Portable system for choosing pre-operative patient test

• US 5,025,374 A
• Filed: 12/09/1987
• Issued: 06/18/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ARCH Development Corporation (University of Chicago)
• Original Assignee: ARCH Development Corporation (University of Chicago)
• Inventors: Roizen, Michael, Turcotte, William E. II, Pfisterer, Richard E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jerry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hayes, Gail O.
• Application Number:
  US07/130,934
• Time in Patent Office: 1,287 Days
• Field of Search: 364/415, 364/401, 364/413.02, 364/413.01, 364/401
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/025 adapted to a specific application
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/04 characterised by modifying the teaching programme in response to a wrong answer, e.g. repeating the question, supplying a further explanation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics

Abstract

An interactive medical test selector for use by a patient is about the size of a book and has a screen for displaying questions to a patient, a limited number of keys by which the patient can enter answers, and a memory device for storing the patient'"'"'s answers. The test selector is battery-powered for portability and uses a low-power liquid crystal display or the like to display instructions and medical questions to the patient. Only four keys are seen or used by the patient for answering the questions: YES, NO, NOT SURE, and NEXT QUESTION. Additional control keys used by the medical staff are hidden from the patient. The device is controlled by a pre-programmed microcomputer on a chip, and a ROM-based, removable and replaceable control program which not only collects, but also analyzes the patient'"'"'s answers and makes appropriate recommendations based on those answers, and drives a remote printer or computer terminal.

Claims

1. A portable patient-operable pre-operative test selector especially for use by bed-ridden pre-operative patients, said selector comprising:

power supply means for accepting a battery, electronic circuitry connected to derive operating power exclusively from a battery when installed in said power supply means, said electronic circuitry including data-storage means for storing a series of pre-operative questions directed to the determination of which pre-operative diagnostic tests should be undergone by a patient before surgery, reflective display means, programmable data-processing means, control program storage means for storing a program for controlling said data-processing means, a special-purpose control program stored therein, said control program being arranged for displaying said pre-operative questions serially on said display means, means operable by an unskilled patient to answer "yes" and "no" to each such question in turn, means for storing such answers, said control program being further arranged for analyzing said answers and determining therefrom which pre-operative diagnostic tests are indicated, and output means for revealing the results of such determination.

2. A portable test selector for use by an untrained patient to complete a medical questionnaire, comprising:

read-only memory means for storing (i) a series of preselected medical questions related to determining which tests among a set of preselected tests the patient should undergo, and (ii) a decision table indicating for each of the tests which answers to which questions should cause that test to be determined as one the patient should undergo;

scratchpad memory means for storing data;

means for reading said data from said scratchpad memory means

display means for displaying information to the patient;

interrogation means for causing the medical questions stored in said read-only memory means to be displayed to the patient by the display means;

manual input means for enabling the patient to indicate an answer to a displayed question; and

tabulating means for enabling the patient to indicate an answer to a displayed question; and

tabulating means for causing the corresponding answer indicated by the patient via the manual input means to be stored as data in the scratchpad memory means;

wherein the read-only memory means is easily removable from the test selector and replaceable to enable updating of the medical questions and decision table.

3. A portable test selector for use by an untrained patient to complete a medical questionnaire, comprising:

read-only memory means for storing (i) a series of preselected medical questions related to determining which test among a set of preselected test the patient should undergo, and (ii) a decision table indicating for each of the tests which answers to which questions should cause that test to be determined as one the patient should undergo;

scratchpad memory means for storing data;

means for reading said data from said scratchpad memory means

display means for displaying information to the patient;

interrogation means for causing the medical questions stored in said read-only memory means to be displayed to the patient by the display means;

manual input means for enabling the patient to indicate an answer to a displayed question; and

tabulating means for causing the corresponding answer indicated by the patient via the manual input means to be stored as data in the scratchpad memory means;

wherein the medical questions are those requiring an answer of YES or NO or NOT SURE, and the manual input means enables the patient to indicate YES, NO, or NOT SURE as the answer.

4. A portable test selector for use by an untrained patient to complete a medical questionnaire, comprising:

read-only memory means for storing (i) a series of preselected medical questions related to determining which tests among a set of preselected tests the patient should undergo, and (ii) a decision table indicating for each of the test which answers to which questions should cause that test to be determined as one the patient should undergo;

scratchpad memory means for storing data;

means for reading said data from said scratchpad memory means

display means for displaying information to the patient;

interrogation means for causing the medical questions stored in said read-only memory means to be displayed to the patient by the display means;

manual input means for enabling the patient to indicate an answer to a displayed question;

tabulating means for causing the corresponding answer indicated by the patient via the manual input means to be stored as data in the scratchpad memory means;

and reporting means responsive to the answers stored in the scratchpad memory and the decision table stored in the read-only memory means for determining for each test if the patient'"'"'s answers to one or more questions should cause that test to be determined as one the patient should undergo.

5. The device of claim 4 and further including printer interface means to which a data input line to a printer can be coupled;

and report generator means, responsive to the reporting means, for sending as output to the printer interface a list of only the tests which the reporting means has determined are ones the patient should undergo.

6. A portable test selector for use by an untrained patient to complete a medical questionnaire, comprising:

read-only memory means for storing (i) a series of preselected medical questions related to determining which tests among a set of preselected tests the patient should undergo, and (ii) a decision table indicating for each of the tests which answers to which questions should cause that test to be determined as one the patient should undergo;

scratchpad memory means for storing data;

means for reading said data from said scratchpad memory means

display means for displaying information to the patient;

interrogation means for causing the medical questions stored in said read-only memory means to be displayed to the patient by the display means;

manual input means for enabling the patient to indicate an answer to a displayed question;

tabulating means for causing the corresponding answer indicated by the patient via the manual input means to be stored as data in the scratchpad memory means;

and questionnaire printout preparation means responsive to the medical questions stored in the read-only memory means and the answers stored in the scratchpad memory means for determining, for each possible patient answer, to which questions the patient gave that answer.

7. The device of claim 6 and further including printer interface means to which the data input line to a printer can be coupled;

and list generator means, responsive to the questionnaire printout preparation means, for sending as output to the printer interface a list of the questions and the patient'"'"'s answers.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the list generator means is arranged for sending the questions and the patient'"'"'s answers to the printer interface with each question sorted according to the answer given to that question by the patient.