METHOD FOR DETERMINING AN ITEM OF PATIENT INFORMATION, MEDICAL ENGINEERING ARRANGEMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAM AND ELECTRONICALLY READABLE DATA CARRIER

Abstract

A method for determining an item of patient information that alludes to a position and/or a movement of a patient during an examination and/or treatment process with a medical engineering apparatus is provided. The patient information is determined from sensor data of a mobile telephone sensor of a mobile telephone, such as a smartphone, coupled motionally to the patient, at least in one direction of movement.

Claims

1. A method for determining an item of patient information that alludes to a position, movement, or position and movement of a patient during an examination, treatment, or examination and treatment process with a medical engineering apparatus, the method comprising: determining the patient information from sensor data of a mobile telephone sensor of a mobile telephone coupled motionally to the patient at least in one direction of movement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile telephone is a smartphone.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one acceleration sensor of the mobile telephone, at least one camera of the mobile telephone, or a combination thereof is used as the mobile telephone sensor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein when one or more other mobile telephone sensors based on different measuring principles are used, the respective sensor data of the one or more other mobile telephone sensors are used in addition, to verify plausibility, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the sensor data is determined in a mobile telephone coordinate system that is or will be registered with a patient coordinate system of the medical engineering apparatus.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising registering the mobile telephone coordinate system with the patient coordinate system, the registering comprising: registering the mobile telephone coordinate system with the patient coordinate system using a registration image recorded by the medical engineering apparatus configured as an imaging apparatus, a navigation system, or a combination thereof; and indicating the mobile telephone, a marker attached to the mobile telephone, or a combination thereof with at least one marker for the navigation system arranged on the mobile telephone, by sensor data of the at least one acceleration sensor of the mobile telephone indicating a direction of the force of gravity, or a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring the movement of the patient, monitoring the movement of the patient comprising evaluating the patient information.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising using the patient information, verifying plausibility of an item of movement monitoring information determined by a movement monitoring apparatus of the medical engineering apparatus, performing a qualitative or quantitative movement correction of an occurred movement described by the patient information, outputting a notification with a movement of the patient described by the patient information and fulfilling an output criterion, or any combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the patient information describing a patient movement is determined by temporal integration of the sensor data when an acceleration sensor is used.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile telephone is motionally coupled by a mechanical coupling apparatus to the patient.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the mobile telephone is motionally coupled by the mechanical coupling apparatus to the patient, so that a non-sterile mobile telephone remains at a minimal distance from the patient.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile telephone is also used at least partially as an operator apparatus for the medical engineering apparatus.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining at least one vital parameter of the patient from the sensor data of the mobile telephone sensor or sensor data of at least one further mobile telephone sensor as part of the patient information.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the patient information is used to control the medical engineering apparatus.

15. A medical engineering arrangement comprising: a medical engineering apparatus; a mobile telephone including at least one mobile telephone sensor and a controller configured to determine an item of patient information that alludes to a position, movement, or position and movement of a patient during an examination, treatment, or examination and treatment process with the medical engineering apparatus, the determination of the item of patient information comprising: determination of the patient information from sensor data of the at least one mobile telephone sensor of the mobile telephone, which is coupled motionally to the patient at least in one direction of movement.

16. In a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions executable by one or more processors to determine an item of patient information that alludes to a position, movement, or position and movement of a patient during an examination, treatment, or examination and treatment process with a medical engineering apparatus, the instructions comprising: determining the patient information from sensor data of a mobile telephone sensor of a mobile telephone coupled motionally to the patient at least in one direction of movement.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of a method;

[0039] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary application in an irradiation and/or imaging process;

[0040] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a coupling apparatus; and

[0041] FIG. 4 is a functional drawing of one embodiment of a medical engineering arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of a method. The method is started in act S1 (e.g., by selecting a corresponding function in an App that is installed in a mobile telephone, such as a smartphone).

[0043] This results, in act S2, in the mobile telephone setting up a wireless communication link to a medical engineering apparatus, with which an examination and/or treatment process of a patient is to be carried out. The wireless communication link may be established by WLAN and/or Bluetooth, for example. Successfully establishing the communication link, which may also include an authentication process, is indicated to the user who positions the mobile telephone in a motionally coupled manner with the patient, as explained in more detail below.

[0044] Similarly, in act S2, in this exemplary embodiment, a registration is established between a mobile telephone coordinate system of the mobile telephone and a patient coordinate system of the medical engineering apparatus.

[0045] Different registration approaches may be selected (e.g., the use of markers, the visibility of the mobile telephone in images, and/or navigation data of a navigation system or also information from mobile telephone sensors).

[0046] Accordingly, in act S3, mobile telephone sensors (e.g., acceleration sensors and/or a camera of the mobile telephone) may be used in order to record sensor data, from which patient information relating to the position and/or movement of the patient may be derived, which is provided on account of the movement coupling.

[0047] In act S4, the sensor data is evaluated in order to determine patient information that describes the movement and/or position of the patient. For example, the movement of the patient and thus an item of patient information describing a change in position may be determined by integrating sensor data of the acceleration sensors of the mobile telephone. With a camera, structure from motion algorithms and/or algorithms of the optical flow may be used, for example, in order to obtain corresponding information.

[0048] Sensor data from different mobile telephone sensors may be used in order to enable a mutual plausibility check; the sensor data may be merged together in order to determine the patient information. With respect to positions and orientations, the registration is used between the mobile telephone coordinate system and the patient coordinate system of the medical engineering apparatus, which was established in act S2.

[0049] In act S5, the patient information is evaluated by measure criteria (e.g., in a control unit of the medical engineering apparatus) in order to establish the need for measures within the scope of a position and/or movement monitoring of the patient. If the patient moves too much during an irradiation process, for example, the irradiation focus may be traced accordingly or with no longer correctable movements, a corresponding warning message may be output, and the irradiation may be interrupted. Movement information describing movements of the patient may also be used to stabilize robot-controlled medical instruments, which are to be used in or on the patient.

[0050] If a measure criterion is fulfilled, the corresponding measure is carried out in act S6.

[0051] In an extension of the exemplary embodiment, the recorded sensor data may be extended in act S3; an extended item of patient information is determined in act S4. This then also describes vital parameters of the patient. For example, sensor data of the acceleration sensors of the mobile telephone, which is motionally coupled to the patient, may be evaluated with respect to the pulse beat and the breathing activity, in order to be able to determine pulse rates, breathing ranges, and suchlike, for example.

[0052] In association with a bright lighting apparatus of the mobile telephone, which is typically used as a flashlight or pocket torch, the camera may be used to determine an oxygen saturation. This further patient information is also supplied via the communication link to the medical engineering apparatus and evaluated there accordingly in act S5.

[0053] Within the scope of these exemplary embodiments, the App on the mobile telephone may also be embodied so that the communication link is used in order to enable an at least partial operation of the medical engineering apparatus by the mobile telephone, and thus, the mobile telephone may be used as a control apparatus for the medical engineering apparatus.

[0054] FIG. 2 shows the application of the method in a medical engineering apparatus 1, which may be embodied as a combined irradiation and x-ray apparatus. The medical engineering apparatus 1 therefore has an irradiation arrangement 2 that may be positioned with respect to the patient 3 and may also be rotated about the patient 3.

[0055] The patient 3 may be supported on, for example, a patient couch 4. The mobile telephone 5 (e.g., a smartphone) may thus be positionable on the patient, for example, in order to enable a movement monitoring. The registration of the mobile telephone coordinate system with the patient coordinate system may be achieved, for example, by the visibility of the mobile telephone in x-ray images.

[0056] FIG. 3 shows, in a schematic view, the movement coupling of a non-sterile mobile telephone 5 to a patient 3. This is shown in the context of a spinal intervention, in which patient information describing the position and/or movement of the patient 3 is particularly useful. There, a clamping facility 6, as a medical instrument, may be fastened to a spinous process 7 inside the patient 3, where, via a further mechanical coupling apparatus 8, the mobile telephone 5 may be motionally coupled hereto at an adequate distance from the patient 3.

[0057] FIG. 4 shows the general functional design of one embodiment of a medical engineering arrangement 9. This has, as already shown, the medical engineering apparatus 1 and the mobile telephone 5, which both have a control unit 10, 11 in each case. A camera 13 and an intertial platform 14 may be provided with acceleration sensors 15 as mobile telephone sensors 12.

[0058] The control units 10, 11 (e.g., controllers) each include a communication unit 16 in order to be able to establish the communication link 17 in act S2. With respect to act S2, for the sake of clarity registration units, not shown in more detail, may also be available to establish the registration.

[0059] Sensor data is received in the control unit 11 by a sensor data recording unit 18. The sensor data may be evaluated at least partially already with respect to the patient information by an optional evaluation unit 19 of the control unit 11. If the patient information is not already determined entirely by the optional evaluation unit 19, corresponding evaluation information may arise. The corresponding evaluation information is then used by the control unit 10 (e.g., the evaluation unit 20) to determine the patient information. If there is no evaluation unit 19 in the control unit 11, the sensor data is completely evaluated in the evaluation unit 20 of the control unit 10.

[0060] A measure unit 21, in which the measure criteria for evaluating the patient information is checked and, possibly, measures are introduced, is also shown as part of the control unit 10.

[0061] This provides, while the sensor data recording unit 18 is assigned to act S3 in FIG. 1, that the evaluation units 19, 20 are to be assigned to act S4 and the measure unit 21 is to be assigned to acts S5 and S6.

[0062] Although the invention has been illustrated and described in greater detail with reference to exemplary embodiments, the invention is not restricted by the examples disclosed; other variations may be derived therefrom by the person skilled in the art without departing from the protective scope of the invention.

[0063] The elements and features recited in the appended claims may be combined in different ways to produce new claims that likewise fall within the scope of the present invention. Thus, whereas the dependent claims appended below depend from only a single independent or dependent claim, it is to be understood that these dependent claims may, alternatively, be made to depend in the alternative from any preceding or following claim, whether independent or dependent. Such new combinations are to be understood as forming a part of the present specification.

[0064] While the present invention has been described above by reference to various embodiments, it should be understood that many changes and modifications can be made to the described embodiments. It is therefore intended that the foregoing description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that all equivalents and/or combinations of embodiments are intended to be included in this description.