Systems and methods for building medical diagnostic apparatus using a digital library

• US 8,930,218 B1
• Filed: 07/17/2009
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wavii, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wavii, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Oakley, David, Hickey, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): PAULS, JOHN A
• Application Number:
  US12/505,185
• Time in Patent Office: 1,999 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 705/3
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/60 relating to pathologies

Abstract

The medical data analysis system automatically identifies medical information sources which correlate to anomalies identified in a set of patient medical data relating to an identified patient. The system includes a digital library for providing access to a plurality of information sources which relate to interpreting patient medical data and possible diseases associated with the patient medical data. A data characterization module calculates normative variations of a set of patient medical data to identify anomalies. Based upon this statistical analysis, a digital library interface module searches the digital library for information sources relating to the set of patient medical data and interpretations of the identified anomalies. There is also an information access module which provides an authorized user, such as a physician, with access to the information sources returned by the digital library interface module and relating to this set of patient medical data.

Claims

1. A medical data analysis system for providing a physician with access to medical information sources which correlate to anomalies identified in patient-specific medical data, comprising:

a physician terminal device for providing a physician with a user interface;

a memory for storing at least one set of patient-specific medical data relating to an identified patient, which patient medical data comprises a plurality of measurements of biomarkers that correspond to a biological property of one or more organisms in the patient;

a server, communicatively connected to the physician terminal device, comprising;

a digital library for providing access to a plurality of information sources which relate to interpreting patient medical data and diseases associated with the patient medical data; and

a control database which contains a plurality of sets of ailment-specific biomarkers, each of which correspond to a set of characteristic biological properties that can be detected and measured in a patient, and each of which are indicative that an organism is afflicted with a predetermined ailment;

a physician application, executing on the physician terminal device, for enabling the physician to select a plurality of sets of ailment-specific biomarkers via the physician terminal device;

wherein the server further comprises;

a data characterization module for calculating, using the physician selected sets of ailment-specific biomarkers, normative variations in the patient-specific medical data, when compared to the sets of ailment-specific biomarkers, to identify anomalies in the patient-specific medical data;

a digital library interface module, responsive to receipt of the patient-specific medical data collected from and about the identified patient and identified anomalies calculated by the data characterization module, for automatically searching the digital library to identify information sources relating to interpretations of the identified patient medical data of the identified patient that correlates with each of the biomarkers in each of the selected sets of ailment specific biomarkers to enable the physician to identify at least one possible ailment associated with the patient medical data; and

an information access module for providing the physician with access to the information sources identified by the digital library interface module.

2. The medical data analysis system of claim 1, further comprising:

a secure memory for storing patient-specific medical data collected from and about an identified patient for use by the physician.

3. The medical data analysis system of claim 1 wherein the patient-specific medical data comprises:

monitoring data collected from one or more medical devices operable to measure physiological data relating to the identified patient.

4. The medical data analysis system of claim 1 wherein the digital library comprises:

a plurality of publication information each of which relates to interpreting medical data and possible diseases associated with the medical data.

5. The medical data analysis system of claim 1 wherein the data characterization module comprises:

a statistical analyzer for comparing the patient-specific medical data to demographic-matched reference normative data.

6. The medical data analysis system of claim 5 wherein the data characterization module further comprises:

an ailment identifier for generating data which identifies at least one possible disease that corresponds to a variation of the patient-specific medical data from the demographic-matched reference normative data.

7. The medical data analysis system of claim 6 wherein the data characterization module further comprises:

an ailment correlator for identifying information sources relating to the at least one possible disease associated with the patient medical data.

8. The medical data analysis system of claim 5 wherein the data characterization module further comprises:

an ailment filter, responsive to data received from the physician indicative of at least one known disease, for activating the statistical analyzer to select demographic-matched reference normative data relating to the at least one known disease.

9. The medical data analysis system of claim 5 wherein the data characterization module comprises:

a predictive analyzer, responsive to the patient-specific medical data, for using at least one of correlative databases, predictive databases, and trait indices, to generate an estimation of a likelihood that the identified patient will develop one or more particular diseases.

10. The medical data analysis system of claim 9 wherein the digital library interface module comprises:

an ailment correlator, responsive to the predictive analyzer generating an estimation of a likelihood that the identified patient will develop one or more particular diseases, for identifying information sources relating to the one or more particular diseases.

11. The medical data analysis system of claim 1 wherein the information access module comprises:

a security module for authenticating an identity of the physician; and

an authorization module for determining that the authenticated physician has authorization to access any of the patient-specific medical data and the information sources relating to the patient.

12. A method of operating a medical data analysis system for providing a physician with access to medical information sources which correlate to anomalies identified in patient-specific medical data relating to an identified patient, comprising:

storing in a memory at least one set of patient-specific medical data relating to an identified patient, which patient medical data comprises a plurality of measurements of biomarkers that correspond to a biological property of one or more organisms in the patient;

providing access to a digital library, resident on a server, which contains a plurality of information sources which relate to interpreting patient-specific medical data and possible diseases associated with the patient medical data;

executing a physician application on a physician terminal device to provide the physician with access to a control database which contains medical data indicative of measurements taken on control subjects;

enabling the physician to select a plurality of sets of ailment-specific biomarkers via the physician terminal device;

identifying patient medical data of the identified patient that correlates with each of the biomarkers in each of the selected sets of ailment-specific biomarkers;

calculating, using the physician selected sets of ailment-specific biomarkers, normative variations in the patient-specific medical data, when compared to the sets of ailment-specific biomarkers, to identify anomalies in the patient-specific medical data;

providing a digital library interface, in response to receipt of the patient-specific medical data relating to the identified patient collected from and about the identified patient and identified anomalies calculated by the step of calculating normative variations, for automatically searching the digital library to identify information sources relating to interpretations of the identified patient medical data of the identified patient that correlates with each of the biomarkers in each of the selected sets of ailment-specific biomarkers to enable the physician to identify at least one possible disease associated with the patient medical data using the interpretations of the identified anomalies; and

providing information access to the physician with access to the information sources identified by the digital library interface module.

13. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 12, further comprising:

storing in a secure memory patient-specific medical data collected from and about an identified patient for use by the physician.

14. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 12 wherein the patient medical data comprises:

monitoring data collected from one or more medical devices operable to measure physiological data relating the identified patient.

15. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 12 wherein the step of providing access to digital library comprises:

electronically storing a plurality of publication information, each of which relates to interpreting medical data and possible diseases associated with medical data.

16. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 12 wherein the step of calculating normative variations comprises:

comparing, via a statistical analyzer, the patient-specific medical data to demographic-matched reference normative data.

17. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 16 wherein the step of calculating normative variations further comprises:

generating data which identifies at least one possible disease that corresponds to a variation of the patient data from the demographic-matched reference normative data.

18. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 17 wherein the step of calculating normative variations further comprises:

identifying information sources relating to the at least one possible disease associated with the patient medical data.

19. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 16 wherein the step of calculating normative variations further comprises:

activating, in response to data received from the physician indicative of at least one known disease, the statistical analyzer to select demographic-matched reference normative data relating to the at least one known disease.

20. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 16 wherein the step of calculating normative variations comprises:

using, in response to the patient-specific medical data, at least one of correlative databases, predictive databases, and trait indices, to generate an estimation of a likelihood that the identified patient will develop one or more particular diseases.

21. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 20 wherein the step of providing a digital library interface comprises:

identifying, in response to a predictive analyzer generating an estimation of a likelihood that the identified patient will develop one or more particular diseases, information sources relating to the one or more particular diseases.

22. The method of operating a medical data analysis system of claim 12 wherein the step of providing information access comprises:

authenticating an identity of the physician; and

determining that the authenticated physician has authorization to access any of the patient-specific medical data and the information sources relating to the patient.