WO2003003912A1

WO2003003912A1 - Telemedicine system

Info

Publication number: WO2003003912A1
Application number: PCT/EP2002/007192
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter Hufnagl; Martin Schultz; Trong-Nghia Nguyen-Dobinsky
Original assignee: Ghc Global Health Care Gmbh
Priority date: 2001-07-02
Filing date: 2002-06-28
Publication date: 2003-01-16

Abstract

The invention relates to a telemedicine system (10) comprising a consultation center (12) located on the side of the doctor, and at least one mobile telemedicine device (16) located on the side of the patient. The invention also relates to a method for conducting a diagnosis and/or therapy by using telemedicine. The telemedicine device (16) preferably comprises a multitude of function modules (20) for recording and for transmitting data in a wireless or wire-bound manner and/or for executing measures, whereby at least one function module (20) is a mobile module, which is detachably mounted on the telemedicine device (16) and has a device for conducting wireless data transmission. The device (16) also comprises a base module (18) for receiving and for processing and/or storing and/or representing the data transmitted by the at least one function module (20) and comprises a communications module (22) for conducting wireless and/or wire-bound data transmission between the telemedicine device (16) and the consultation center (12).

Description

Telemedicine System

The invention relates to a telemedicine system with a doctor-side consultation center and at least one patient-side telemedicine device.

The use of systems for telemedical diagnosis and / or treatment of patients is potentially desirable in places or in situations in which no medical specialists, in particular no doctor, are available. Typical examples are planes or ships or remote, sparsely populated areas. Since a quick diagnosis and therapy is particularly necessary in a medical emergency, there is usually not enough time at such locations to bring together an experienced doctor and the patient concerned. To remedy this, diagnostic devices can therefore be stationed at such medically underserved locations, for example in airplanes, with which individual diagnostic functions, for example blood pressure measurements, can be carried out. These devices must be designed so that they can be used by laypersons or trained personnel. Conventionally, the person providing assistance must then contact a doctor by telephone or radio connection or the like, who a diagnosis must be derived from the information in order to instruct therapy or first aid measures. The doctor is completely dependent on the information communicated to him. It is obvious that with conventional communication the device-diagnostic possibilities, the reliability of the diagnosis and of course also the quality of the treatment measures fall far short of the standard for direct doctor-patient contact.

Mobile telemedicine devices are known from recent developments, in which the diagnostic data are sometimes transmitted to a doctor himself. EP 1 051 945 A2 describes a mobile telemedicine device which combines various diagnostic functional elements and transmits the recorded data, as well as voice and image information, to a ground station over narrow frequency band ranges. One disadvantage here is the coherent construction of the device, in which the individual diagnostic instruments are connected to a central computer by cables. This severely limits the flexibility of the device, since the use requires the entire device to be transported to the patient. Furthermore, only low data transfer rates are possible in the known device, so that real-time image transfers (video) or the transfer of extensive diagnostic data are not possible.

The object of the present invention is a telemedicine system and in particular a patient side To provide telemedicine device which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art described. In particular, the patient-side telemedicine device of the telemedicine system should be able to be used very flexibly and be able to transmit a large number of different data at the same time and with high transmission rates in order to ensure rapid and reliable remote diagnoses and to improve the overall medical care.

The telemedicine system according to the invention has a doctor-side consultation center and at least one patient-side, modularly constructed telemedicine device. The telemedicine device includes this

(a) at least one function module for receiving and for wireless and / or wired transmission of data and / or for carrying out measures, at least one function module being a mobile module which can be separated from the telemedicine device and having a device for wireless data transmission,

(b) a base module for receiving and for processing and / or storing and / or displaying the data transmitted by the at least one function module and

(c) a communication module for wireless and / or wired data transmission between the telemedicine device and the consultation center.

A high degree of flexibility is achieved due to the modular structure of the telemedicine device. In particular, the device can be implemented with a large number of functional modules for recording, transmitting and temporarily storing medical data, communication data and / or personal data and / or for carrying out diagnostic and / or therapeutic measures according to use and needs. The fact that at least one of the function modules is designed as a mobile module by being arranged on the telemedicine device so as to be separable and having a device for wireless data transmission also makes handling of the telemedicine device significantly easier and opens up a larger range of possible uses. In particular, such functional modules are preferably designed as mobile modules, the use of which requires direct contact with the patient, as is the case, for example, with diagnostic instruments (electrocardiographs, ultrasound probes, etc.). For example, if the patient's blood pressure is to be recorded using a mobile blood pressure monitor, the entire telemedicine device does not have to be brought up to the patient, but only the corresponding functional module.

The mobile or non-mobile function modules can, for example, diagnostic modules for accommodating medical ones

Be data, video conference modules for recording and

Transmission of audio and / or visual data, the rapiemodule for carrying out the therapeutic measures on the patient and / or service modules for recording personal data and / or for patient identification.

An electrocardiograph, a pulse oximeter, a spirometer, an electric stethoscope, a blood pressure monitor, a thermometer, a sonograph, a double sonograph, a cardiotocograph, a monitoring device (event recorder), a mini laboratory unit and / or the like are used as the diagnostic module of blood sugar levels, electrolytes, the small blood count or the like in question. The term monitoring device is understood to mean a device that monitors certain vital functions automatically and permanently, particularly in the case of particularly vulnerable patients, in order, for example, to detect and report acute cardiac rhythm disorders. A video conference module is in particular a microphone device for transmitting voice data and a camera for transmitting video data, preferably in real time. The therapy module can typically be an automatic external defibrillator, which is applied to the patient by instructions from a doctor connected in the consultation center. The service module is used, for example, for patient identification and can be a reading device which, for example by means of pattern recognition methods known per se, enables automatic identification by recognizing the fingerprint, the iris

(so-called "Irisscan"), the face or the voice of the patient. Furthermore, the service module can also be a reading device for an identification card of the patient. In any case, a corresponding registration of the patient is of course necessary. Such registration is particularly conceivable for frequent flyers. In addition, the service module can comprise a simple input device with which patient data, such as age, weight, gender or blood group, can be recorded using the keyboard or the like.

The at least one functional module, in particular in the form of a mobile module, is able to exchange data with the base module and also with one another in a wireless or wired way, preferably in both ways. For this purpose, the base module and the function module have a direct I / O connection (USB connection), which enables wired transmission when the function module is in a docked state. If the mobile module is separated from the base module, instantaneous wireless data transmission is preferably carried out via suitable transmitting and receiving devices, with infrared connections (Fast IrDA) and / or so-called BlueTooth connections and / or WLAN (wireless local area network) being preferred according to an advantageous embodiment. Connections are provided. The BlueTooth technology enables a wireless transmission, especially of voice and image data, over short distances using transmitter and receiver units. Very high data transfer rates are achieved. In order to enable complete decoupling of the at least one mobile module from the base module, a separate voltage supply, in particular a rechargeable battery of the module, is further provided according to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention. This means that the mobile modules can be used completely independently. The rechargeable batteries are preferably recharged via charging stations which are arranged on the base module.

It is particularly advantageously provided that the telemedicine device has docking stations for the mobile modules, via which the rechargeable battery is charged and / or the wired data transmission takes place. The docking stations of the function modules on the base station are designed in particular as uniform slots. This enables quick handling of the device and variable equipment of the system with different diagnostic or other modules.

Another development of the invention provides that the functional modules, in particular the mobile modules, have their own storage devices for the temporary storage of the recorded data. Furthermore, the function modules can have their own display device, in particular an LCD display, for displaying the data.

The data transmission between the patient-side telemedicine device and the doctor-side consultation center is preferably carried out - in some applications application traps (for example in airplanes) necessarily - wirelessly, broadband data transmission technologies being used particularly advantageously, in particular using Internet protocols (TCP / IP). In principle, all known data transmission systems can be used, in particular landline, mobile, preferably UMTS, mobile, satellite, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) and / or WLAN transmissions , Several of these systems can also be used in combination. The communication module has appropriate facilities and interfaces for this. In this way, the system according to the invention enables very large amounts of data to be transmitted in the shortest possible time. For the first time, video data can also be transmitted in real time (live mode), which transmits a direct visual impression of the patient to a doctor connected via the communication system, for example in a video conference circuit, and allows him to monitor, comment on and approve therapeutic measures conduct. All in all, this enables more secure remote diagnostics and improves medical care.

The core of the basic module is a specially designed data processing system, which has a system board with a processor, permanent memory, working memory and corresponding interfaces. The basic module also contains suitable operating systems and programs that support diagnosis, for example (automatic or automatic emergency assistance). Furthermore, the base module has a display device, in particular a digital display device and / or a display, for displaying the data transmitted by the function modules and by the consultation center.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, a location system for determining a position of the telemedicine device is provided, which can be based, for example, on a satellite-based method. In particular, the telemedicine device can have a GPS device (Global Positioning System) for this purpose. This enables a quick coordination of any necessary transports of the patient to a clinic or a doctor to the patient.

The invention further relates to a method for telemedical diagnosis and / or therapy, using the telemedicine system according to the invention, data being recorded on the patient side by means of at least one function module of the telemedicine device and being transmitted wirelessly and / or by wire to a base module of the telemedicine device, the base module processing the patient data , represents and / or stores and transmits it wirelessly and / or wired to a doctor-side stationary consultation center and the consultation center transmits instructions for carrying out therapeutic measures to the telemedicine device as a function of the transmitted data. Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the remaining subclaims.

The invention is explained in more detail below in an exemplary embodiment with reference to the associated drawings. Show it:

Figure 1 schematically shows the structure of the telemedicine system according to the invention and

FIG. 2 schematically shows the more precise structure of the telemedicine device from FIG. 1.

According to FIG. 1, the telemedicine system, designated as a whole by 10, essentially comprises a physician-side (stationary) consultation center 12, which is connected to at least one patient-side (mobile) telemedicine device 16 via a wired or wireless transmission link 14. A large number of telemedicine devices 16 stationed in different locations, for example in airplanes, on ships or in other locations that are difficult to reach, are connected to the consultation center 12.

The telemedicine device 16 has a modular structure. The centerpiece is a base module 18 to which a plurality of function modules 20 can be coupled. A part of the functional modules 20, preferably each of the modules 20, is designed as a so-called mobile module in such a way that it can be used separately from the base module 18 and completely independently. For this the mobile function module 20 has its own power supply and a wireless data transmission system.

The function modules 20 serve for diagnostic purposes (diagnostic modules) and can be, for example, an electrocardiograph, a blood pressure measuring device, a sonograph, an electric stethoscope or the like. A number of monitoring devices, also referred to as “event recorders”, can be provided as further diagnostic modules, each of which is assigned to a potential patient and monitors certain vital functions of the patient (heart rhythm, blood pressure, etc.) in order to detect a possible medical emergency, for example a heart attack to detect and report. The same monitoring devices are preferably connected to the base module 18 via a central wireless interface.

Further function modules 20 are designed as video conference modules, for example as a microphone or video camera, and thus enable the transmission of voice and video data (still image and real-time video). Other functional modules 20 can be therapy modules that are used to carry out therapeutic measures on the patient. So-called service modules can also be provided, via which the patient's personal data, for example name, address, blood group, age and the like, are entered by voice or keyboard or which automatically identify persons who have already registered. enable people. Reading devices that recognize an identification card of the patient or his fingerprint, his iris, his face or his voice are conceivable here.

A function module 20 is preferably a locating module for determining a current position of the telemedicine device 16. Here, in particular, a satellite-based system, for example GPS (Global Positioning System), comes into consideration.

The telemedicine device 16 also has a communication module 22, via which the wireless and / or wired transmission link 14 with the consultation center 12 is set up.

The more precise structure of the telemedicine device 16 is clear from FIG. 2. The central component of the base module 18 is a specially designed PC (data processing system, computer) 24, which contains the usual components such as system board, processor, read-only memory, main memory and the like. The PC 24 is connected to the usual peripheral devices, in particular a keyboard 26 and a screen 28, for example an LCD touchscreen.

Furthermore, the PC 24 is equipped with various interfaces, wired connections and at least one wireless transmitter and receiver device in order to establish communication with the consultation center 12 via remote data transmission and with other devices, in particular the function modules 20. possible. In the example shown, a TCP / IP interface 30 is provided, for example, which allows wireless or wired, broadband remote data transmission to the consultation center 12 via the communication module 22. This enables the simultaneous transmission of video live images, voice data, digital patient data and the medical data provided by the diagnostic modules, for example complete electrocardiograms or ultrasound images. Further interfaces 32, 36, 40 are used for communication with the function modules 20. The PC 24 is assigned at least one serial I / O interface (USB interface) 32 through the I / O connection points 34 for wired data exchange with the functions - Modules 20 are addressed. In addition, two interfaces are provided according to the present example to enable wireless data transfer with the functional modules 20. A BlueTooth interface 36 addresses a corresponding BlueTooth transmission and reception unit 38 of the base module 18, while a WLAN (wireless local areas network) interface 40 establishes the connection with a WLAN transmission and reception unit 42. In this way, a fast wireless data exchange can take place with the function modules 20, which in turn are equipped with corresponding interfaces and transmitting and receiving units, not shown here. Communication of several modules 20 with a central transmitting and receiving unit 38 or 42 is easily possible. In particular, a large number of the same "Event recorder" can be wirelessly connected to a central transmitting and receiving unit 38, 42.

Furthermore, the telemedicine device 16 or the base module 18 has a power supply 44, which can be connected to a power supply at a storage place of the telemedicine device 16. If the telemedicine device 16 is not in its storage space, the power supply is provided by an accumulator 46, which in turn can be charged via the power supply 44.

The telemedicine device 16 also has a number of docking stations 48, via which the functional modules 20 can be connected. Each docking station 48 preferably has a wired I / O connection parts 34 (USB connection) and a power connection 50 (charging station) for charging an accumulator 52 of the docked function module 20. In this way, when a function module 20 is docked, recharging can take place its accumulator 52 via the accumulator 46 of the base module 18 or the power supply 44 and at the same time a wire-based data exchange via the connection point 34. The docking stations 48 are preferably designed as uniform slots.

The modular structure of the telemedicine device 16 ensures an extremely flexible configuration with different functional modules 20 as well as practical unlimited expansion options. The exchange of individual modules 20 for maintenance or repair purposes is also possible without any problems. In particular in the case of the design of the functional modules 20 as mobile modules, which can be used completely autonomously by the base module 18, they can be used easily, even under cramped conditions, such as those found in aircraft.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 telemedicine system

12 consultation center

14 transmission link 16 telemedicine device

18 basic module

20 function module

22 communication module

24 Data processing system (PC) 26 keyboard

28 screen

30 TCP / lP interface

32 I / O interface (USB interface)

34 I / O connection point (USB) 36 BlueTooth interface

38 BlueTooth transmitter / receiver unit 40 WLAN interface (Fast IrDA) 42 WLAN transmitter / receiver unit

44 Power supply 46 Accumulator

48 docking stations

50 charging station / power connection

52 accumulator

Claims

claims

1. Telemedicine system (10) with a doctor-side consultation center (12) and at least one patient-side telemedicine device (16), which includes the telemedicine device (16)

(a) at least one function module (20) for receiving and for wireless and / or wired transmission of data and / or for carrying out measures, at least one function module (20) being a mobile module which can be separated on the telemedicine device (16) and has a device for wireless data transmission,

(b) a base module (18) for receiving and for processing and / or storing and / or displaying the data and transmitted by the at least one function module (20)

(c) a communication module (22) for wireless and / or wired data transmission between the telemedicine device (14) and the consultation center (12).

2. Telemedicine system (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the data medical data and / or communication data and / or personal data.

3. Telemedicine system (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the measures are diagnostic and / or therapeutic measures.

4. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one function module (20) is a diagnostic module for recording medical data.

5. Telemedicine system (10) according to claim 4, characterized in that the diagnostic module is an electrocardiograph, a pulse oximeter, a spirometer, an electric stethoscope, a blood pressure monitor, a thermometer, a sonograph, a double sonograph, a cardiotocograph, a monitoring device , a mini laboratory unit and / or the like.

6. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one function module (20) is a video conference module for recording and transmitting audio data and / or visual data, in particular voice and video data, in particular in real time.

7. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one functional module (20) is a therapy module for carrying out therapeutic measures on the patient.

8. Telemedicine system (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the therapy module is a defibrillator.

9. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one function module (20) is a service module for receiving personal data and / or for patient identification, in particular a reading device for fingerprint, iris, face or voice recognition or to identify an identification card.

10. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one functional module (20) is a location module, in particular a satellite-based location module, preferably a GP (Global Positioning System) module.

11. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base module (18) and the at least one mobile module have an infrared and / or a BlueTooth connection (38) and / or a WLAN (wireless local area network ) - Have connection for wireless data transmission.

12. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base module (18) and the at least one function module (20), in particular the at least one mobile module, an I / O connection point (34) for wired Have data transmission.

13. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one mobile module has its own voltage supply, in particular an accumulator (52).

14. Telemedicine system (10) according to claim 13, characterized in that the base module (18) has a charging station (50) for the accumulator (52) of the at least one mobile module.

15. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the telemedicine device (16) has at least one docking station (48) for the at least one mobile module, which has the charging station (50) and / or the wired connection point ( 34) includes.

16. Telemedicine system (10) according to claim 15, characterized in that the docking stations (48) are designed as uniform slots.

17. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one functional module (20), in particular the at least one mobile module, has a storage device for the temporary storage of the data.

18. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one function module (20) has a display device for displaying the data.

19. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wireless and / or wired data transmission between the telemedicine device (16) and the consultation center (12) is a broadband data transmission, in particular using Internet protocols.

20. Telemedicine system (10) according to claim 19, characterized in that the data transmission between the telemedicine device (16) and the consultation center (12) is a landline, cellular, in particular UMTS cellular, satellite, local area network. (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN) and / or WLAN transmission.

21. Telemedicine system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base module (18) has a data processing system (24) with a processor, a permanent memory, a working memory and interfaces (30, 32, 36, 40).

22. A method for telemedical patient care using a telemedicine system (10) with a doctor-side consultation center (12) and at least one patient-side telemedicine device (16) according to one of claims 1 to 19, the patient side using at least one function module (20) Telemedicine device (16) data recorded and wirelessly and / or wired to a base module (18) of the telemedicine device (16) are transmitted, the base module (18) processes, displays and / or stores the patient data and transmits them wirelessly and / or in a wired manner to a physician-side stationary consultation center (12) and the consultation center (12), depending on the transmitted data, provides instructions for carrying out therapeutic measures Measures transmitted to the telemedicine device (16).