Remote controlled robot system that provides medical images

• US 8,849,679 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2008
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teladoc Health, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Touch Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Wang, Yulun, Jordan, Charles S., Pinter, Marco
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HIEP VAN
• Application Number:
  US12/277,842
• Publication Number:
  US 20090125147A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,135 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10132 Ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

A remote controlled robot system that includes a mobile robot and a remote control station. The mobile robot is controlled by the remote control station and includes a robot monitor, and a robot camera that captures a robot image. The system also includes a medical image device that can be coupled to the robot. The remote control station includes a camera that captures a remote station image, and a monitor that displays the robot image captured by the robot camera in a robot view field, displays the remote station image in a station view field. The robot transmits the robot and medical images to the remote control station such that a larger portion of a network bandwidth is allocated for the medical image than the robot image.

Claims

1. A remote controlled robot system, comprising:

a robot with a robot monitor, and a robot camera that captures a patient image of a patient, said robot having an auxiliary video port, said robot including a microphone and a speaker;

a medical image device that is coupled to said auxiliary video port and can capture a medical image of a patient; and

,

a remote control station that has a microphone and a speaker and transmits commands to control said robot, said remote control station includes a control station camera that captures a medical image of a medical personnel and a control station monitor that displays a display user interface, said display user interface simultaneously displays the patient image captured by said robot camera in a robot view field, said medical personnel image in a station view field, and said medical image in an auxiliary view field, wherein a doctor located at said remote control station can conduct a video conference with a technician located at said robot while viewing the patient image and the medical image.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said medical image device is an ultrasound device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said medical image device is an otoscope.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said medical image device is an echocardiogram.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a broadband network coupled to said robot and said remote control station.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said robot camera and said robot monitor are mechanically coupled to always move together.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein a larger portion of a network bandwidth is allocated for the medical image than the patient image.

8. A method for reviewing images of a patient, comprising:

moving a robot that has a microphone, a speaker, a monitor and a camera adjacent to a patient with commands from a remote control station that includes a microphone, a speaker, a camera and a monitor;

capturing a patient image of a patient with the robot camera;

transmitting the patient image to the remote control station;

displaying the patient image on the remote control station monitor;

moving a medical image device relative to a patient by a technician;

capturing a medical personnel image of the patient with the medical image device, the captured medical image being provided to the robot;

transmitting the medical image from the robot to the remote control station;

capturing a medical personnel image of a medical personnel with a remote control station camera;

displaying the medical image on a display user interface of the remote control station monitor simultaneously with the display of the patient image and the remote station medical personnel image; and

, conducting a video conference between the technician and a doctor, while the doctor views the medical image and the patient image.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the medical image device captures ultrasound images.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising selecting a graphical input of a graphical user interface displayed by the remote control station monitor to display the medical image.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the medical image is transmitted at a higher frame rate than the patient image.