US20020130950A1 - Emergency facility video-conferencing system - Google Patents

Abstract

A medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system, having a central video-conferencing station and one or more remote video-conferencing stations and a communications link establishing video-conferencing communication therebetween. A central video monitor and audio system is located at the central video-conferencing station, and a controller unit is coupled with the communications link. The remote video-conferencing stations each have a mobile emergency center cart including a remote video monitor and audio system and a video-conferencing camera controlled by the controller unit via the communications link and capable of responding to control signals of the controller unit for panning and zoom movement of said video-conferencing camera by a medical practitioner located at the central video-conferencing station. The arrangement enables the medical practitioner to observe and to diagnose the condition of the patient and direct the medical personnel of the selected video-conferencing station to provide treatment of the patient.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• 1. Field of the Invention[0001]
• This invention relates generally to the field of video-conferencing wherein a two-way video and audio system is provided enabling one or more parties at one location to be in communication with one or more parties at another location. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a medically related video-conferencing system that is particularly suited to emergency medical activities and enables a physician at a central location to diagnose and control treatment of patients located at one or more remote medical facilities. Even more specifically, the present invention concerns the use of portable video-conferencing units at each of one or more remote emergency facility locations and having components, such as a video-conferencing CODEC (Compressor/Decompressor), that can be controlled by the physician from the physician's central location to thus enable efficient diagnosis of the patient and to ensure proper treatment of the patient by the medical personnel of the remote facility.[0002]
• 2. Description of the Prior Art[0003]
• Although the field of video-conferencing has been under development only in recent years, a number of processes, procedures and interactive communications systems have been developed to enable video-conferencing in a wide variety of commercial environments. Examples of methods and apparatus associated with video-conferencing are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,513 of Peterson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,938 of Maruyama, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,897 of Howell, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,907 of Malloy, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,513 discloses a compact video system in the form of a mobile cart having compartments for containing video and video recording equipment such as a video camera and video recorder as well as a battery for providing a source of electrical power for operation of the video and video recording system (VCR) in remote conditions and to faicilitate ease of using the equipment. The mobile cart device is also provided with a camera mount enabling the video camera to be appropriately mounted on the mobile cart for use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,938 discloses television conference apparatus in the form of a mobile cart which has a number of storage compartments within which apparatus such as a video camera, a manuscript table, a fax machine, etc. may be stored and may be subsequently used simply by opening compartment doors, operating lights or positioning equipment.[0004]
• U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,881 also discloses a mobile cart within which various video apparatus such as a video monitor, VCR, battery, video camera, etc. may be stored so as to be readily available for use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,907 discloses a video-conferencing unit intended to be mounted to or supported by a video monitor and being designed with a differential signal sensing sound system enabling the video camera, or its lens to be automatically directed to the source of the sound, i.e., such as an individual speaking at a video conference, by the differential sound signal.[0005]
• An interactive video/audio communications system has also been developed for medical treatment of remotely located patients as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,755. In this case, a medical practitioner's station is in communication with a medical treatment station via video-conferencing apparatus each having video cameras, audio speakers, etc. This particular medical apparatus is particularly designed for ensuring identification of the patient and for ensuring payment for medical services via credit card or insurance card.[0006]
• When a remotely located patient is being treated, especially during emergency treatment at a remotely located emergency facility, the patient's condition may not be well known. It is thus desirable for a medical practitioner, located at a central facility to have the capability of controlling the orientation of a patient inspection video, including panning up or down, right or left and actuating a zoom feature of the video lens. This feature will permit the medical practitioner remote from the emergency facility to conduct independent patient inspection and to discuss aspects of the patient's condition with the medical personnel and perhaps also with the patient during the time the local medical personnel are engaged in the conduct of independent patient care of treatment activities at the direction of the medial practitioner. It is desirable, therefore, to provide an emergency room video-conferencing system wherein a medical practitioner is enabled via a video-conferencing system to direct medical personnel at several remote locations treat patients, particularly emergency patients, according to diagnosis and treatment controlled by the medical practitioner and further enabling the medical practitioner to inspect the condition of the patient for the purpose of diagnosis and to observe the medical treatment that is being administered by local staff personnel.[0007]
• To enable a medical practitioner, especially during emergency conditions, to deliver high quality of medical care to a patient, from the standpoint of close inspection and diagnosis, and to ensure that local medical personnel, such as nursing personnel are enabled to concentrate on patient treatment, rather than expend time and effort manually positioning a video camera or a mobile emergency center cart having a video camera, it is desirable that the medical practitioner have the capability of independently causing the video camera to move as desired for efficient visual inspection of the patient, including close-up viewing of selective portions of the anatomy of the patient. It is also desirable that the medical practitioner have the capability of selectively controlling the video-conferencing camera from a remote location for video-conferencing with the nursing personnel at one or more emergency medical centers and for viewing both the patient and the nursing personnel at such one or more centers to thus ensure delivery of the highest quality medical care to the patient.[0008]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• It is a principle feature of the present invention to provide a novel emergency room video-conferencing arrangement having a mobile emergency center cart that can be positioned as needed within an emergency room or other medical facility and having a video camera enabling a remotely located medical practitioner to selectively and independently control various aspects of the video camera and audio equipment to thus enable the medical practitioner to visualize and communicate with both the patient and the emergency room personnel or closely inspect the physical condition of the patient so that the medical practitioner can diagnose and control the patient's treatment and visually inspect and talk with the patient prior to and during treatment;[0009]
• It is another feature of the present invention to provide a novel emergency room video-conferencing arrangement wherein the mobile emergency center cart is provided with an umbilical cord of sufficient length to enable its connection with electronic signal transmission and processing equipment connected to a wall mounted connection of a remote medical facility, thus enabling the cart to be positioned at any suitable location within an emergency room to best facilitate proper diagnosis and treatment of the patient; and[0010]
• Another feature of this invention to provide a novel emergency room video-conferencing arrangement wherein the emergency center cart includes positional control apparatus for the video camera thereof thus enabling the medical practitioner from a remote location to selectively position the camera or its lens equipment as needed to visualize the condition of the patient for diagnosis and to control the character of treatment that is being delivered to the patient by the medical personnel of the remote location.[0011]
• It is also a feature of the present invention to provide multiple emergency centers, each having an emergency center cart with video-conferencing equipment, date transmission equipment and the like which is selectively controllable via a communications link by signals generated by a controller unit being selectively manipulated by a medical practitioner at a central office remotely located from the emergency center.[0012]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages and objects of the present invention are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the preferred embodiment thereof which is illustrated in the appended drawings, which drawings are incorporated as a part hereof It is to be noted however, that the appended drawings illustrate only a typical embodiment of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective equivalent embodiments.[0013]
• In the Drawings:[0014]
• FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration showing a central office having a video-conferencing system and having a control console for actuation by or for a medical practitioner and with the video-conferencing system being connected via communications link with one or more remotely located emergency centers each having a mobile video-conferencing cart and medical personnel therein;[0015]
• FIG. 2 is an isometric illustration of a mobile emergency center cart constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and having a video-conferencing arrangement including a video-conference camera and microphone, a video-conference monitor and speaker being supported by an upper shelf and having an intermediate shelf supporting a document illumination device such as for inspecting various documents such as x-ray film, EKG's, lab reports, etc., and further having a lower shelf providing space for communication and power terminal equipment;[0016]
• FIG. 3 is a partial elevational view of the emergency center cart of FIG. 2 showing the lower and intermediate shelves thereof and further showing document illumination equipment and a document video camera for acquiring and transmitting an image of the document to the video equipment of the central office for inspection by the medical practitioner;[0017]
• FIG. 4 is a pictorial illustration showing an emergency center room and showing a patient lying on a bed and being attended by a medical professional (e.g., such as nursing personnel or other non-physician medical professional) and further showing the mobile emergency center cart of the present invention being positioned for inspection of both the patient and the nursing personnel and for video-conferencing with the nursing personnel and perhaps with the patient to enable efficient and accurate diagnosis and treatment of the patient and to enable the remotely located medical practitioner (e.g., a licensed physician) to inspect and control the treatment that is being delivered to the patient by the nursing personnel;[0018]
• FIG. 5 is a pictorial diagrammatic illustration in plan, showing an alternative embodiment of the present invention, showing a plurality of emergency room facilities being in video-conferencing communication via a communications link with a medical control facility having a plurality of video monitors to facilitate control of emergency medical treatment of patients at a plurality of remotely located emergency room facilities by a single medical practitioner via the communications link[0019]
• FIG. 6 is a pictorial illustration of an emergency center having a bed for a patient and having a mobile emergency center video-conferencing cart supporting video-conferencing equipment and patient data acquisition equipment and having data transmission, electrical power and video-conferencing control with a communications link via an umbilical cable;[0020]
• FIG. 7 is an isometric illustration showing a emergency center video-conferencing cart embodying the principles of the present invention;[0021]
• FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the emergency center video-conferencing cart of FIG. 7 and showing additional details thereof;[0022]
• FIG. 9 is a rear elevational view of the emergency center video-conferencing cart of FIG. 7 showing further details thereof,[0023]
• FIG. 10 is a plan view of the emergency center video-conferencing cart of FIG. 7 showing the video-conferencing unit positioned on the video monitor and showing its wiring harness;[0024]
• FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the emergency center video-conferencing cart of FIG. 7 showing the control electronics supported thereby and showing a portion of the umbilical cable thereof,[0025]
• FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the interior of an emergency room facility or the like and further showing an overhead supported unbilical cable for its power and communications;[0026]
• FIG. 13 is an elevational view showing an emergency center video-conferencing cart located within an emergency center room and further showing the overhead support and cable positioning system of FIG. 12;[0027]
• FIG. 14 is a side elevational view showing a hand-held infra-red remote control unit having a funnel attachment for restricting IR radiation pattern to a narrow beam to enable selective control of the plurality of video-conferencing units of the medical control center of FIG. 5;[0028]
• FIG. 15 a plan view of the hand-held infra-red remote control unit of FIG. 14; and[0029]
• FIG. 16 is an end view of the hand-held infra-red remote control unit of FIGS. 14 and 15.[0030]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
• Referring now to the drawings and first to FIG. 1 an emergency room video-conferencing arrangement, according to the principles of the present invention, is shown generally at[0031]10 and may conveniently take the form of acentral office facility12 within which is located a video-conferencing conferencing unit shown generally at14 having avideo monitor16 and avideo camera18 having an electronic remotely controlled signal receiving and transmittingsystem19 for video and audio communication via a communications link with a remotely located video-teleconferencing unit. Aspeaker20 is shown to be connected by aspeaker circuit cord22 to the remote controlled signal receiver and transmitter or to the video monitor system, its function being to provide audio signals to and from the remote emergency room locations so that themedical practitioner24 is enabled to audibly communicate with nursing or medical personnel at the remote location and also to communicate with the patient so that proper diagnosis of the patient's condition can be efficiently and accurately determined. Themedical practitioner24, typically a licensed medical doctor, is provided with acontroller unit26 enablingelectronic control signals28 to be transmitted to the signal receiver and transmitter portion of the video-teleconferencing control unit18. Thecontroller unit26 is preferably a hand-held unit capable of transmitting signals in the form of an infra-red (IR) beam to the integrated video-teleconferencing control unit19 for controlling one or more video-teleconferencing units of remotely located emergency room facilities or the like via one or more communications links.
• The integrated video-[0032]conferencing control unit19 is connected via appropriate electronic circuits to acommunications link circuit30 which is in selective communication with the video-teleconferencing units of a selected one of two or more remotely located emergency room facilities32-34. Thecontroller device26, operated by themedical practitioner24, is capable of being manually controlled to individually select the equipment of one or more of the emergency room facilities32-34 as needed to diagnose and treat patients located therein. As shown at the upper right hand portion of FIG. 1, a typicalemergency center room32 is provided with a bed orgurney36 on which is located a patient undergoing emergency treatment. Each emergency room facility will be provided with one or more medical personnel38 (such as a nurse or other nonphysician medical professional) who provide hands-on treatment of the patient under the direction of the medical practitioner24 (such as a licensed physician), utilizing information communicated by themedical practitioner24 via the video-conferencing system. Conversely, themedical practitioner24 is enabled to utilize information communicated visually and audibly as well as by other communication links, such as medical data telemetry, so that proper diagnosis of the patient may be established to thereby facilitate the same medical treatment that would occur as if the medical practitioner were present in the emergency room. The medical practitioner is in video and audio communication with thenursing personnel38 and is in video and audio communication with the patient onbed36, if needed, and can inspect the medical treatment during its progress by independently controlling the video-conferencing equipment of the emergency center from the central office facility. To ensure that the nursing personnel can concentrate on the patient's treatment, and to also ensure that thenursing personnel38 will not have to touch the video-conferencing equipment and can more adequately maintain the necessary sterile conditions for quality patient care, themedical practitioner24 has the capability of independently controlling various aspects of the video-conferencing system, so that thenursing personnel38 should have no need to touch the video-teleconferencing system after it has been properly positioned to accommodate the patient care that is being administered.
• Each emergency room facility is also provided with a mobile emergency center cart, shown generally at[0033]40, which connected to the communications linkcircuit30 via anumbilical cord42 which is typically received by an umbilical cord connection mounted to the wall structure of the emergency room facility. Theemergency center cart40 may be powered by an electrical circuit contained within theumbilical cord42 and by connection to the electrical power circuitry of the emergency room system. Other electrical or electronic conductors of theumbilical cord42 will provide video and audio communications links to enable themedical practitioner24 to be in visual and audio communication with both thenursing personnel38 and the patient and to likewise provide the nursing personnel with both video and audio communication with a medical practitioner so that diagnosis and treatment of the patient can be conducted efficiently. The umbilical cord of the emergency center cart will also have electronic conductors for telemetry of medical data representing the vital signs of the patient, thus enabling the medical practitioner to consider all relevant patient data that is desirable for patient diagnosis and treatment.
• Referring now to FIG. 2, an emergency center cart (EC cart) is shown generally at[0034]40 and incorporates a plurality of uprightstructural members44 which provide support for upper, intermediate and lower support shelves orplatforms46,48 and50. These support shelves may be adjustable relative to the upright structural members to properly position the video-conferencing equipment relative to the height of the nursing personnel. The upper support platform orshelf46 provides support for avideo monitor52 and is located at an elevation so that thevideo screen54 of themonitor52 is located at an efficient viewing height, typically eye level, for nursing or medical personnel standing in the emergency room. Theupper surface56 of thevideo monitor52 provides a support surface for a video-conferencing unit shown generally at58 having an electronic signal transmitting receiving andprocessing unit60 to which is controllably coupled avideo camera62. Thevideo camera62 may itself be movable relative to the electronic signal transmitting receiving andprocessing unit60 or, in the alternative or additionally, thevideo camera62 may be provided with a movable lens system enabling its field of view to be selectively positioned by electronic controlled signals generated by thecontroller66 under the control of themedical practitioner24. Additionally, the lens of the video-conferencing camera may be adjustable for panning up, down, left and right and for zooming so that the medical practitioner can efficiently inspect the patient and communicate both audibly and visually with the nursing personnel or other health care professionals of the emergency center.
• The intermediate support platform or[0035]shelf48 is provided for support of a document illumination device shown generally at64 having ahousing structure66 within which may be located one or more illumination devices such as incandescent or fluorescent lighting elements. The housing will be provided with a light transparent or translucent screen or documentsupport plate member68 through which light may be transmitted for illumination of the image of an x-ray film or the like. The document support screen orplate member68 also provides for support of other relevant medical data documents such as EKG's, lab reports, etc., that may be visibly inspected by a document camera For lighting such other documents, a pair oflighting elements70 and72 are shown to be positioned bysupport members74 and75, respectively, which extend upwardly from thehousing structure66 of thedocument illumination device64. A documentinspection video camera76 may be supported by the lower portion of the upper shelf orplatform46 but preferably by aboom arm77 fromhousing66 and is positioned so that its lens is directed to and focused on the screen orplate68 of the document illumination device. Thus, whether the document is an x-ray film, an EKG, a lab report or any other type of document or whether it must be lighted or backlighted to be readable, it may be inspected by the medical practitioner at the central office location simply by appropriately manipulating thecontrol device66 and selecting operation of thedocument video camera76 together with one or both of the internal lighting devices and external lighting devices of thedocument illumination device64. The intermediate support platform may also be adjustably connected to the support structures to enable selective positioning of the document support and lighting device relative to the document video camera.
• In the event the[0036]document video camera76 should have a fixed lens, the position of the support platform orshelf48 is adjustable relative to the uprightstructural members44 so that the screen orplate68 or any document located on the plate will be precisely in focus. If the document supported by thescreen68 should have a particular dimension so that its upper surface is out of focus with respect to the lens of thevideo camera76 then thesupport shelf48 will be adjusted downwardly or upwardly so as to bring the appropriate surface into focus. Obviously, for efficiency of inspection of such documents by the medical practitioner from a remote location, the lens of thevideo camera76 is preferably adjustable to achieve focus from the level of the screen orplate68 upwardly to a level several inches above theplate68.
• The lower shelf or[0037]platform50 of the mobileemergency center cart40 is typically fixed relative to the uprightstructural members44 and provides support for various communications andpower terminals78 and80. One or both of these communication and power terminals will be connected toumbilical cord42. The communication and power terminals provide electrical power for operation of video and lighting equipment on the cart and also to provide for transmission of control signals from the controller unit operated by the medical practitioner through the communications link to provide for selective control of cart mounted video-conferencing apparatus.
• Referring again now to FIG. 1, to illustrate the method of the invention, the[0038]medical practitioner24 manipulates thecontroller device26, which may be a handheld controller as shown or a controller console resting on a desk of the central office facility. By manipulating the controller unit the medical practitioner is enabled to select a desired communications link, via the communications linkcircuit30, with a particular one of the emergency center facilities32-34. The controller may also be selectively manipulated to establish simultaneous communications with each of the emergency room facilities if audio and video communications is needed with two or more of the emergency room facilities at any given time, as described below. Since the video-conferencing video camera62 is positioned substantially at eye level with respect to themedical personnel38 standing in the emergency room, themedical practitioner24 is enabled to insure efficient interactive audio and video communication with the local medical personnel of the emergency room facility. This ensures that the information received by the medical practitioner by both video and audio is of the best possible quality. For inspection of the condition of the patient lying on thebed36 by the medical practitioner at the central office location, the medical practitioner manipulates theelectronic controller26 to thereby adjust the position of thevideo camera62 so that the patient or any selective part of the patient's anatomy can be visually inspected by the medical practitioner via the interactive communications link The audio system of theemergency center cart40 will also be capable of adjustment from the standpoint of volume by appropriate manipulation of theelectronic controller26 by themedical practitioner24 so that the practitioner is enabled to communicate directly with the patient in the event the patient is capable of reporting his or her condition.
• After the medical practitioner has diagnosed the patient's condition treatment of the condition can be published by the[0039]medical personnel38 located at the emergency room facility. Since theEC cart40 is provided with casters or other types ofwheels82 and is thus mobile, the medical personnel and the emergency room facility will be capable of moving the EC cart to a location that is desired by themedical practitioner24 so that the best possible inspection of the patient may be accomplished. Theumbilical cord42 of themobile EC40 will be of sufficient length and flexibility that theEC40 may be located virtually anywhere within theemergency room32 . . .34. Also, when treatment is in progress by theemergency room personnel38, themedical practitioner24 can inspect the treatment during its progress and thus insure that optimum professional medical treatment is being accomplished. FIG. 4 also illustrates that anurse38 can remotely control functions of the transmitting, receiving andprocessing unit60.
• Referring now to FIG. 5 a medical video-conferencing system is shown generally at[0040]84 having a plurality ofemergency center rooms86,88 and90, (preferably up to five emergency center rooms) which may be remotely located from one another, such as in different parts of a city or in different locations within a geographical region. The emergency facilities are each provided with a mobile emergency video-conferencing emergency center cart (EC cart), one being shown at92, to enable a patient to be visually and audibly evaluated and to enable nursing personnel of the emergency room to be in visual and audible communication with a medical practitioner. Each of the emergency room facilities is connected via acommunications link94,96 and98 to atelecommunications hub100 and a central video-communications facility102 which is in communication with thetelecommunications hub100 via acommunications link104. Within the centralmedical facility102 is located a plurality of video monitors106,108 and110 which may be simultaneously inspected by amedical practitioner112 so that video and audio signals from the emergencycenter room facilities86,88,90 can be simultaneously or selectively evaluated as needed. The medical practitioner is provided with acontrol unit114 for controlling operations, panning and zooming of the video cameras and lenses of the mobile emergency center carts as desired for careful, direct evaluation of the patient and also of the nursing personnel and health care procedures for efficient and accurate diagnosis of the condition of the patient and inspecting treatment of the patient as instructed by the medical practitioner.
• It should be understood that the communications links[0041]94,96,98 and104, shown in FIG. 5, may be hardwired electronic connections or may conveniently take any suitable form of telemetry enabling video and audio signal transmission to and from the emergency center facilities and enabling transmission of control signals to the EC carts of the individual emergency center facilities.
• Referring now to FIG. 6, a perspective view is shown of one of the emergency room facilities of FIG. 5 which shows a[0042]patient116 in abed118, being attended bymedical personnel120, such as a nurse practitioner, and further showing anEC cart122 of the general character shown at40 in FIG. 2. TheEC cart122, which is shown in greater detail in FIGS.6-10, has a frame structure shown generally at124 having abottom shelf126, anintermediate shelf128 and anupper shelf130. Avideo monitor132 and a video-teleconferencing unit134 are supported by theupper support shelf130. The frame structure of theEC cart122 is defined by four corner standards orposts136 which provide support for the upper, intermediate and lower support shelves and also define structure to which casters or other types ofwheels138 are attached. It should be noted that the corner standards orposts136 are of sufficient height to extend at least to or beyond the upper portion of thevideo monitor132 to thus provide the monitor and the video-conferencing unit134 with protection against being bumped by other objects within the emergency center room as the cart is moved or as other objects are moved. The corner posts also provide cart structure that can be grasped, pulled or pushed by medical personnel to change the position of the cart within the emergency center as directed by the medical practitioner. A document lighting device140 (FIG. 7), of the character shown at64 in FIG. 2, is supported by theintermediate support shelf128 and may include avideo camera support142 supporting avideo camera144 in position for viewing documents positioned on the support andbacklighting screen146 of the document lighting device.
• To provide the apparatus supported by the[0043]EC cart122 with additional protection against bumping into, being bumped by or being jarred by other objects, theposts136 of the cart are provided withresilient bumper elements148 which may be composed of rubber or any suitable rubber-like material.
• The video-[0044]teleconferencing unit134 is provided with avideo camera head152 which is capable of being controllably tilted upwardly, downwardly and to each side for the purpose of permitting the medical practitioner to achieve video inspection of the patient and other aspects of the emergency center facility as well as having the capability of zooming the lens of the video-conferencing camera so that close inspection of any selected anatomy of the patient can be selectively viewed under the control of the medical practitioner by electronic signals transmitted from the controller unit via the communications link to one or more of the selected video-conferencing systems of the mobile EC carts.
• The various electrical contacts or receptacles of the video-[0045]conferencing units134 are connected by theelectronic circuit wires154 of theumbilical cable156 as illustrated by FIG.8. These electronic conductors are sheathed byplastic tubing158 for protection thereof
• The[0046]lower support shelf126 of the cart structure functions as a communications shelf for supporting various communications devices such as an IMUXinverse multiplexer160, NT-3power supply162,surge protector164, and may also support other electrical equipment such as spare electronic and video cables that may be needed.
• Referring now to FIG. 12, the perspective view shows the[0047]mobile EC cart122 being located within an emergency center facility. Since an umbilical cable of the mobile EC cart may extend across a floor and represent a hazard to persons walking in the immediate area, it is desirable to provide the emergency center facility with means for supporting the umbilical cable without diminishing the mobility of the cart. Anoverhead track166 is secured to the ceiling of the room and may extend around corners as shown at168. A plurality of plastic, preferablyNylon rollers170 are movably received by the overhead track and are each provided with ahook element172 for support of a guidedcable174 representing the umbilical cable of thecart122. The guidedcable174 may additionally be supported by anelastic bungie cord176 which assists in permitting extension and controls contraction of the umbilical cable as need for selective positioning of the cart within the emergency center. Additionally, one of the support posts of the EC cart may save as aguide post178 which receives the power and video-conferencing control cable174 to ensure efficient positioning thereof so that it does not interfere with personnel movement about themobile EC cart122.
• As mentioned above, in the central[0048]medical facility102 themedical practitioner112 is provided with a plurality of video monitors, typically one for each of the remoteemergency center facilities86,88,90, etc. Thecontrol unit114 utilized by the medical practitioner typically operates by infra-red (IR) beam transmission for sending control signals to the video camera and remote control signal receiver/transmitter18 shown in FIG. 1. To insure that the IR signal beam is received by the video camera and remote control signal receiver/transmitter of a selected one of the plurality of video-conferencing systems106,108,110, etc. monitored by themedical practitioner112 as shown in FIG. 5, it is desirable to provide the video-conferencingremote control unit114 with means for ensuring that the IR signal beam is sufficiently concentrated to actuate only the remote control signal receiver/transmitter that is individually selected by the medical practitioner. To ensure that the IR beam emitted from the video-conferencingremote control unit114, anadapter funnel180 is secured to the remote control unit in any suitable fashion, such as by means of small screws, by a suitable bonding agent, etc. The adapter funnel is of tubular form and defines asmall end182 that is fixed to theremote control unit114 and tapers gradually to alarger end184. Thesmall end182 may have a dimension of about 3 mm for intimate engagement with the transmitting end of the remote control unit. In contrast, thelarger end184 may have a dimension of about 3½ mm. The adapter funnel structure may be defined by a plurality of substantially flat panels, including upper andlower panels186 and188 andside panels190 and192. The adapter funnel may be in the order of 10 inches in length or of any other suitable length that is sufficient for suitably controlling the dimension of the emitted IR signal beam in relation to the distance from and location of the plurality of video-conferencing systems being controlled by the medical practitioner.
• In view of the foregoing it is evident that the present invention is one well adapted to attain all of the objects and features hereinabove set forth, together with other objects and features which are inherent in the apparatus disclosed herein.[0049]
• As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the present invention may easily be produced in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered as merely illusive and not restrictive, of the scope of the invention.[0050]

Claims (28)

We claim:

1. A method for diagnosing and treating a medical condition utilizing a video-conferencing system having a central video-teleconferencing station and one or more remote video-teleconferencing stations, the central video-teleconferencing station having at least one central video monitor, audio transmitter and speaker and a controller unit in controllably telemetry connected relation, a communications link establishing communications with said central video-teleconferencing station and at least one of said remote video-teleconferencing stations having a mobile emergency center cart having a remote video monitor, audio speaker and transmitter and a video-conferencing camera being in electronic connection with the communications link and capable of responding to said controller unit for panning and zoom movement, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) locating a patient and medical personnel within a remote video-conferencing station;

(b) locating said mobile emergency center cart within the remote video-conferencing station and in desired relation with the patient and medical personnel;

(c) actuating said controller unit and via said communications link for selecting a remote video-conferencing station for patient diagnosis and treatment video-conferencing;

(d) actuating said controller unit for selective panning and zoom control of said video-conferencing camera of the selected remote video-conferencing station to present a desired video image of the patient and/or medical personnel on the video monitor of the central video-conferencing station; and

(e) directing the medical personnel via the video-telecommunications link to perform medical treatment on the patient, with such medical treatment being visible on the central video-teleconferencing monitor.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said mobile emergency center cart having a document lighting device and a document video camera viewing a document located on said document lighting device, said method further comprising the steps of:

(a) illuminating a document located on said document lighting device; and

(b) with said document video camera acquiring a video image of the document, said video image of the document being displayed on said central video-conferencing monitor.

3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said mobile emergency center cart having a document lighting device and a document video camera viewing a document located on said document lighting device and said central video-conferencing station having a document monitor, said method further comprising the steps of:

(a) illuminating a document located on said document lighting device; and

(b) with said document video camera acquiring a video image of the document, said video image of the document being displayed on said document monitor.

4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein, a plurality of video-teleconferencing units are located within the central video-teleconferencing station, one for each of the remote video-conferencing stations, and each having an integrated video-teleconferencing control unit for selective actuation by a control device, said method further comprising the steps of:

transmitting control signals from the control device operated by the medical practitioner to a selected integrated video-teleconferencing control unit for medical practitioner controlled video-teleconferencing with the video-teleconferencing unit of the selected remote video-teleconferencing station.

5. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising the steps of:

controlling the character of signal transmission from the control device to ensure that only the selected integrated video-teleconferencing control unit of the central video-teleconferencing station is selected.

6. The method ofclaim 5 wherein, the signal transmission from the control device operated by the medical practitioner is in the form of an infra-red radiation beam, said method comprising:

shielding the infra-red radiation beam to define an infra-red radiation beam of sufficiently narrow width so as to prevent simultaneous control of an unintended integrated video-teleconferencing unit by the infra-red radiation beam.

7. A medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system, comprising:

(a) a central video-conferencing station and one or more remote video-conferencing stations and a communications link establishing video-conferencing communication between said central video-conferencing station and said remote video-conferencing stations;

(b) a central video monitor and audio system being located at said central video-conferencing station;

(c) a controller unit being in controlling relation with said communications link;

(d) said remote video conferencing stations each having a mobile emergency center cart having a remote video monitor and audio system and a video-conferencing camera being in controlled relation with the controller unit via said communications link and capable of responding to control signals of said controller unit for panning and zoom movement of said video-conferencing camera by a person located at said central video-conferencing station.

8. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 7, characterized by:

(a) said mobile emergency center cart having a cart frame having a monitor support shelf and having wheels to enable manual positioning there of within a room;

(b) a video monitor being supported and positioned by said monitor support shelf for ease of viewing by a person standing in the room; and

(c) a video camera having a lens being supported by said video monitor with said lens positioned substantially at eye level of the person standing in the room, said video camera having the capability for panning movement and zoom movement and having controlled electronic interconnection with said communications link for controlling panning and zoom movement thereof by said controller unit via said communications link.

9. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 8, wherein,

(a) said cart frame is of a generally rectangular configuration having four upright structural elements located at respective corners thereof;

(b) said wheels supporting said upright structural elements; and

(c) said monitor support shelf is adjustably supported by said upright structural elements for selective positioning of said video monitor and said video camera at a desired elevation.

10. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 9, wherein,

said upright structural elements are of sufficient height to extend substantially to the upper level of said video monitor and protecting the corners of said monitor from impact with other objects, said upright structural elements being of sufficient structural integrity for application of manual forces for pushing and pulling said mobile emergency center cart.

11. The video monitor video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 8, wherein,

(a) said cart frame is of generally rectangular configuration having four upright structural elements located at respective corners thereof;

(b) said wheels support said upright structural elements; and

(c) resilient bumper elements are supported by each of said upright structural elements and are located immediately above said wheels, said resilient bumper elements protecting said cart frame from impact with other objects.

12. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 7, further comprising:

(a) a document viewing shelf located on said mobile emergency center cart;

(b) a document supporting and lighting device positioned on said document viewing shelf for illumination of documents supported thereon; and

(c) a document video camera supported by said mobile emergency center cart and positioned for viewing an illuminated document present on said document supporting and lighting device, said document video camera being electronically connected to said communications link and operated by said controller unit via said communications link.

13. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 11, wherein,

(a) said document supporting and lighting device has a housing and a translucent support plate defining a document support surface;

(b) a back-lighting system is provided within said housing and has illumination for viewing x-ray film;

(c) an external lighting system is supported by said housing for illuminating documents lying on said document support surface; and

(d) said document video camera is supported above said document support surface for viewing of a document when placed thereon and which is electronically connected with said communications link for energization, focusing and zooming responsive to signals from said controller unit.

14. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 11, wherein,

said document viewing shelf is vertically adjustable relative to said mobile emergency center cart for positioning a document supported thereby in desired relation with said document video camera.

15. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 11, wherein,

(a) said document video camera has an adjustable lens for focusing thereof and zooming thereof to facilitate selective viewing of a document viewing shelf; and

(b) said document video camera is electronically connected with said communications link for energization, focusing and zooming thereof responsive to signals from said controller unit.

16. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 7, further comprising:

(a) a communication electronics shelf defined by said mobile emergency center cart;

(b) a video and audio communications device supported by said communications electronics shelf and having controlling connection with said video monitor and said video camera;

(c) an electronic umbilical cable electronically connected with said video and audio communications device and being of sufficient length to enable selective positioning of said mobile emergency center cart within the room; and

(d) an electronic connection jack fixed to a wall of said room and having electronic connection with said communications link, said electronic connection jack receiving said electronic umbilical cable.

17. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 7, wherein,

(a) said mobile emergency center cart has an upper shelf an intermediate shelf and a lower shelf;

(b) a video monitor is supported by said upper shelf and positioned for efficient viewing by a person standing in the room;

(c) a video camera has a lens and a microphone and is supported by said video monitor with said lens positioned substantially at eye level of a person standing in the room, said video camera having the capability for panning movement and zoom movement and having controlled electronic interconnection with said communications link for controlling panning and zoom movement thereof by said controller unit via said communications link;

(d) a document supporting and lighting device positioned on said document viewing shelf for illumination of documents supported thereon;

(e) a document video camera supported by said mobile emergency center cart and positioned for viewing an illuminated document present on said document supporting and lighting device, said document video camera electronically connected to said communications link and operated by said controller unit via said communications link

(f) a video and audio communications device supported by said communications electronics shelf and has controlling connection with said video monitor and said video camera;

(g) an electronic umbilical cable electronically connected with said video and audio communications device and of sufficient length to enable selective positioning of said mobile emergency center cart within the room; and

(h) an electronic connection jack fixed to a wall of said room and having electronic connection with said communications link, said electronic connection jack receiving said electronic umbilical cable.

18. The medical video-teleconferencing system ofclaim 17, further comprising:

(a) an overhead guide track located within each of said remote video-teleconferencing stations;

(b) a plurality of hangers movably supported for movement along said overhead guide track;

(c) said umbilical cable being supported well above the floor of the remote video-teleconferencing stations by said plurality of hangers and permitting selective positioning of said mobile emergency center cart while supporting said umbilical cable out of the way of personnel moving near the mobile emergency center cart.

19. The medical video-teleconferencing system ofclaim 18, wherein,

said mobile emergency center cart has a guide post receiving an end section of said umbilical cable, said guide post of sufficient height to elevate said end section of said umbilical cable and minimize the potential for personnel contact therewith.

20. The medical video-teleconferencing system ofclaim 18, wherein,

at least one elastic element engages said umbilical cable and minimizes the dimension of umbilical cable loops.

21. A medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system, comprising:

(a) a central video-conferencing station and one or more remote video-conferencing stations and a communications link establishing video-conferencing communication between said central video-conferencing station and said remote video-conferencing stations;

(b) a central video monitor and audio system located at said central video-conferencing station;

(c) a controller unit in controlling relation with said communications link; and

(d) said remote video-conferencing stations each having a mobile emergency center cart having a remote video monitor and audio system, a video-conferencing camera and a document viewing video camera in a controlled relation with the controller unit via said communications link and capable of responding to control signals of said controller unit for selective panning, zoom and focusing movement of said video-conferencing camera by a person located at said central video-conferencing station and manipulating said controller unit;

(e) said mobile emergency center cart having a cart frame which has a monitor support shelf and has wheels to enable manual positioning there of within a room;

(f) a video monitor supported and positioned by said monitor support shelf for ease of viewing by a person standing in the room; and

(g) said video-conferencing camera has a lens being supported by said video monitor with said lens positioned substantially at eye level of a person standing in the room, said video-conferencing camera having the capability for panning movement and zoom movement and having controlled electronic interconnection with said communications link for controlling panning and zoom movement thereof by said controller unit via said communications link.

22. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 21, further compressing:

(a) a document viewing shelf located on said mobile emergency center cart;

(b) a document supporting and lighting device positioned on said document viewing shelf for illumination of documents supported thereon; and

(c) a document video camera supported by said mobile emergency center cart and positioned for viewing an illuminated document present on said document supporting and lighting device, said document video camera being electronically connected to said communications link and operated by said controller unit via said communications link.

23. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 22, wherein,

(a) said document supporting and fighting device has a housing and a translucent support plate defining a document support surface;

(b) a back-lighting system disposed within said housing and illuminated for viewing x-ray film;

(c) an external lighting system supported by said housing which is arranged and designed for illuminating documents lying on said document support surface; and

(d) said document video camera is supported above said document support surface for viewing of a document thereon and is electronically connected with said communications link for energization, focusing and zooming responsive to signals from said controller unit.

24. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 22, wherein,

said document viewing shelf is vertically adjustable relative to said mobile emergency center cart for positioning a document supported thereby in desired relation with said document video camera.

25. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 22, wherein,

(a) said document video camera has an adjustable lens for focusing thereof and zooming thereof to facilitate selective viewing of a document viewing shelf; and

(b) said document video camera is electronically connected with said communications link for energization, focusing and zooming thereof responsive to signals from said controller unit.

26. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 22, further comprising:

(a) an overhead guide track located within each of said remote video-teleconferencing stations;

(b) a plurality of hangers movably supported for movement along said overhead guide track;

(c) said umbilical cable supported well above the floor of the remote video-teleconferencing stations by said plurality of hangers and permitting selective positioning of said mobile emergency center cart while supporting said umbilical cable out of the way of personnel moving near the mobile emergency center cart.

27. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 26, wherein,

said mobile emergency center cart has a guide post receiving an end section of said umbilical cable, said guide post of sufficient height to elevate said end section of said umbilical cable and minimize the potential for personnel contact therewith.

28. The medical video-teleconferencing and treatment system ofclaim 26, wherein,

at least one elastic element engaging said umbilical cable and minimizing the dimension of umbilical cable loops.

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