Patent Issued for Systems And Methods For Wirelessly Controlling Medical Devices (USPTO 10,231,677)

2019 APR 03 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Hospital & Nursing Home Daily -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Georgiev, Emil Markov (Hartland, WI); Robinson, Scott William (Bayside, WI); Upton, Bayne Robin (Hillsburgh, CA), filed on September 24, 2015, was published online on April 1, 2019.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 10,231,677 is General Electric Company (Schenectady, New York, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “In patient care settings, such as in a hospital, individuals must physically observe the patient periodically, which may include adjusting monitoring or other equipment connected to the patient. For example, a nurse may have to periodically enter the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital to take readings and make device adjustments, which require the nurse to physically touch the device(s) in the ICU.

“Hospital borne infections (or pathogens) may be transferred by touch, such as the point of contact with the device(s) in the ICU. The patients in the ICU are among the most vulnerable patient types due to the serious nature of their condition. Accordingly, these touches can lead to the transfer of infections, which may result in complications for the patient or even death. In particular, Healthcare-Associated Illnesses (HAIs), namely illnesses picked up while receiving care for some other condition, result in many deaths each year. This adds significant costs to healthcare.

“In order to reduce HAIs, such as in the ICU, systems for cleaning or providing improved personal hygiene are conventionally used. For example, in some ICUs, a decontamination area is used for individuals entering and leaving the ICU. However, these approaches are often not effective.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one embodiment, a portable user interface for controlling medical devices is provided. The portable user interface includes a housing and a communication module within the housing configured to wirelessly communicate with at least one medical device. The portable user interface also includes a display displaying a graphical user interface to control the at least one medical device remotely, wherein the displayed graphical user interface corresponds to a control interface of the at least one medical device.

“In another embodiment, a wireless control arrangement is provided that includes at least one medical device having a communication module and a portable user interface. The portable user interface having a housing, a communication module within the housing configured to wirelessly communicate with the at least one medical device, and a display displaying a graphical user interface to control the at least one medical device remotely, wherein the displayed graphical user interface corresponds to a control interface of the at least one medical device, and the at least one medial device and the portable user interface communicate via the communication modules.

“In yet another embodiment, a method for controlling a medical device is provided. The method includes detecting one or more wirelessly controllable medical devices, receiving a user input at a portable electronic device to remotely control the one or more medical devices, wherein the user input is selected at a graphical user interface displayed on the portable electronic device. The graphical user interface corresponds to a control interface of the one or more medical devices. The method also includes wirelessly controlling the one or more medical devices from the portable electronic device.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed is:

“1. A method for controlling a medical device from a portable electronic device, the method comprising: establishing bi-directional communication between a portable electronic device and a select medical device from a plurality of medical devices, wherein the select medical device includes a display to present a first graphical user interface (GUI), the first GUI including a control interface to control the select medical device; displaying the first GUI on a display of the portable electronic device, the first GUI includes user selectable elements that emulate an appearance of, and display control functions of the control interface of the select medical device; adjusting a setting of the select medical device based on a selection of the user selectable elements from the portable electronic device; and receiving feedback from the select medical device in response to the adjusted setting on the portable electronic device.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising viewing monitoring data acquired by the select medical device on the display of the portable electronic device, wherein the monitoring data comprises at least one of uploading monitoring data to the select medical device, or viewing images.

“3. The method of claim 1, further comprising broadcasting a query message to the plurality of medical devices and detecting the plurality of medical devices that are controllable by the portable electronic device, wherein the detecting is based on a proximity detection of the plurality of medical devices that are controllable and acquire information for the display of the portable electronic device.

“4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a location of the plurality of medical devices with respect to a medical setting on the display, wherein the location comprises at least one of a particular ward, a room number, a local Global Positioning System, or protocol logs of where the select medical device is located.

“5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving updated patient information at the first GUI of the portable electronic device, wherein the patient information comprises at least one of background information, a patient address, insurance information, physical information, a patient height, a patient weight, a patient age, allergies, medical history, a time per patient, or conditions in the room of the patient; and transmitting the updated patient information to the select medical device and a medical data system.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the control interface of the first GUI of the portable electronic device displays all of the control functions available on the select medical device.

“7. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting the GUI from a plurality of pre-loaded applications of different GUIs stored on the portable electronic device of the plurality of medical devices and select the first GUI for the select medical device.

“8. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of medical devices comprise at least one of a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a ventilator, or an electrocardiogram.

“9. A portable electronic device comprising: a display; a memory for storing programmed instructions; and one or more processors to execute the programmed instructions by performing the following operations: establishing bi-directional communication with a select medical device from a plurality of medical devices, wherein the select medical device includes a display for a first graphical user interface (GUI), the first GUI including a control interface to control the select medical device; displaying the first GUI on the display, the first GUI includes user selectable elements that emulate an appearance of, and display, control functions of the control interface of the select medical device; adjusting a setting of the select medical device based on a selection of the user selectable elements; and receiving feedback from the select medical device in response to the adjusted setting on the portable electronic device.

“10. The portable electronic device of claim 9, the one or more processors further receiving monitoring data acquired by the select medical device on the display, wherein the monitoring data comprises at least one of uploading monitoring data to the select medical device, or viewing images.

“11. The portable electronic device of claim 9, the one or more processors further broadcasting a query message to the plurality of medical devices and detecting the plurality of medical devices that are controllable by the portable electronic device, wherein the detecting is based on a proximity detection of the plurality of medical devices that are controllable and acquire information for the display of the portable electronic device.

“12. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein the control interface of the first GUI represents all of the control functions available on the select medical device.

“13. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein the memory includes a plurality of pre-loaded applications of different GUIs on the portable electronic device; the one or more processors further selecting the first GUI from the plurality of pre-loaded GUIs stored on the memory based on the select medical device.

“14. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein the plurality of medical devices include at least one of a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a ventilator, or an electrocardiogram.

“15. A tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium comprising one or more programmed instructions configured to direct one or more processors to: establish bi-directional communication between a portable electronic device and a select medical device from a plurality of medical devices, wherein the select medical device includes a display for first graphical user interface (GUI), the first GUI including a control interface to control the select medical device; display the first GUI on a display of the portable electronic device, the first GUI includes user selectable elements that emulate an appearance of, and display, control functions of the control interface of the select medical device; adjust a setting of the select medical device based on a selection of the user selectable elements from the portable electronic device; and receive feedback from the select medical device in response to the adjusted setting on the portable electronic device.

“16. The tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further directed to receive monitoring data from the portable electronic device, wherein the monitoring data comprises at least one of uploading monitoring data to the select medical device, or viewing images.

“17. The tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further directed to broadcast a query message to the plurality of medical devices; and detect the plurality of medical devices that are controllable by the portable electronic device, wherein the detecting is based on a proximity detection of the plurality of medical devices that are controllable and acquire information for the display of the portable electronic device.

“18. The tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further directed to display a location of the plurality of medical devices with respect to a medical setting on the display, wherein the location comprises at least one of a particular ward, a room number, a local Global positioning system, or protocol logs of where the select medical device is located.

“19. The tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further directed to receive updated patient information at the first GUI of the portable electronic device, wherein the patient information comprises at least one of background information, a patient address, insurance information, physical information, a patient height, a patient weight, a patient age, allergies, medical history, a time per patient, or conditions in the room of the patient; and transmit the updated patient information to the select medical device and a medical data system.

“20. The tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further directed to select the first GUI from a plurality of pre-loaded applications of different GUIs stored on the portable electronic device of the plurality of medical devices, and select the first GUI for the select medical device.”

For additional information on this patent, see: Georgiev, Emil Markov; Robinson, Scott William; Upton, Bayne Robin. Systems And Methods For Wirelessly Controlling Medical Devices. U.S. Patent Number 10,231,677, filed September 24, 2015, and published online on April 1, 2019. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10,231,677.PN.&OS=PN/10,231,677RS=PN/10,231,677

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