Automated Allergy Office

Abstract

The automated allergy office system and method takes a medical professional through an allergy testing process and a follow-on immunology injection process step-by-step using LED computer screen tables, computer tablets, smart phones, an internal office computer system accessing Patient medical records, and an augmenter reality headset. The augmented reality headset technology and artificial intelligence are layered onto an improved manual system to minimize false positives and negatives, to improve the patient experience patient, resulting in cost savings for the doctor and patient and enabling portions of the allergy testing to be performed remotely from the office of the allergist, either by the patient or by a trained medical technician.

Claims

1. An automated allergy office system comprising back or arm target stickers used by artificial intelligence and augmented reality headset as sites such that the system determines target locations of where to perform scratch or injection points, wherein moles and skin tags that may yield a false positive or negative display a message for a medical technician to move the back or arm target sticker to a scratch or injection point away from the mole or skin tag.

2. The automated allergy office system of claim 1, wherein if a patient has the mole or skin tag as identified by the artificial intelligence or the augmented reality headset, a second test site is identified, the second test site reducing false positives and negatives.

3. The automated allergy office system of claim 1, wherein the augmented reality headset projects target allergen injection points on the image of the back or arm of the patient relative to a skin target, wherein the augmented reality headset enables an objective reading of a wheal and a flare for a patient with either a tattoo or a darker complexion.

4. The automated allergy office system of claim 1, wherein wherein if the augmented reality headset determines that a first potential skin target is aligned with a skin discoloration on a patient, the first potential skin target is relocated to a second potential skin target to avoid the skin discoloration, the second potential not having the skin discoloration.

5. The automated allergy office system of claim 1, wherein wherein if the augmented reality headset determines that a first potential skin target is aligned with a skin discoloration on a patient, a medical technician is advised to relocate the first potential skin target to a second potential skin target location to avoid the skin discoloration, the second potential location not having a skin discoloration.

6. The automated allergy office system of claim 1, wherein wherein the augmented reality headset combined with voice recognition technology interprets spoken commands of a wearer of the augmented reality headset, the augmented reality headset reading and recording wheal color and wheal flare.

7. The automated allergy office system of claim 1, wherein wherein the augmented reality headset combined with voice recognition technology interprets spoken commands of a wearer of the augmented reality headset, the augmented reality headset reading and recording an infrared signature of a wheal reaction site and flare reaction site.

8. The automated allergy office system of claim 1, wherein further comprising means for retesting negative test results.

9. The automated allergy office system of claim 8, wherein the retesting of the negative test results is performed using prefilled vials and syringes, wherein the augmented reality headset monitors content of each vial, each vial location in a testing tray and location of each skin tester.

10. The automated allergy office system of claim 1, wherein wherein the augmented reality headset monitors injection sites and the location of the used skin testers and the location of used vials.

11. An automated allergy office system comprising artificial intelligence learning of the correct interpretation of wheal, flare, color, and infrared temperature measurement, including grading, the artificial intelligence through an augmented reality headset, recording each test site to ensure that a negative reaction does not occur to the injection.

12. The automated allergy office system of claim 11, wherein the augmented reality headset captures an image of a test site immediately after an allergen is administered.

13. The automated allergy office system of claim 11, wherein the augmented reality headset captures an image of a test site at about a 15-minute interval after the tests are completed.

14. The automated allergy office system of claim 11, further comprising means for updating automation criteria with current values, such that updated intelligence models for achieving optimal values while safeguarding patient identity in an automation criteria library for storing and updating a prior automation criteria.

15. The automated allergy office system of claim 11, wherein if the augmented reality headset determines that a first potential skin target is aligned with a skin discoloration on a patient, the first potential skin target is relocated to a second potential skin target to avoid the skin discoloration, the second potential not having the skin discoloration.

16. The automated allergy office system of claim 11, wherein if the augmented reality headset determines that a first potential skin target is aligned with a skin discoloration on a patient, a medical technician is advised to relocate the first potential skin target to a second potential skin target location to avoid the skin discoloration, the second potential location not having a skin discoloration.

17. The automated allergy office system of claim 11, wherein the augmented reality headset enables an objective reading of a wheal and a flare for a patient with either a tattoo or a darker complexion.

18. An automated allergy office procedure that takes a medical professional through an allergy testing process and a follow-on immunology injection process step-by-step using LED computer screen tables, computer tablets, smart phones, an internal office computer system accessing patient medical records, and an augmented reality headset.

19. The automated allergy office of claim 18, wherein augmented reality headset technology and artificial intelligence are layered onto a manual system to reduce false positives and negatives, to improve the patient experience patient, resulting in cost savings for the doctor and patient and enabling portions of the allergy testing to be performed remotely from the office of the allergist, either by the patient or by a trained medical technician.

20. The automated allergy office of claim 19, wherein at least one of testing vials, patient specific immunology vials, and skin test target tags deploy at least one of radio frequency ID tags, Bluetooth low energy tags, or near field communication tags.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Further advantages of the embodiments are apparent by reference to the detailed description when considered in conjunction with the figures, which are not to scale so as to show the details more clearly, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views, and wherein:

[0024] FIG. 1 depicts a first embodiment of the automated allergy office of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, and 2E depict the operations performed in the simplified schematic layout of the automated allergy office of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

[0026] With reference now to the drawings, there are depicted all of the claimed elements of the various embodiments, although all claimed embodiments might not be depicted in a single drawing. Thus, it is appreciated that not all embodiments include all of the elements as depicted, and that some embodiments include different combinations of the depicted elements. It is further appreciated that the various elements can all have many different configurations, and are not limited to just the configuration of a given element as depicted. As indicated above, the elements of the drawings as depicted are not to scale, even with respect one to another, and relative size or thickness of one element cannot be determined by the aspect ratios of that element or with reference to any dimension of another element.

[0027] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a first embodiment of the automated allergy office of the present disclosure.

[0028] A phone or tablet app for the patient is used to input personal and medical information prior to or during the initial office visit. This includes symptoms, photographs of skin rashes with the color of rash and temperature of any rash being recorded as part of the patient's record along with any other indications that are unusual or new.

[0029] The patient schedules a consultation with the allergist by phone or tablet app. The consultation can either be a visit to the allergist's office, a visit to some other medical facility, or a phone consultation. If the initial visit between the patient and doctor is done remotely, for example, if the patient is home-bound, the skin tests can be performed by a nurse or medical technician from the doctor's office visiting the patient. Similarly, if the patient is home-bound and follow-up testing is required, the tests can be performed by a nurse or medical technician from the doctor's office visiting the patient. Satellite offices and medical clinics can also be incorporated into the system.

[0030] The patient's medical history and insurance information is obtained during the initial doctor-patient contact. The medical history may also be submitted by written forms, by phone, or a tablet app or entered by the patient on a website. This includes symptoms, photographs of skin rashes with the color of rash and temperature of any rash being recorded as part of the patient's record along with any other indications that are unusual or new.

[0031] Also, one or more of the patient's biometric identifiers are obtained (e.g.—face, finger, voice). Bimodal identification is used in one embodiment.

[0032] In addition, FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, and 2E depict the operations performed in a simplified schematic layout of the automated allergy office of the present disclosure.

[0033] The automated allergy office of the present disclosure includes clear, single tester, multi tester and vial trays. The testing vials, patient specific immunology vials, and skin test target tags, will use the latest ID tag technology.

[0034] RFID tags which have an antenna and receives power, via an RF field, generated by the RFID tag reader are used. Bluetooth low energy tags are also used. Near field communication tags are also used. Wiliot provides near field communication tags for the electronic tracking of medication, flexible electronic connectivity, and battery-free sensor tags. These tags enable the electronic tracking and monitoring of medication dispensing and intake. The kit is a multi-vial box covered with a cardboard layer of continuously numbered, perforated areas corresponding to the individual compartments. When the user opens a perforation at the starter tab the removal of the vial will be tracked by means of integrated, printed electronics.

[0035] The Bluetooth low energy tags and the near field communication tags include electronics and memory imbedded in a tag that needs no external power source, it obtains its needed power by harvesting energy from the RF signals that are present in homes and offices, such as Wi-Fi router signals.

[0036] A near field communication tag supplied by Wiliot that is glued to a simple antenna printed on plastic or paper can authenticate the proximity of a product by transmitting an encrypted serial number along with weight and temperature data from a device the size of a postage stamp Eliminating most of the components associated with traditional Bluetooth, these tags lower sale and maintenance costs to previously unachievable levels.

[0037] These tags communicate with the office automation system through secure Wi-Fi or even through the augmented reality headset.

[0038] This embodiment of the automated allergy office includes a table-top LED display.

[0039] The augmented reality headset, in some embodiments, includes voice recognition that understands the voice of the nurse, will read the color and size of the wheal and flare, and will read the infrared signature of the wheal and flare reaction site.

[0040] The driver for the augmented reality headset may be a computer, a tablet, or a secure Wi-Fi network.

[0041] The prefilled single tester tray, in some embodiments, uses a barcode, a QR-type code or some other identifier. The prefilled multi tester tray uses a barcode, a QR-type code, or some other identifier. Prefilled allergen vials use a barcode, a QR-type code, or some other identifier.

[0042] The trays are scanned with the augmented reality headset. Even though the trays are preloaded, the augmented reality headset serves to record what was given to the patient.

[0043] Back or arm target stickers are used by the artificial intelligence and an augmented reality headset as a location point such that the system knows were to display the scratch or injection points (moles, skin tags, pre-existing rash or tattoos, that could cause the system to locate a scratch point or an injection point that may give a false positive or negative, will display a message for the nurse to move the target sticker or will automatically move the injection point away from the mole, skin tag, pre-existing rash or tattoo).

[0044] The augmented reality headset captures the image of the test sites immediately after each test is completed as well as 20 minutes after the tests are completed.

[0045] The system guides the nurse through the testing and injection process. However, if for some reason the nurse exits the system or allows the system to go into a sleep mode, such as if there is something that interrupts the process and causes her to leave, when she returns, the system identifies the point in the process at which she stopped, and prompts her to continue from that point. Thus, she does not need to be concerned about either duplicating or skipping any of the procedures.

[0046] After twenty minutes, the nurse returns to the exam room so that the system can perform the final data collection and analysis. It is important to return to the exam room after the 20 minutes because some wheal and flare reactions can dissipate quickly after 25-30 minutes. An accurate analysis timed after 20 minutes will help to minimize the number of false positives or negatives.

[0047] If the artificial intelligence sees a reaction that may harm the patient, the system signals the nurse or doctor to see the patient immediately. The testing process is timed.

[0048] The automatic filling system for immunotherapy vials is identified and locked by the biometric identifier of the patient.

[0049] A first embodiment of the automated allergy office system and method of the present disclosure takes a medical professional through an allergy testing process and a follow-on immunology injection process step-by-step using LED computer screen tables, computer tablets, smart phones, an internal office computer system accessing the patient's medical records, and an augmenter reality headset. The augmented reality headset technology and artificial intelligence are layered onto an improved manual system to minimize false positives and negatives, to improve the patient experience patient, resulting in cost savings for the doctor and patient and enabling portions of the allergy testing to be performed remotely from the office of the allergist, either by the patient or by a trained medical technician. The testing vials, the patient specific immunology vials, and the skin test target tags, will, in some embodiments, each deploy either radio frequency ID tags, Bluetooth low energy tags, or near field communication tags.

[0050] A second embodiment of the automated allergy office system of the present disclosure comprises back or arm target stickers used by artificial intelligence and augmented reality headset as sites such that the system determines target locations of where to perform scratch or injection points, wherein moles, skin tags, pre-existing rash, or tattoo, that may yield a false positive or negative display a message for a medical technician to move the back or arm target sticker to a scratch or injection point away from the mole, skin tags, pre-existing rash, or tattoo. If the patient has the mole, skin tags, pre-existing rash, or tattoo, as identified by the artificial intelligence or the augmented reality headset, a second test site is identified. The second test site reduces the likelihood of false positives and negatives. The automated allergy office system of the present disclosure may be initiated either in the office of the allergist or remotely. The automated allergy office system of the present disclosure may be periodically updated either in the office of the allergist or remotely.

[0051] A third embodiment of the automated allergy office system of the present disclosure including an augmented reality headset that projects target allergen injection points on the image of the back or arm of the patient relative to the target location wherein if the augmented reality headset detect a mole, skin tag, pre-existing rash, or tattoo, at the target location is moved to avoid the mole, skin tag, pre-existing rash, or tattoo. The augmented reality headset combined with voice recognition technology interprets spoken commands of a wearer of the augmented reality headset. The augmented reality headset reads and records the wheal color, wheal size and change in color as well as flare size. In another embodiment, the augmented reality headset also reads and records an infrared signature of a wheal reaction site and flare reaction site. A second embodiment of the automated allergy office system of the present disclosure also includes means for retesting negative test results. The retesting of the negative test results is performed using prefilled vials and syringes, wherein the augmented reality headset monitors the content of each vial, each vial location in a testing tray and the location of each skin tester. In addition, the augmented reality headset monitors injection sites and the location of the used skin testers and the location of used vials.

[0052] A fourth embodiment of the automated allergy office system of the present disclosure comprises artificial intelligence learning of the correct interpretation of wheal, flare, color, and infrared temperature measurement, including grading, the artificial intelligence through an augmented reality headset, recording each test site to ensure that a negative reaction does not occur to the injection. The augmented reality headset captures an image of a test site immediately after an allergen is administered. The augmented reality headset also captures an image of a test site at about a 15-minute interval after the tests are completed. The automated allergy office system of the present disclosure further comprise means for updating artificial intelligence models with current values. Such updated artificial intelligence models are designed for achieving optimal values while safeguarding patient identity in an artificial intelligence library.

[0053] Still other aspects of the processes for utilizing the automated allergy office of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described in the embodiments of this disclosure, simply by the way of illustration of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the present disclosure. As will be realized, the present disclosure is capable of different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

[0054] The database and artificial intelligence for reaction interpretation examines the size change of the wheal, the size change of the flare, any color change of the wheal and flare, and infrared measurement of any temperature change.

[0055] The artificial intelligence analysis is comprehensive. A printout of artificial intelligence analysis of wheals, flares, color, temperature, and grade. Paper, tablet, or computer accessible artificial intelligence analysis are provided for the doctor to evaluate and adjust as needed. Negative test results from the percutaneous scratch testing are retested with prefilled vials and syringes (the augmented reality headset read the content of each vial, their location in the testing trays as well as the location of each syringe, the augmented reality headset monitor the injection site as well as the location of the used syringes and the location of the used vials).

[0056] The verified negatives are recorded and merged with the initial percutaneous allergy test results. If a negative retest shows a positive from the intradermal injection retest, the data is merged with the initial test data for the doctor's analysis and conclusion.

[0057] After the doctor adjusts the artificial intelligence analysis, the data is entered into the patient's record and is used for the automatic preparation of the patient's immunological shot vials.

[0058] A copy of this record, with patient-specific data removed, is put into the artificial intelligence learning database, this will improve the artificial intelligence results in the future. A system of concentrated allergens, some being grouped together, are driven by the doctor's immunological plan with specific volumes pumped into the vials that will be used for the patient immunological shots. The system generates tags for each vial with the patient's name, contents, coded biometric data, expiration date, manufacturer, lot number of stock bottle, expiration date of stock bottle, stock source from manufacturer, vial temperature and the vial number (e.g. −1 of 4).

[0059] For examples of how artificial intelligence is used in the automated office of the present disclosure, see United States publication 20200202245 (Lesnik; et al.) entitled “A Probabilistic Data Classifier System and Method Thereof” filed Oct. 14, 2018, and United States publication 20190065464 (Finley; et al.) entitled “Artificial Intelligence Scribe” filed Mar. 8, 2018.

[0060] Before each shot is given to a patient, the unique patient identifier is checked to confirm patient identity, the patient's shot vials are scanned, and the injection volume is displayed for the nurse or medical technician. After the shot is given, the shot vials are scanned again. Finally, the artificial intelligence, through the augmented reality headset records each shot site to ensure that the patient does not experience a negative reaction to the injection. If the patient complains of a negative reaction, or if the augmented reality headset detects a negative reaction, an alert is given to the nurse, medical technician, and the doctor requesting immediate help. The time to administer the immunology shots is also recorded.

[0061] As the doctor, nurse, and medical personnel become familiar with the images and animation displayed in the augmented reality headset, he or she can choose to speed up or eliminate portions of the animation. However, the sped-up visuals will continue to display all the key elements of the display sequence to ensure that the proper process and procedure is followed.

[0062] As used herein, the term “augmented reality headset” refers to a relatively new technology that integrates information from the real world and the virtual world “seamlessly”. Specifically, by means of techniques such as electronic computer processing, augmented reality technology applies virtual information to the real world by simulation and then superimposition, and the result is perceived by human senses. Therefore, a sensory experience that transcends reality is achieved. In this case, the real environment and the virtual object are superimposed in the same picture or space in real time. The augmented reality technology not only displays real-world information, but also displays virtual information at the same time, so that the two kinds of information complement and superimpose each other. In the visual augmented reality technology, the real world and computer graphics are multi-synthesized by using a helmet display. With maturity of the market, a variety of augmented reality products have emerged, especially head-mounted augmented reality headset. See, for example, United States publication 20200211420 (Buras; et al.) entitled “System and Method for Three-Dimensional Augmented Reality Guidance for Use of Medical Equipment” filed Dec. 26, 2019, and U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/197,803 (Badiali; et al.) entitled “Augmented Reality Glasses for Medical Applications and Corresponding Augmented Reality System” filed Mar. 27, 2015.

[0063] The automated allergy office of the present disclosure will result in portions of the allergy diagnosis and treatment moving out of the allergist's office to intermediate medical sites and to a certain degree of home testing, analysis, and treatment of allergies.

[0064] Still other aspects of the telehealth system of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described in the embodiments of this disclosure, simply by the way of illustration of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the present disclosure. As will be realized, the present disclosure is capable of different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

[0065] Throughout this application, various provisional applications, patents applications, PCT applications, and patents are referenced. The disclosures of these documents in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this specification to more fully describe the state of the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0066] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of A, B, and C” means all possible combinations of none or multiple instances of each of A, B, and C, but at least one A, or one B, or one C. For example, and without limitation: Ax1, Ax2+Bx1, Cx2, Ax1+Bx1+Cx1, Ax1+Bx12+Cx113. It does not mean Ax0+Bx0+Cx0.

[0067] The foregoing description of embodiments for this disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide illustrations of the principles of the invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.