X-ray or gamma ray systems or devices – Electronic circuit – With switching means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-08
2001-09-04
Dunn, Drew (Department: 2882)
X-ray or gamma ray systems or devices
Electronic circuit
With switching means
C378S091000, C378S114000, C606S002500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06285742
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical workstation of the type having at least two separately constructed medical devices that can be operated separately and independently of one another, of which at least one is provided with a remote control.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A medical workstation of this sort can include, for example, a patient positioning table, a lithotripter, and a C-arm X-ray device, and serves for the treatment of patients suffering from calculi, e.g. renal calculi, for pain therapy or for osteorestoration. The conventional individual devices which together form the medical workstation generally can be operated completely independently of one another, and are constructed separately, i.e. each of the devices has for example a separate housing or a separate equipment cart, a separate control unit and further means for operating the device. In some circumstances, in the formation of a workstation the individual devices can be coupled mechanically with one another at least partially, as described in European Application 0 606 548 for a lithotripter and a C-arm X-ray device.
All the devices of the workstation, or individual ones, e.g. the patient positioning table, can be equipped with a remote control, permitting an operator to carry out adjustments, e.g. vertical or horizontal movements, of the patient positioning table, without spending time directly at the patient positioning table. The remote control of a device can, for example, be constructed in hard-wired fashion, i.e. it can be connected with the device via a cable, or can operate on the basis of electromagnetic waves.
In the case of a workstation having several devices provided with remote controls, it is a disadvantage that the handling of the multiplicity of remote controls is organizationally and technologically difficult, and thus not very practicable, for an operator. If a medical workstation of the type described above has only one or two medical devices with a remote control, the handling is indeed practicable for an operator, but the execution of the handling of a patient, i.e. the work at the workstation by means of the remote controls, is not very convenient, since in such a case only those medical devices that are provided with a remote control can be remotely operated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a medical workstation of the general type described above wherein working at the workstation using a remote control is convenient and practicable.
According to the invention, this object is achieved in a medical workstation having at least two separately constructed medical devices that can be operated separately and independently of one another, of which at least one is provided with a remote control, and wherein by means of the remote control of the at least one medical device provided with a remote control, functions of the other medical device can be triggered. In the inventive medical workstation one, and preferably only one, medical device of the workstation is provided with a remote control, and by means of remotely controlling this one medical device, it is possible to remotely operate and control not only the that medical device but also the other medical devices that together with the directly remotely controlled medical device form a workstation. For this purpose, according to a version of the invention the remote control of the one medical device includes control means for triggering functions of the other medical devices of the workstation. In this way, it is achieved according to the invention that the remotecontrolled operation of several medical devices is not only practicable but also is convenient, since the remote control of only one device of the workstation enables the operation of several medical devices.
Within the scope of the invention, however, several medical devices also can be provided with a direct remote control, with each remote control of a device preferably including operating functions for triggering functions of other medical devices of the workstation. In this way, the treatment of a patient at the workstation can take place at least in part with a single remote control that is allocated to one of the medical devices.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the medical devices are connected electrically with one another. In the case of a remote control that operates on the basis of electromagnetic waves (e.g. RF, light, etc.), it is thus necessary, in an economically advantageous manner, only for the one medical device provided with the remote control to have a suitable receiver for the electromagnetic waves, since the further signal transmission to the respective destination device of the workstation can take place in hard-wired fashion.
In an embodiment of the invention the remote control unit has a display capable of displaying graphics, so that the display can represent not only (as has previously been standard) alphanumeric characters and abbreviations, but can also display large-format graphic characters and symbols. In this way, the user convenience of such a remote control is further increased, since alphanumeric characters and abbreviations can be provided with graphic symbols that contribute to the better understanding of the alphanumeric characters, in particular of the abbreviations. In addition, with respect to user convenience, such a remote control facilitates operation by doctors working at such medical workstations who have been trained to recognize such graphics quickly. In the most advantageous case, it is even possible to do entirely without alphanumeric characters, insofar as the graphic characters and symbols that can be displayed on the graphics-capable display means are self-explanatory. A “graphics-capable display” means a display with pixels wherein the pixels are at least partially individually addressable electrically, so that in addition to alphanumeric characters it is also possible to represent graphic characters and symbols on the display.
In a further version of the invention the remote control is provided with an electrical connecting line to which a medical device is connected. In this way, it is also possible to control or trigger functions of a medical device for which safety is critical, e.g., in the case of an X-ray device, the triggering of X-ray exposures, using the remote control. In comparison to a remote control that operates on the basis of electromagnetic waves, such a hard-wired remote control offers the advantage that disturbing signals that may be present in rooms in which the medical device is used cannot lead to an unwanted triggering of critical functions that can have adverse effects on the health of a patient.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the remote control is connected in detachable fashion to an interface of the one medical device. In this way, the remote control can easily be separated from the medical device in the case of non-use, so that the connection cable of the remote control to the medical device does not have a disturbing effect, e.g. given displacement movements of the device.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention various operating menus with operating functions can be represented on the graphics-capable display of the remote control, and the remote control includes operating elements for selecting the operating menus and/or the operating functions. Supplementary to the representation of large-format graphic characters and symbols on the graphics-capable display, the remote control thus enables a menu-controlled operation of the medical device, which leads to a still more convenient operation of the medical device.
In another version of the invention the medical workstation includes a lithotripter and at least one of an X-ray device or a patient positioning table. The lithotripter is provided with a remote control, and the remote control of the lithotripter includes operating means for triggering focused acoustic waves of the source of focus
Haumann Hans-Juergen
Meissner Franz
Dunn Drew
Schiff & Hardin & Waite
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
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