Surgery – Diagnostic testing
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-08
2002-12-24
Winakur, Eric F. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
C128S904000, C128S923000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06497657
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote diagnosis system which transmits, to a medical institution, physical information obtained from a patient at a location (e.g., patient's home) remote from the medical institution, so that a doctor at the medical institution makes, based on the transmitted physical information, a medical diagnosis on the patient.
2. Related Art Statement
Japanese Patent Document No. 10-143573 discloses a remote diagnosis system which includes a physical-information obtaining device that is placed in a house of a patient and obtains physical information (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) from the patient and which transmits the obtained physical information to a doctor-side terminal device that is placed in a medical institution (e.g., hospital, doctor's office, etc.) remote from the patient's house. The prior remote diagnosis system additionally includes a preliminary-diagnosis device which automatically makes a preliminary diagnosis about the physical information, before the physical information is transmitted to the medical institution.
More specifically described, the preliminary-diagnosis device makes a preliminary diagnosis by judging whether the physical information obtained from the patient is greater than a threshold value, and selects, from a plurality of doctor-side terminal devices assigned to a plurality of doctors, one doctor-side terminal device assigned to one doctor who is suitable for making a proper diagnosis based on the physical information and the preliminary diagnosis, so that the remote diagnosis system transmits the physical information to the selected doctor-side terminal device. Thus, the preliminary diagnosis is utilized to transmit the physical information to the suitable doctor who can make a correct diagnosis on the patient. In addition, when the preliminary diagnosis indicates that the physical information is obviously normal and the patient does not need a proper diagnosis by a doctor, the remote diagnosis system does not transmit the physical information to any doctor-side terminal devices. Thus, a total amount of physical information transmitted to each doctor is decreased, and each doctor can more quickly make a proper diagnosis about the thus decreased amount of physical information only.
Thus, in the case where the preliminary-diagnosis device makes respective “abnormality” preliminary diagnoses about different sorts of physical information, the prior remote diagnosis system transmits the different sorts of physical information to different doctor-side terminal devices assigned to different doctors who are suitable for diagnosing the different sorts of physical information, respectively. However, in the case where the preliminary-diagnosis device makes respective “abnormality” preliminary diagnoses about different pieces of physical information of one sort, the prior remote diagnosis system transmits all the different pieces of physical information to one and same doctor-side terminal device assigned to one and same doctor who is suitable for diagnosing the one sort of physical information. This largely limits the degree of freedom of choice of the patient who could freely go and see any one of a plurality of doctors at a plurality of medical institutions. In addition, since only one doctor makes a final diagnosis about each piece of physical information, the final diagnosis may not be sufficiently accurate or reliable.
SUMMERY OF THE INVENTION
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a remote diagnosis system which includes a plurality of doctor-side devices any one of which can be selected by a patient.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a remote diagnosis system which includes a plurality of doctor-side devices which can provide a patient with accurate or reliable diagnoses.
Each of the above objects has been achieved by the present invention. According to a first feature of the present invention, there is provided a remote diagnosis system comprising at least one patient-side device including at least one physical-information obtaining device which obtains at least one piece of current physical information from at least one patient; a plurality of doctor-side devices which are provided in a plurality of medical institutions, respectively, that are remote from the patient-side device and each of which can receive the piece of current physical information of the patient from the patient-side device; a preliminary-diagnosis means for making, based on the piece of current physical information obtained by the physical-information obtaining device, a preliminary diagnosis about whether the patient needs a proper diagnosis to be made by a doctor; and a physical-information transmitting means for transmitting, when the preliminary-diagnosis means makes a preliminary diagnosis that the patient needs a proper diagnosis to be made by a doctor, the piece of current physical information to at least one doctor-side device of the plurality of doctor-side devices that has been selected by the patient.
In the present remote diagnosis system, when the preliminary-diagnosis means makes a preliminary diagnosis that the patient needs a proper diagnosis to be made by a doctor, the physical-information transmitting means transmits the piece of current physical information obtained by the physical-information obtaining device, to one or more doctor-side devices of the plurality of doctor-side devices that have been selected by the patient. Thus, as in the case where the patient actually goes and sees one or more doctors at one or more medical institutions out of a number of medical institutions, the physical information obtained from the patient is transmitted to one or more doctor-side devices selected by the patient out of the plurality of doctor-side devices, so that the physical information or the patient is diagnosed by one doctor before the one doctor-side device, or each of two or more doctors before the two or more doctor-side devices.
According to a second feature of the present invention, there is provided a remote diagnosis system comprising at least one patient-side device including at least one physical-information obtaining device which obtains at least one piece of current physical information from at least one patient; a plurality of doctor-side devices which are provided in a plurality of medical institutions, respectively, that are remote from the patient-side device and each of which can receive the piece of current physical information of the patient from the patient-side device; a preliminary-diagnosis means for making, based on the piece of current physical information obtained by the physical-information obtaining device, a preliminary diagnosis about whether the patient needs a proper diagnosis to be made by a doctor; and a physical-information transmitting means for transmitting, when the preliminary-diagnosis means makes a preliminary diagnosis that the patient needs a proper diagnosis to be made by a doctor, the piece of current physical information to each of the plurality of doctor-side devices.
In the present remote diagnosis system, when the preliminary-diagnosis means makes a preliminary diagnosis that the patient needs a proper diagnosis to be made by a doctor, the physical-information transmitting means transmits the piece of current physical information obtained by the physical-information obtaining device, to each of of the plurality of doctor-side devices. Since the physical information obtained from the patient is transmitted to the plurality of doctor-side devices provided at the plurality of medical institutions, the physical information or the patient can be accurately or reliably diagnosed by two or more doctors before the two or more doctor-side devices.
According to a third feature of the present invention, the preliminary-diagnosis means comprises means for judging whether the piece of current physical information falls within a first reference range, and means for making, when it
Colin Corporation
McCrosky David
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Winakur Eric F.
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