Method for monitoring a patient within a medical monitoring area

• US 10,395,123 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2014
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dragerwerk AG & Company KGaA (FPS Vermögensverwaltung GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Dragerwerk AG & Company KGaA (FPS Vermögensverwaltung GmbH)
• Inventors: Franz, Frank, Schlichting, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehta, Bhavesh M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lemieux, Ian L
• Application Number:
  US15/029,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20160267327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,776 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2576/00 Medical imaging apparatus involving image processing or analysis A61B1/00009, A61B6/52 and A61B8/52 take precedence; image processing per se G06T; details of algorithms for analysing medical images G06T7/0012
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0077 Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1077 Measuring of profiles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1079 using optical or photographic means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1128 using image analysis A61B5/1127 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0263 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the direction in which child or item is located
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/002 Generating a prealarm to the central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/006 Alarm destination chosen according to type of event, e.g. in case of fire phone the fire service, in case of medical emergency phone the ambulance

Abstract

A method for monitoring a patient (22a) within a medical monitoring area (100) by means of a monitoring system (200) with a depth camera device (210). The method includes the following steps:

• • generating a point cloud (30) of the monitoring area (100) with the monitoring system (200);
  • analyzing the point cloud (30) for detecting predefined objects (20), especially persons (22);
  • determining a location of at least one detected object (20) in the monitoring area (100); and
  • comparing the determined location of the at least one detected object (20) with at least one predefined value (40) for the location of this detected object (20).

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a patient within a medical monitoring area the method comprising the steps of:

providing a monitoring system with a depth camera device;

generating a point cloud of the monitoring area with the monitoring system;

analyzing the point cloud for detecting predefined objects;

determining a location of at least one detected object in the monitoring area;

comparing the determined location of the at least one detected object with at least one predefined value for the location of the at least one detected object;

wherein the above steps are repeatedly performed over time so that a four-dimensional monitoring and thus with respect to the respective location of the object a tracking process is performed;

determining if the at least one detected object is a person during the performance of the above steps, and if so creating a motion profile of the person from the locations of the person for a digital patient file;

storing the locations of the at least one detected object in the digital patient file,

the at least one predefined value for the location of the at least one detected object is formed as an absolute predefined value relative to the monitoring area.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein an object detected as a person is detected as a patient on the basis of at least one person-specific parameter, comprising at least one person-specific parameter from a set of person-specific parameters comprising:

location of the person; and

properties of the contour of the person.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein an alarm signal is generated when a predefined deviation from the at least one predefined value for the location of the detected object is exceeded.

4. A method in accordance with claim 3, wherein:

the path of the person provided by the motion profile leads to an alarm situation that generated the alarm signal.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one absolute predefined value is a location boundary, which the detected object, as a person defined as a patient, must not cross.

6. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the person is defined as a patient during a first-time motion of the detected object in the form of a person across the location boundary.

7. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the steps of the method are carried out only for a section of the location of the monitoring area on a side of the location boundary, on which side the detected object is located.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one absolute predefined value is a maximum change of a location of the detected object over time or a minimum change of the location of the detected object over time or both a maximum change of a location of the detected object over time and a minimum change of the location of the detected object over time.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the predefined and detected object is at least one limb of a person.

10. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the absolute predefined value is formed as a value that can be set in the form of a maximum change of a location of the detected object or a minimum change of the location of the detected object or both a maximum change of a location of the detected object and a minimum change of the location of the detected object.

11. A method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the change of the location of the detected object over time takes place by means of the root mean square error of the determined location of the detected object.

12. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one absolute predefined value is a rhythm of the change of the location of the detected object over time.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

detecting at least two predefined objects in the form of adjacent joints of a limb of a person;

determining a vector between a proximal joint and a distal joint; and

inserting the determined vector into a time series.

14. A method in accordance with claim 13, wherein at least two limbs are monitored, and a comparison of a rhythmic change of a respective location is compared to a predefined minimum duration.

15. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one absolute predefined value is a distance of the determined location of the at least one detected object, in the form of the head of a person, from a floor of the monitoring area or from a wall of the monitoring area or from both a floor of the monitoring area and from a wall of the monitoring area.

16. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one absolute predefined value is the change of the determined location of the at least one detected object, compared to a predefined change of the location of the at least one detected object.

17. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one predefined value for the location of the detected object is formed as a relative predefined value relative to the monitoring area.

18. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein the at least one relative predefined value is a distance of the locations of a first detected object and at least one second detected object of a person.

19. A method in accordance with claim 18, wherein the first detected object is a limb of the person and the second detected object is a tube placed on the person.

20. A method in accordance with claim 19, wherein the second object in the form of a tube is detected by a dependence of the second object in the form of a tube on at least one additional object.

21. A method in accordance with claim 18, wherein a surrounding first enveloping body is formed for the first object and a surrounding second enveloping body is formed for the second object, and a collision of the two enveloping bodies is monitored.

22. A method in accordance with claim 21, wherein at least two second objects are detected, and a combined enveloping body is formed for the individual enveloping bodies of the second objects.

23. A method in accordance with claim 21, wherein the first enveloping body is formed around a center of gravity of the first object;

the second enveloping body is formed around a center of gravity of the second object.

24. A method in accordance with claim 18, wherein the distance of the locations is taken into account in relation to a minimum duration for an actual distance dropping below a predefined minimum distance.

25. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one preliminary stage predefined value is predefined and used for the comparison in addition to the at least one predefined value.

26. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the step of comparison activates at least one functionality of the method.

27. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein an object recognized as a person is monitored over the course of time in respect to a location of the person.

28. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a step of storing the determined locations of the at least one detected object.

29. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

the motion profile provides a path of the person that can be traced.

30. A method for monitoring a patient within a medical monitoring area, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a monitoring system with a depth camera device;

generating a point cloud of the monitoring area with the monitoring system;

analyzing the point cloud for detecting predefined objects;

determining a location of at least one detected object in the monitoring area;

comparing the determined location of the at least one detected object with at least one predefined value for the location of the at least one detected object;

wherein the above steps are repeatedly performed over time so that a four-dimensional monitoring and thus with respect to a respective location of the object, a tracking process is performed to create a motion profile that provides a path of the object that can be traced over said repeatedly performed steps;

wherein the at least one predefined value for the location of the detected object is formed as an absolute predefined value relative to the monitoring area.

31. A method in accordance with claim 30, wherein:

the at least one absolute predefined value is a location boundary which a patient must not cross;

the steps of the method are carried out only for a section of the monitoring area on a side of the location boundary, on which side the at least one detected object is located.

32. A method in accordance with claim 30, wherein:

the at least one absolute predefined value is a rhythm of the change of the location of the detected object over time.

33. A method for monitoring a patient within a medical monitoring area, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a depth camera device;

generating a plurality of three dimensional point clouds of the monitoring area with the depth camera device over time;

analyzing the point clouds to detect a plurality of objects in the point clouds;

determining locations over time of the objects with respect to the monitoring area;

providing a plurality of monitoring functionalities for the plurality of objects, each of the plurality of monitoring functionalities including comparing locations of one of the plurality of objects with a predefined value for the location of the one object;

selectively performing one of the plurality of monitoring functionalities.

34. A method in accordance with claim 33, wherein one of the plurality of monitoring functionalities includes:

determining first relationships between the locations of the one object and a first predetermined location;

generating a first alarm to a caregiver when one of the first relationships is in a first range;

determining second relationships between the locations of the one object and a second predetermined location;

generating a second alarm to the caregiver when one of the second relationships is in a second range, one of the second predetermined location and the second range being different than the respective first location and first range, said second alarm being more severe than said first alarm.

35. A method in accordance with claim 33, wherein one of the plurality of monitoring functionalities includes:

identifying the one object as a function of changes in locations of the one object.

36. A method in accordance with claim 35, wherein

said identifying of the one object is performed as a function of the locations of the one object relative to a location of another object of the plurality of objects.

37. A method in accordance with claim 33, wherein one of the plurality of monitoring functionalities includes:

determining, in one of said plurality of point clouds, a location of a predetermined area in the monitoring area, the predetermined area being less than the entire monitoring area;

determining if the one object is in the predetermined area in the one of the plurality of point clouds;

said analyzing of a subsequent one of the plurality of point clouds is performed only in the predetermined area if the one object in the one point cloud was in the predetermined area.

38. A method for monitoring a patient within a medical monitoring area, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a monitoring system with a depth camera device;

generating a point cloud of the monitoring area with the monitoring system;

analyzing the point cloud for detecting predefined objects;

determining a location of at least one detected object in the monitoring area;

comparing the determined location of the at least one detected object with at least one predefined value for the location of the at least one detected object;

wherein the at least one predefined value for the location of the detected object is formed as an absolute predefined value relative to the monitoring area, wherein the at least one predefined value for the location of the detected object is not defined relative to objects in the monitoring area.

39. A method in accordance with claim 38, wherein:

the at least one absolute predefined value is a location boundary which a patient must not cross;

the steps of the method are carried out only for a section of the monitoring area on a side of the location boundary, on which side the at least one detected object is located.

40. A method in accordance with claim 38, wherein:

the at least one absolute predefined value is a rhythm of the change of the location of the detected object over time.