and

calculating updated guidance information based on the updated position of the clinician; and

displaying the updated guidance information on the portable notification device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the portable notification device is a head-up display device providing guidance information overlaid on the clinician'"'"'s field-of-view.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the portable notification device is a handheld display device.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of calculating a path from the clinician to the patient includes computing a path based on the floor plan of the healthcare facility.

18. An alarm notification system comprising:

a portable notification device comprising;

a receiver that receives notice of an alarm condition for a patient;

a location determining means for determining a location of the portable notification device in a healthcare environment;

an orientation determining means for determining an orientation of the portable notification device in the healthcare environment and

an augmented reality display;

wherein, upon receiving notice of an alarm condition at the receiver, the portable notification device calculates guidance information based on the layout of the healthcare environment compared to the location and the orientation of the portable notification device; and

displays guidance information using the augmented reality display.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the portable notification device further includes a direction sensor that determines a direction of the portable notification device;

and wherein the portable notification device calculates the guidance information based on the direction of the portable notification device.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the portable notification device further calculates updated guidance information based on an updated location of the portable notification device and displays the updated guidance information.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the augmented reality display is a head-up display providing guidance information in the form of at least one arrow overlaid on a user'"'"'s field of view.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the receiver receives alarm information indicating the nature or severity of the alarm condition, and the augmented reality display displays the alarm information.