Cameras for emergency rescue

• US 10,667,988 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2016
• Issued: 06/02/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zoll Medical Corporation (Asahi Kasei Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Zoll Medical Corporation (Asahi Kasei Corporation)
• Inventors: Freeman, Gary A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Musselman, Timothy A
• Application Number:
  US15/215,891
• Publication Number:
  US 20160324721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,412 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 31/005 with feedback for the user
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3993 User interfaces for automatic external defibrillators
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/205 Image-based rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10052 Images from lightfield camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30196 Human being; Person
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/50 Depth or shape recovery
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/288 for artificial respiration or heart massage
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/54 Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

A system for managing treatment of a person in need of emergency assistance is provided. The system includes at least one camera configured to be mounted to a person in need of medical assistance. The system also includes an image processing device, which can be configured to receive images captured by the at least one camera and to process the images to generate a representation of a rescue scene surrounding the person. The system further includes an analysis device. The analysis device can be configured to determine a characteristic associated with a resuscitation activity based on analysis of the representation of the rescue scene generated by the image processing device. A computer-implemented method for managing treatment of a person in need of emergency assistance is also provided.

Claims

1. A system for managing treatment of a person in need of emergency assistance, the system comprising:

at least one camera configured to be mounted to and supported by a person in need of emergency assistance, the at least one camera comprising a camera having a 360 degree field of view positioned to obtain images of at least one rescuer performing at least one resuscitation activity for the person in need of emergency assistance;

an image processing device configured to receive images captured by the at least one camera and to process the images to generate a representation of a rescue scene surrounding the person; and

an analysis device configured to determine a characteristic associated with the at least one resuscitation activity based on analysis of the representation of the rescue scene generated by the image processing device, the analysis comprising;

identification of at least one object in the representation of the rescue scene based on one or more of shape, color, size, or location of the at least one object in the generated representation of the rescue scene; and

tracking movement of the at least one identified object in the representation of the rescue scene.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein processing the images comprises combining the images to generate the representation of the rescue scene.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one camera further comprises an adhering patch for mounting the camera to the person in need of emergency assistance.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one camera is configured to be mounted to the person'"'"'s forehead.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one camera comprises a light field camera.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein images captured by the light field camera comprise images that permit post-capture identification of a focus distance, and wherein the analysis device is further configured to select and apply a focus distance to the generated representation of the rescue scene, such that the generated representation focuses on the identified object in the generated representation.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the representation of the rescue scene generated by the analysis device comprises a three-dimensional representation generated from images captured by the light field camera.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the analysis device is further configured to determine a distance between the at least one camera and the at least one identified object in the generated representation, and wherein the determination of the characteristic associated with a resuscitation activity is based, at least in part, on the determined distance between the camera and the at least one identified object.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a wireless transceiver configured to transmit the generated representation of the rescue scene to a remote viewing device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein determining a characteristic associated with the resuscitation activity includes determining a rate and/or a depth of chest compressions delivered to the person by a rescuer.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the analysis device is further configured to determine an indication of chest compression quality, the indication being based on a comparison of the determined chest compression rate and/or depth and a target level for chest compression rate and/or depth.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein determining a characteristic associated with the resuscitation activity comprises determining a metric indicative of at least one of an accuracy and an efficiency of a rescuer at the rescue scene.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein determining a characteristic associated with the resuscitation activity comprises determining a task associated with each of multiple rescuers.

14. The system of claim 1, comprising a plurality of cameras configured to be mounted to and supported by persons and/or objects at the rescue scene including the at least one camera configured to be mounted to and supported by the person in need of the emergency assistance,

wherein the analysis device is configured to:

identify the at least one camera mounted to the person in need of the emergency assistance from the plurality of cameras; and

cause the at least one camera mounted to the person to capture images of treatment of the person.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the analysis device is configured to determine a characteristic associated with the treatment of the person in need of the emergency assistance based on analysis of the images of the treatment of the person captured by the camera mounted to and supported by the person.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of cameras each comprise at least one sensor for sensing a position and/or orientation of the camera, and wherein the analysis device identifies the at least one camera mounted to the person based, at least in part, on position and/or orientation information sensed by the at least one sensor.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the at least one sensor comprises an accelerometer, an inclinometer, and/or a magnetometer.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the analysis device is further configured to identify an inclination of the at least one camera based on the sensed information by the at least one sensor.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the determined characteristic associated with the treatment of the person in need of emergency assistance is based, in part, on the sensed inclination of the at least one camera.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the camera having the 360 degree field of view is positioned to obtain images of at least two rescuers performing at least two resuscitation activities for the person in need of emergency assistance.

21. A computer-implemented method for managing treatment of a person in need of emergency assistance, the method comprising:

mounting at least one camera to a person in need of emergency assistance, so that the at least one camera is supported by the person in need of emergency assistance, the at least one camera comprising a camera having a 360 degree field of view positioned to obtain images of at least one rescuer performing at least one resuscitation activity for the person in need of emergency assistance;

capturing images of a rescue scene with the at least one camera;

performing automatic computer-based analysis of the captured images to generate a representation of the rescue scene;

identifying at least one object in the representation of the rescue scene based on one or more of shape, color, size, or location of the at least one object in the representation of the rescue scene;

tracking movement of the at least one identified object in the representation of the rescue scene; and

determining a characteristic associated with a resuscitation activity based on the movement of the identified object in the generated representation of the rescue scene.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one camera comprises a light field camera, and wherein capturing images of the rescue scene comprises capturing images that permit post-capture identification of a focus distance.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising selecting a focus distance of interest and automatically applying the selected focus distance to the generated representation to focus on the at least one identified object in the representation of the rescue scene.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the representation of the rescue scene comprises a three-dimensional representation generated from images captured by the light field camera.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising transmitting the generated representation to a remote viewing device.

26. A system for managing treatment of a person in need of emergency assistance, the system comprising:

at least one camera configured to be mounted to and supported by a person in need of emergency assistance, the at least one camera comprising a camera having a 360 degree field of view positioned to obtain images of at least one rescuer performing at least one resuscitation activity for the person in need of emergency assistance;

an image processing device configured to receive images captured by the at least one camera and to process the images to generate a representation of a rescue scene surrounding the person; and

an analysis device configured to;

identify at least one hand of the at least one rescuer in the generated representation of the rescue scene,

track movement of the at least one hand in the representation of the rescue scene and determine at least one of chest compression rate or chest compression depth based on the tracked movement of the at least one hand.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein processing the images comprises combining the images to generate the representation of the rescue scene.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the at least one camera further comprises an adhering patch for mounting the camera to the person in need of emergency assistance.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the at least one camera is configured to be mounted to the person'"'"'s forehead.

30. The system of claim 26, wherein the at least one camera comprises a light field camera.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein images captured by the light field camera comprise images that permit post-capture identification of a focus distance, and wherein the analysis device is further configured to select and apply the focus distance to the generated representation of the rescue scene, such that the generated representation focuses on the at least one hand in the generated representation.

32. The system of claim 30, wherein the representation of the rescue scene generated by the analysis device comprises a three-dimensional representation generated from images captured by the light field camera.

33. The system of claim 26, further comprising a wireless transceiver configured to transmit the generated representation of the rescue scene to a remote viewing device.

34. The system of claim 26, wherein the analysis device is further configured to determine an indication of chest compression quality, the indication being based on a comparison of the determined chest compression rate and/or depth and a target level for chest compression rate and/or depth.

35. A system for managing treatment of a person in need of emergency assistance, the system comprising:

at least one camera configured to be mounted to and supported by a person in need of emergency assistance, the at least one camera comprising a camera having a 360 degree field of view positioned to obtain images of at least one rescuer performing at least one resuscitation activity for the person in need of emergency assistance;

an image processing device configured to receive images captured by the at least one camera and to process the images to generate a representation of a rescue scene surrounding the person; and

an analysis device configured to;

identify at least one object in the representation of the rescue scene,

compare a position of the at least one identified object with information indicative of a proper position of the at least one identified object, and

determine a characteristic associated with the at least one resuscitation activity based on the comparison.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the analysis device is further configured to provide a message to the at least one rescuer based on the comparison when the position of the at least one identified object differs from the proper position of the at least one identified object.

37. The system of claim 35, wherein processing the images comprises combining the images to generate the representation of the rescue scene.

38. The system of claim 35, wherein the at least one camera further comprises an adhering patch for mounting the camera to the person in need of emergency assistance.

39. The system of claim 35, wherein the at least one camera comprises a light field camera.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein images captured by the light field camera comprise images that permit post-capture identification of a focus distance, and wherein the analysis device is further configured to select and apply the focus distance to the generated representation of the rescue scene, such that the generated representation focuses on the at least one object in the generated representation.

41. The system of claim 39, wherein the representation of the rescue scene generated by the analysis device comprises a three-dimensional representation generated from images captured by the light field camera.

42. The system of claim 35, further comprising a wireless transceiver configured to transmit the generated representation of the rescue scene to a remote viewing device.

43. The system of claim 35, wherein determining a characteristic associated with the resuscitation activity includes determining a rate and/or a depth of chest compressions delivered to the person by the rescuer.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the analysis device is further configured to determine an indication of chest compression quality, the indication being based on a comparison of the determined chest compression rate and/or depth and a target level for chest compression rate and/or depth.

45. The system of claim 35, wherein determining a characteristic associated with the resuscitation activity comprises determining a metric indicative of at least one of:

an accuracy of a rescuer activity at the rescue scene, an efficiency of a rescuer activity at the rescue scene, and a task associated with each of multiple rescuers.