Cameras for Emergency Rescue

• US 20160324721A1
• Filed: 07/21/2016
• Published: 11/10/2016
• 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.
• Granted Patent: US 10,667,988 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 a person in need of medical 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 a resuscitation activity based on analysis of the representation of the rescue scene generated by the image processing device.

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 patient.

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

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one camera comprises a camera having a 360 degree field of view.

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

7. The system of claim 6, 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 particular objects and/or persons in the rescue scene.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the representation of the rescue scene generated by the image analysis device comprises a three-dimensional representation generated from images captured by the light field camera.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the analysis device is further configured to identify one or more objects depicted in the generated representation of the rescue scene.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the analysis device is further configured to determine a distance between the at least one camera and the one or more identified objects, 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 one or more objects.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. The system of claim 12, 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.

14. 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.

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

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising one or more feedback devices, the feedback devices being configured to provide a message to a respective rescuer based on the determined task associated with the respective rescuer.

17. 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 medical 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; and

determining a characteristic associated with a resuscitation activity based on an analysis of the generated representation of the scene.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one camera comprises a camera having a 360 degree field of view.

19. The method of claim 17, 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.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising selecting a focus distance of interest and automatically applying the selected focus distance to the generated representation to focus on particular objects and/or persons in the rescue scene.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the representation of the rescue scene generated by the image analysis device comprises a three-dimensional representation generated from images captured by the light field camera.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising identifying one or more objects in the generated representation of the rescue scene, determining a distance between the at least one camera and the one or more identified objects, and determining the characteristic associated with the resuscitation activity based, at least in part, on the determined distance.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising transmitting the generated representation to a remote viewing device.