Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Plural display systems – Tiling or modular adjacent displays
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-22
2002-01-15
Hjerpe, Richard (Department: 2774)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Plural display systems
Tiling or modular adjacent displays
C382S128000, C600S300000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06339410
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention is related to an apparatus and method for language translation between patients and caregivers, and for communicating, without speech, with persons such as hospital patients on ventilators, or other persons experiencing difficulty in communication.
BACKGROUND
Many attempts have been made over the years to provide improved methods and apparatus for facilitating communication between patients who do not speak the language of the caregiver, or who are not capable of speech. Hospital staff, doctors, and even family members visiting are often frustrated at the difficulty of communicating with patients on ventilators, or who are otherwise speech impaired. Unfortunately, such previous methods known to us have been relatively simplistic, or seem rather puzzling to the infirm or the usually somewhat mentally and/or physically incapacitated patients. As a result, there remains a significant and unmet need for an improved method and device for communication with such patients. Typical candidate patients would be those on respirators or mechanical ventilators who are unable to speak due to obstruction of their airway due to such breathing devices. Such patients are often in intensive or critical care situations with life threatening illnesses. The proper treatment of many such injuries require, or recovery could benefit from, close monitoring and rapid, accurate response to changes in the patient's condition. However, without effective direct communication with the patient, information about that patient's condition is often missing or incomplete, which creates the potential for incomplete or inaccurate diagnoses and treatment scenarios. Similarly, when doctors and caregivers do not have multiple language capability, and cannot speak to the patient in their own language, communication is difficult or impossible.
Additionally, patients on respirators are frustrated by not being able to ask about their condition. One important and significant problem is their inability to communicate with staff to advise of the location and intensity of pain. Patients are also often frustrated with their inability to communicate with family members about personal matters. That frustration generally compounds the patient's anxiety, stress, and fear at being in a life threatening situation, and can often result in the need for restraints or increased medication, all of which increases the patient's overall risk of a prolonged recovery or adverse outcome.
It is also known that the ability to effectively communicate has a considerable helpful effect on the patient's state of mental health, as well. Patients who are already distressed by their physical condition are often further depressed by the isolation that they feel when they are not able to articulate even their most basic needs to their caregivers. Since a positive mental attitude is often essential in recovering from severe physical trauma, improved communication could directly translate into a higher level of alertness, more responsiveness, and an improved mental state. In short, a better apparatus and method for communication could result in more effective patient care, improved patient comfort, an improved patient mental state, and could be expected to speed up the time for recovery. Sometimes, it may even make the difference between life and death.
Existing methods of communicating with such patients are primitive at best. Methods often used consist of reading lips, pointing to charts of letters and pictures, or attempts at written messages. Care givers and family members alike resort to a kind of guessing game of “twenty questions” when attempting to carry on both sides of a conversation, by constructing a series of questions which have only yes or no answers until they eventually focus with some degree of certainty on what the patient wanted. Sometimes, one party, such as the family member or the patient, simply gives up the attempt to communicate, from fatigue and/or frustration. Moreover, reading lips requires training, and assumes the staff knows the language that the patient is mouthing. Importantly, such practices are impossible if there is an obstruction in the patients mouth, such as when using a ventilator, or when a significant impairs use of the mouth. Also, using a chart of letters and/or a screen of pictures is very time consuming and tiring to the patient, and requires a fairly high level of patient alertness. Written messages, while reasonably effective, can only be accomplished by a low percentage of patients who have a high level of alertness, function, and manual dexterity. All of these approaches are slow, and prone to errors and misunderstandings. At best, such prior art methods are only partially effective in the best of circumstances, and are totally ineffective for many patients, particularly for very small children and for patients who speak a foreign language.
Frequently, patients with the greatest need to communicate are the least physically able to respond. It is not unusual for patients to experience periods where only slight head or finger movements are possible. Such limitations virtually eliminate any communication which is not assisted by some technological device. The very fact that a patient is in a physical condition that requires breathing assistance generally is indicative that any prolonged physical effort to communicate would represent an extraordinary effort for that patient.
Importantly, the patient's need for assistance with communication does not end upon being released from the Intensive Care Unit or Cardiac Care Unit (ICU/CCU) environment. Patients surviving the initial trauma of severe injury, illness, or surgery, are moved out of the critical care facility as soon as possible to free that bed for the next critical care patient. After leaving the care unit, patients may require continued support on a mechanical ventilator for an extended time period before recovering sufficiently to breath without assistance. In some cases, patients may be moved to other hospital beds, or be cared for in a nursing home or in an out-patient situation in a personal residence for weeks or months, possibly indefinitely.
Patients requiring long term care have a great and as yet still unmet need for an effective communication system, since they are often more alert and better able to function than those in intensive care, but are still unable to speak to staff or family members. Failed attempts to effectively communicate leads to additional frustration, anxiety and stress for such patients.
SUMMARY
We have now invented, and disclose herein, a computer program based communication system, and have designed an apparatus which is effective in implementing that system. The system reliably and effectively assists patients on respirators or who are otherwise unable to speak or to communicate with hospital staff or with family members, by providing a straightforward, simple and understandable graphical user interface (GUI). Preferably, the interface is interactively accessed by the patient with the use of a touch sensitive display screen. Alternately, other input devices can be utilized, such as keyboards, a head mouse, a track ball, or other input device. Utilizing currently available thin profile monitors in combination with touch screen technology provides a simple user interface.
A key design objective, namely that the system be intuitively simple to operate so that impaired patients with no special training or prior computer experience can utilize the system to communicate effectively, has clearly been achieved. In a preferred embodiment, our apparatus features a patient monitor located on an adjustable articulated arm. A second monitor is provided, preferably on a mobile stand, to allow a caregiver or family member to view the patient's inputs and responses. Ideally, a self contained, completely independent, roll-around hardware configuration is provided, utilizing a battery pack for long term power supply to the supporting general purpose computer. Such a prefer
Mayfield Addis E.
Mayfield Lawrence E.
Milner John A.
Dinh Duc Q
Goodloe, Jr. R. Reams
Hjerpe Richard
Tellassist, Inc.
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