SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REMOTE VIEWING OF PATIENT IMAGES

• US 20070016454A1
• Filed: 09/20/2006
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: Stryker Corporation
• Inventors: Tipirneni, Kishore
• Granted Patent: US 7,319,540 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• 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: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226

Abstract

A digital camera containing patient images is connected to an uploader computer and the patient'"'"'s name or history is entered into the uploader computer. The uploader computer then connects to the Internet, connects to the secure host server, uploads the images to the host server and shuts down the Internet connection. After the physician selects a medical facility and the system verifies the physician'"'"'s user I.D. and password, the host server constructs an HTML web page which includes a list of patients whose images were previously uploaded by the medical facility and are available for viewing The physician simply selects the name of a patient and the host server displays the patient information and images on the physician'"'"'s computer. The system is password-protected at all levels and the operator for each medical facility determines who may have access to the medical facility images.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating the transmission of data from a facility to a centralized host server for remote viewing from a computer, said system comprising:

a data acquisition device configured to acquire data;

an uploader device configured to receive said data from said data acquisition device, said uploader device configured to transmit said data over a network, wherein said network is at least one of a public-packet switched network, Internet and Ethernet;

said centralized host server configured to communicate with a plurality of said uploader devices through said network; and

said computer configured to communicate with said centralized host server,

wherein said centralized host server is configured to construct and transmit to said computer a web page.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said data acquisition device is a digital camera.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said network is at least one of a public, packet-switched Internet and an Ethernet.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said data includes text and one or more images.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said one or more images include at least one of radiological images, x-rays, MR images, CT images, direct pictures of patient pathology, lab data, EKG data, documents and images capable of being acquired by said data acquisition device.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said centralized host server is configured to requests and validate a user identification and password from said computer.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said facility is at least one of a hospital, clinic, emergency room, film room, x-ray facility, medical office and sports facility.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein said uploader device is removably connected to said data acquisition device.

9. A method for facilitating the transmission of data from a facility via a centralized host server to a computer, said method comprising:

receiving, at said centralized host server, one or more images transmitted from an uploader device;

assembling a web page, including said one or more images, at said centralized host server in response to a request from said; and

,

transmitting said web page from said centralized host computer to said computer via a network, wherein said network is at least one of a public-packet switched network, Internet and Ethernet.

10. A system for facilitating the transmission of data from a facility to a centralized host server for remote viewing from a computer, said system comprising:

a data acquisition device configured to acquire data;

an uploader device configured to receive said data from said data acquisition device, said uploader device configured to automatically transmit said data over a network, wherein said network is at least one of a public, packet-switched Internet and an Ethernet;

said centralized host server configured to communicate with a plurality of said uploader devices through said network and said centralized host server configured to construct and transmit to said computer a web page; and

said computer configured to communicate with said centralized host server.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said data acquisition device is a digital camera.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein said data includes text and images of a patient.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said images of patient include at least one of radiological images, x-rays, MR images, CT images, direct pictures of patient pathology, lab data, EKG data, documents and images capable of being acquired by said data acquisition device.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein said centralized host server is configured to request and validate a user identification and password from said computer.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein said facility is at least one of a hospital, clinic, emergency room, film room, x-ray facility, medical office and sports facility.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein said uploader device is removably connected to said data acquisition device.

17. A method for facilitating the transmission of data from a facility to a centralized host server for remote viewing from a computer, said method comprising:

acquiring data using a data acquisition device, wherein said data includes one or more images;

digitizing said data, if said data is not in digital form when acquired;

transmitting said data to an uploader device, wherein said uploader device is configured to automatically transfer said data to said centralized host server over a network;

transmitting said data from said uploader device to said centralized host server via said network; and

,

constructing a web page at said centralized host server for transmission to said computer, via a network, wherein said network is at least one of a public-packet switched network, Internet and Ethernet.

18. A method for facilitating the secure transmission of data from a facility to a centralized host server for remote viewing from a computer, said method comprising:

acquiring data using a data acquisition and uploading device, wherein said data includes one or more images;

digitizing said data, if said data is not in digital form when acquired; and

transmitting said data from said uploader device to said centralized host server via said network to facilitate constructing a web page at said centralized host server for transmission to said computer, via a network, wherein said network is at least one of a public-packet switched network, Internet and Ethernet.