Remote ultrasound assessment and intervention system

Abstract

A remote ultrasound assessment and intervention system comprises a console having a controller for an ultrasound imaging device attachable to a human skin surface or implantable in a human body cavity. Commands from a remote work station located, for example, at a hospital may remotely control a transducer of the device to move in x, y, z, rotate and tilt directions to remotely assess an injury to a victim, for example, of a war zone injury or terrorist attack. A first responder, who need not be medically trained, may be instructed via a communications link or via a predetermined controller program stored in computer memory to move the imaging device from one location to another on the human skin surface or in a human body cavity. Intervention is also remotely controlled, once an injury is assessed and diagnosed from the hospital work station via an image guided catheter manipulated by the first responder via commands received from the hospital work station.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 847,902, filed Mar. 20, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 871,282, filed Oct. 12, 2007 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,403,859, issued Mar. 26, 2013) and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 782,991, filed Jul. 25, 2007 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,403,858, issued Mar. 26, 2013), both of which patent applications claiming priority to provisional U.S. Application Ser. No. 60 / 851,451 filed Oct. 12, 2006, and this application further claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 692,443, filed Aug. 23, 2012, entitled Remote Assessment System, all applications of the same inventor, the entire disclosures of which applications are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to the technical field of remote assessment and intervention systems and, more p...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]The present invention seeks to address two factors above that may be addressed through use of a combination of patented and patent-pending on-site evaluation and alleviation ultrasound devices and systems and a remote evaluation and management system (for example, at a hospital) that may collectively comprise (at the field site) image data collecting devices including a patient attachable to skin surface or implantable in a human body cavity wireless remote ultrasound device for patient diagnosis and assessment and a more permanent implantable device (if the patient is so equipped per U.S. Pat. No. 8,235,903) along with some form of console such as a personal computer or other intelligent device equipped with a telecommunications or radio link to a hospital and ports or links to more conventional data collection devices. The system may further comprise for injury alleviation an ultrasound image-guided catheter that may be operated in conju

Problems solved by technology

Telemedicine is generally known to provide such care and treatment from, for example, a hospital to a remote field site but is limited in its abilities to permit remote control of diagnostic and assessment equipment from the hospital to assess an internal injury or disease.

Whenever a patient is found unconscious, it is practically impossible to diagnose and alleviate a condition without the instructive advice of the patient.

The internal injuries or diseases described above may have no visible symptoms and so may be incapable of assessment or diagnosis without some form of internal imaging and/or expression of pain location from a communicative patient.

Certainly, such a system is easily implemented in a hospital setting but

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