Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Via monitoring a plurality of physiological data – e.g.,...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-03
2003-06-10
Winakur, Eric F. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Via monitoring a plurality of physiological data, e.g.,...
C128S903000, C128S904000, C206S499000, C206S569000, C345S169000, C361S689000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06575904
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a home health care system and, more particularly to a health care information interfacing system including various sensors for collecting health care information, hereinafter referred to as biodata, from a patient or a user at home for use with regard to his or her own home health care and/or for transmission to a health care provider at a remote location for remote medical diagnosis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various biodata interfacing systems of a kind referred to above have been suggested. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,745, issued Feb. 2, 1999, and U.S. Ser. No. 6,014,432, issued Jan. 11, 2000. The exemplary biodata interfacing system is generally made up of two separated stations, a patient station and a health care provider station. The patient station includes various sensors for measurement of biodata such as, body temperature, blood pressure, pulsation, brain waves and/or heart beat of a patient at home, and a transmitter for transmitting, wireless or over a public telecommunication network, that biodata to a health care provider at a remote location. The patient station also includes a receiver and a display unit for receiving and displaying results of diagnosis and/or instructions from the health care provider, respectively. The biodata interfacing system is indeed efficient and convenient in that the patient need not visit the health care provider for measurement of the biodata and the health care provider can make a quick decision on the received biodata.
It is to be noted that the term “health care provider” hereinabove and hereinafter used is intended to encompass not only a hospital or a doctor, but also a health care or day-service nurse or any other person or facility commissioned or requested to take care of health and/or medical conditions of a patient or any other user of the patient station.
The standard patient station, hereinafter referred to as a home biodata interfacing device, will now be described with reference to FIG.
39
. The biodata interfacing device shown therein includes a service console
201
, various sensors for measurement of biodata on body temperature, blood pressure and pulsation, although only a clinical thermometer
202
is shown, a display unit
203
for providing visual presentation of measurements detected by the sensors and also for providing visual presentation of how to use the home biodata interfacing device, a lead line
204
connected between the clinical thermometer
202
and the service console
201
for transmitting a body temperature of the patient from the clinical thermometer
202
to the service console
201
and, optionally, a telephone line
205
for transmitting the biodata over a public telecommunication network.
When the home biodata interfacing device is in use, the patient or user (his or her family member or visiting health care nurse) at home can have the home body temperature measured with the thermometer
202
, and the measured body temperature is then transmitted through the lead line
204
to the service console
201
from which it is subsequently displayed on the display unit
203
and/or transmitted to a health care provider over a public telecommunication network such as, for example, a public telephone system. The health care provider when receiving the measured body temperature of the patient from the service console
200
over the public telephone system may make at a remote location a diagnosis on health conditions of the patient. However, even if the telephone line
205
is not connected to the public telephone system, with a built-in transmitter held inactive, the service console
200
can serve the purpose of providing information to the patient and/or user.
The home biodata interfacing device now in use has a problem in that the patient and/or user have difficulty looking at the display window because the display unit
203
is not positioned in a fashion friendly to the patient and/or user.
In a certain home biodata interfacing device now in use, since the display unit and a lid or cover constitute members separate from each other, the home biodata interfacing device itself tends to be bulkier than necessary and is therefore less handsome in appearance, not easy to carry and inconvenient with regard to storage and transportation. Without the lid or cover, the sensors are exposed to the outside of the service console and this is objectionable in terms of hygienic aspects
Also, unless the lid or cover is opened, no one can look at the display window. This is indeed inconvenient particularly where the home biodata interfacing device is to be used only for reconfirmation of past measurements without the sensors being used.
As a matter of design, the currently used home biodata interfacing device includes some operating buttons each allocated for one type of biodata measurement. The greater the number of the operating buttons, the more difficult and inconvenient for the user to input date through the operating buttons. If the operating buttons are arranged crowded in a limited area, an erroneous inputting (key-in) would be highly likely to occur. On the other hand, increase of the size of each operating button and/or increase of space between neighboring operating buttons, both in an attempt to minimize the erroneous inputting, would result in increase of the size of the service console.
A home biodata interfacing device is also known in which the display unit is incorporated into the lid or cover as is the case with a note-sized personal computer, and is configured to have a touch screen having a plurality of touch-sensitive areas functionally corresponding to keys in a keypad. Access to the touch screen can be made only when the lid or cover is opened or pivoted to an erected position. In such case, assuming that the lid or cover is held at the erected position that is at right angles or an obtuse angle to a console body, application of a finger pressure to a selected one of the touch-sensitive areas would often result in lifting of the console body above a support surface, for example, a desk top, and the service console including the console body and the display unit would eventually turn backwards.
Where the console body and the lid or cover is hingedly connected together, it is often observed that the home biodata interfacing device may be allowed to stand with the lid or cover left opened, in which case dust may pile up on the console body and/or water may spill onto the console body. This would lead to a detrimental problem with regard to the functionality of the home biodata interfacing device.
An additional problem is also pointed out in that if the lid or cover is excessively opened relative to the console body, connections between the lid or cover and the console body would be damaged.
Connector sockets for connecting the sensors to the console body are generally installed in one of opposite side walls of the console body so as to line up in a row extending front to rear. If one of the connector sockets closest to the user occupying a position in face-to-face relation with the erected display unit is occupied by a plug-in connector of one of the sensors, the user would experience difficulty looking and/or making access to the remaining connectors. This may lead to a difficulty or error in making connection between another plug-in connector with one of the remaining connector sockets. In addition, opening of the lid or cover would result in inadvertent collision with and, hence, damage to the home biodata interfacing device and/or an object situated rearwardly of the home biodata interfacing device.
While the home biodata interfacing device is designed to transmit the measured biodata over, for example, the public telephone system to the health care provider at a remote location so that the health care provider can make a diagnosis or examination with reference to the biodata presented to the health care provider station. It may, however, often occur that the health care provid
Akai Naruaki
Enguchi Itaru
Hotta Minoru
Kato Motomichi
Kikukawa Masaru
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
McCrosky David J.
Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack, L L P.
Winakur Eric F.
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