Ultrasound system and patient monitoring system

Abstract

According to one aspect, there is provided a method of operating an ultrasound system (2) for acquiring ultrasound images of a first object. The method comprises: performing (101) a time synchronization operation with an Internet-based time server (20) to update an internal clock of the ultrasound system (2); identifying (103) a patient monitoring system (4; 104) that is measuring one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject; 6); establishing (105) a communication with the identified patient monitoring system (4; 6); from the patient monitoring system (4; 6) to receive (205) a series of measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject, where the received series of measurements includes a sequence of measurements indicative of the one or more physiological characteristics of the patient monitoring system (4; 6) acquiring a corresponding timestamp of a corresponding time of the measurement result; acquiring (107) a series of ultrasound images of the first object, where the ultrasound images comprise respective timestamps indicative of respective times at which the ultrasound images are acquired determined according to an internal clock; and synchronizing (109) the received series of measurements with the acquired series of ultrasound images according to respective timestamps.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an ultrasound system for acquiring an ultrasound image of a first subject, and to a patient monitoring system for obtaining measurements of one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject. Background Art

[0002] In clinical critical care and patient monitoring settings, invasive methods for monitoring central cardiac parameters have recently fallen out of favor due to high morbidity. Ultrasound is a trusted modality - the gold standard for definitive diagnosis and volume-based metrics - but suffers from high inter- and intra-operator variability, especially among non-expert users. Furthermore, ultrasound use in critical care settings is often siloed, lacking integration with patient monitoring networks and databases that provide real-time and historical vital signs. In order for ultrasound to grow as a definitive non-invasive tool in perioperative, critical care settings, better data integration for both real-time acquisition and retrospective analysis is needed.

[0003] The integration of ultrasound into the digital care continuum occurs at several levels. Historically, ultrasound image acquisition has been guided by measurements of other physiological properties or signals representative of other physiological properties, such as electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. Ultrasound images are viewed in the context of measurements of other physiological properties, such as respiratory rate and heart rate. Data derived from ultrasound images can be used as input to models that, along with a myriad of other data sources and types, provide decision support to the care team. Summary of the invention

[0004] One problem that inhibits deep integration of ultrasound with patient monitoring networks is the lack of time synchronization. Ultrasound systems and patient monitors and their central station counterparts tend to maintain separate time clocks. Certain embodiments of the teachings provided in the present disclosure enable ultrasound systems to use data from patient monitoring systems for ultrasound image (a) acquisition, (b) display, and / or (c) viewing by using low-latency wireless connections and network time synchronization protocols.

[0005] Aspects of the present disclosure provide methods for providing physiological characteristic measurements from a patient monitoring system to an ultrasound system to enable display and / or storage of ultrasound images and synchronized physiological characteristic measurements in a data file for the patient.

[0006] According to a first specific aspect, a method of operating an ultrasound system for acquiring ultrasound images of a first object is provided. The method includes: performing a time synchronization operation using an Internet-based time server to update an internal clock of the ultrasound system; identifying a patient monitoring system that is measuring one or more physiological characteristics of the first object; establishing a communication link with the identified patient monitoring system; receiving a series of measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first object from the patient monitoring system, wherein the received series of measurements include corresponding timestamps indicating corresponding times at which the measurements were acquired by the patient monitoring system; acquiring a series of ultrasound images of the first object, wherein the ultrasound images include corresponding timestamps indicating corresponding times at which the ultrasound images were acquired as determined according to the internal clock; and synchronizing the received series of measurements with the acquired series of ultrasound images according to the corresponding timestamps.

[0007] According to a second aspect, there is provided a method of operating a patient monitoring system for obtaining measurements of one or more physiological characteristics of a first subject. The method comprises: performing a time synchronization operation with an Internet-based time server to update an internal clock of the patient monitoring system; establishing a communication link with an ultrasound system that is to acquire an ultrasound image of the first subject; obtaining a series of measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject, wherein the measurements include respective timestamps indicating respective times at which the measurements were acquired by the patient monitoring system; and sending the series of timestamped measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject to the ultrasound system.

[0008] According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having a computer-readable code embodied therein, wherein the computer-readable code is configured so that when executed by a suitable computer or processor, the computer or processor performs a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect or any embodiment thereof.

[0009] According to a fourth aspect, an ultrasound system for acquiring ultrasound images of a first object is provided. The ultrasound system is configured to: perform a time synchronization operation using an Internet-based time server to update an internal clock of the ultrasound system; identify a patient monitoring system that is measuring one or more physiological characteristics of the first object; establish a communication link with the identified patient monitoring system; receive a series of measurement results of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first object from the patient monitoring system, wherein the received series of measurement results include a corresponding time stamp indicating the corresponding time when the measurement results were acquired by the patient monitoring system; acquire a series of ultrasound images of the first object, wherein the ultrasound images include a corresponding time stamp indicating the corresponding time when the ultrasound images were acquired determined according to the internal clock; and synchronize the received series of measurement results with the acquired series of ultrasound images according to the corresponding time stamp.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a patient monitoring system for obtaining measurements of one or more physiological characteristics of a first subject. The patient monitoring system is configured to: perform a time synchronization operation with an Internet-based time server to update an internal clock of the patient monitoring system; establish a communication link with an ultrasound system that is to acquire an ultrasound image of the first subject; obtain a series of measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject, wherein the measurements include corresponding timestamps indicating corresponding times at which the measurements were acquired by the patient monitoring system; and send a series of timestamped measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject to the ultrasound system.

[0011] These and other aspects will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Exemplary embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 An exemplary system arrangement is illustrated that enables physiological characteristic measurements to be transferred from a patient monitoring system and / or a patient data storage system to an ultrasound system;

[0014] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates data exchange using a slow protocol and a fast protocol;

[0015] Figure 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating the operation of an ultrasound system and a patient monitoring system according to various embodiments; and

[0016] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to various embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Figure 1 An exemplary system arrangement is illustrated that enables physiological property measurements to be transferred from a patient monitoring system and / or a patient data storage system to an ultrasound system. The ultrasound system 2 is any system capable of performing imaging of a portion of a subject's body using ultrasound. The ultrasound system 2 includes an ultrasound probe that is to be placed in contact with the portion of the subject's body to be imaged, and transmits ultrasound and records reflections. The ultrasound system 2 processes one or more signals representing the reflections to generate a series of ultrasound images of the portion of the subject's body.

[0018] A patient monitoring system 4 is provided that obtains measurements of one or more physiological characteristics of a subject. Figure 1 As shown, the patient monitoring system 4 includes a patient monitor 6, a biosensor 8 and a monitoring center 10. In an alternative embodiment, the patient monitoring system 4 may correspond to the patient monitor 6. For example, the biosensor 8 is connected to the patient monitor 6. The biosensor 8 is configured to measure one or more physiological characteristics of the subject and provide one or more signals representing the measurement results of the physiological characteristics to the patient monitor 6 for processing and / or display on a display screen of the patient monitor 6. The patient monitor 6 may take the form of a bedside device (i.e., a device used at a patient's bedside in a hospital or other healthcare environment). In some embodiments, the biosensor 8 is integrated with the patient monitor 6 and is not a separate component.

[0019] The patient monitor 6 may be a device that acts as a data acquisition interface and a user interface that enables data interaction (with physiological characteristic measurements) and viewing (of measurements). The patient monitor 6 may be temporarily assigned to a patient or subject.

[0020] The physiological characteristic measured by the biosensor 8 may be any characteristic indicative of the subject's health status, such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen level, ECG signal, the presence of R waves in the ECG signal, and the presence of T waves in the ECG signal. In at least the latter three cases, the patient monitor 6 and the biosensor 8 operate as or are an ECG machine / monitor.

[0021] The monitoring center 10 is connected to the patient monitor 6 and receives physiological characteristic measurements from the patient monitor 6, as indicated by arrow 12. These measurements can be continuously or periodically transmitted from the patient monitor 6 to the monitoring center 10. As shown by arrow 14, the monitoring center 10 can output (one or more) physiological characteristic measurements to the ultrasound system 2. The monitoring center 10 can also output (shown by arrow 16) (one or more) physiological characteristic measurements and / or (one or more) signals representing the physiological characteristics) to the patient data storage system 18, which stores the measurements and / or signals in a patient record for the subject. In some embodiments, the monitoring center 10 can compile the measurements and / or signals into a suitable file format, such as a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format, and the file including the measurements and / or signals is sent to the patient data storage system 18.

[0022] In some embodiments, the monitoring center 10 may be connected to multiple patient monitors monitoring different subjects, and thus the monitoring center 10 may act as a hub for the patient monitors 6. Thus, the monitoring center 10 may be a central server that networks and manages multiple patient monitors 6 within a healthcare facility and serves as a short-term repository for patient monitor vital sign data and facilitates transfer of that data to an electronic medical record in a patient data storage system 18. The monitoring center 10 may communicate with all patient monitors 6 within a healthcare facility, integrate the data, and facilitate admission, discharge, and transfer events.

[0023] In targeting Figure 1 In some alternative embodiments to those shown in , the monitoring center 10 may be omitted, and the functions performed thereby may instead be performed by the patient monitor 6. Thus, the patient monitor 6 may send the physiological characteristic measurement(s) and / or the signal(s) representative of the physiological characteristic(s) directly to the patient data storage system 18. In these embodiments, the patient monitoring system 4 may include only a single patient monitor 6 (with separate or integrated sensors 8).

[0024] To facilitate the use of physiological characteristic measurements by the ultrasound system 2, preferably, the internal clock of the ultrasound system 2 and the internal clock of the patient monitoring system 4 are synchronized by a time server 20. The time server 20 can be Internet-based (i.e., accessible via the Internet) or can be part of the internal network of the healthcare facility. In the latter case, the time server 20 itself can access an external Internet-based time server. The time server 20 can operate according to the Network Time Protocol (NTP). Therefore, the ultrasound system 2 and the patient monitoring system 4 can perform synchronization operations with the time server 20 to synchronize their internal clocks. The time server 20 (e.g., an NTP server) is a computer or server that supports the Network Time Protocol and hosts a reference clock to which any device within the network can synchronize. The time server 20 can enable systems with variable delay networks to achieve millisecond synchronization. Typically, devices poll the time server with a minimum polling time of approximately 64 seconds. According to the "xntpd" implementation of the NTP protocol, each polling time uses a combination of direct modification, gradual slewing, offset adjustment, or hardpps interrupt service modification to "train" the system's clock.

[0025] In some embodiments, the patient monitor(s) 6 and the monitoring center 10 may perform corresponding synchronization operations using the time server 20. In alternative embodiments, the monitoring center 10 may perform synchronization operations using the time server 20 and communicate with the patient monitors 6 any information required to perform corresponding time synchronization operations and / or any information required to synchronize the patient monitors 6, such that the patient monitors 6 themselves do not need to implement the network time protocol.

[0026] According to an embodiment of the technology described herein, the ultrasound system 2 is configured to query the patient monitoring system 4 (e.g., the monitoring center 10) to obtain vital sign data corresponding to a specific subject within a specific time interval. In order for the ultrasound system 2 to receive (one or more) physiological characteristic measurements in real time or near real time, the connection 14 needs to be a low-latency wireless connection.

[0027] As shown by signal 22, the ultrasound system 2 may send the ultrasound image to the patient data storage system 18. In some embodiments, the ultrasound system 2 may compile the ultrasound image into a suitable file format, such as the DICOM format, and send the file including the image to the patient data storage system 18. In some embodiments, the file compiled by the ultrasound system 2 may also include the physiological characteristic measurement(s) received from the patient monitoring system 4.

[0028] Figure 2The diagram in illustrates the data exchange between the ultrasound system 2 and the patient monitoring system 4 when physiological characteristic measurements are provided from the patient monitoring system 4 to the ultrasound system 2 so that ultrasound images and synchronized physiological characteristic measurements can be displayed and / or stored in a data file of the patient. Figure 2 Two different communication protocols are shown, a "fast protocol" and a "slow protocol" according to the techniques described herein. The fast protocol may be used if the ultrasound system 2 is to use derived data from the patient monitor 6 with very low latency, for example, to direct ultrasound image acquisition actions. The slow protocol may be used when the ultrasound system 2 is to use data from the patient monitor 6 for real-time display and integration of files (e.g., DICOM) capturing vital signs.

[0029] exist Figure 2 , the action of the ultrasound system 2 in two protocols is shown in the middle portion, the action of the patient monitoring system 4 in the slow protocol is shown in the top portion, and the action of the patient monitoring system 4 in the fast protocol is shown in the bottom portion. In the slow protocol, the patient monitor 6 or the monitor center 10 portion of the patient monitoring system 4 can communicate with the ultrasound system 2, and in the fast protocol, the patient monitor 6 can communicate with the ultrasound system 2.

[0030] In the fast protocol, the ultrasound system 2 uses data derived from the patient monitor 6 with very low latency, for example, to guide acquisition actions. For example, ultrasound systems currently require QRST ECG phase information to trigger contrast and 3D imaging acquisition protocols. This can be achieved using the fast protocol described herein. The ultrasound system 2 and optionally the patient monitor 6 and / or the monitoring center 10 perform a time synchronization operation on the time server to update their internal clocks. This synchronization can be performed before the following method starts, or as one of the initial steps. The steps involved in the fast protocol are as follows:

[0031] A user of the ultrasound system 2 enters information for a subject to be scanned. The subject's information may be an identifier of the subject, such as a medical record number (MRN) or other unique patient identifier.

[0032] The ultrasound system 2 discovers a patient monitor 6 that is actively monitoring the subject (e.g., via matching the subject's unique patient identifier with an identifier of a patient using or associated with the patient monitor 6. This identification step may be performed using a wireless communication protocol such as Bluetooth, as described by Figure 1, as indicated by the signal 24 in . The identification step may be initiated by the ultrasound system 2. In some embodiments, the identification step may be performed via a low-latency wireless communication protocol (such as Bluetooth LE LC3). Once the appropriate patient monitor 6 has been identified, the ultrasound system 2 and the patient monitor 6 establish a wireless communication link. The wireless communication link enables the use of a digital communication protocol in the application layer of the protocol stack of the wireless communication link (i.e., the application layer in the 7-layer open system interconnection (OSI) network model) to transmit information or data via the link. The digital communication protocol may be, for example, a digital navigation link protocol, an information stream that pairs metadata with a sample.

[0033] The ultrasound system 2 requests measurements of a set of physiological characteristics of the subject from the patient monitor 6. The request for measurements from the patient monitor 6 is made by Figure 2 Request 30 is shown as a signal 30 in the ultrasound system 2. The physiological characteristic can be any of the following: heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen level, ECG signal or ECG-signal specific characteristics, such as the presence of R waves and / or T waves. Fast protocols are particularly useful for rapidly changing or occurring physiological characteristics (such as waves in the ECG signal). Request 30 generally requests that the patient monitor 6 continuously send (send) measurement results to the ultrasound system 2.

[0034] The patient monitor 6 responds to the request 30 with confirmation that the requested measurement result is / will be available. The response is not Figure 2 Shown in.

[0035] The patient monitor 6 begins streaming the requested data (physiological property measurements) to the ultrasound system 2, with the lowest possible latency provided by the wireless communication protocol. The streaming of the physiological property measurements is shown by signal 32. The goal is for the data stream to arrive at the ultrasound system 2 in a timely manner from the patient monitor 6 so that the data / samples can be used, and therefore a delay of less than 50 ms is sufficient. The ultrasound system 2 typically operates with some latency from the acquisition of ultrasound images to the display of those images, so the ultrasound system 2 can tolerate sample packaging delays and communication delays to some extent.

[0036] The ultrasound system 2 receives the physiological characteristic measurements (as indicated by block 34). In some embodiments, the ultrasound system 2 uses the received physiological characteristic measurements to manage ultrasound image acquisition activities (eg, R-wave gated imaging).

[0037] The ultrasound system 2 acquires the ultrasound image 36 either when receiving the physiological characteristic measurements 34 from the patient monitor 6 in step 6 or, as noted, in response to certain received physiological characteristic measurements (ie, the occurrence of an R-peak or R-wave).

[0038] The ultrasound system 2 terminates the connection when no longer needed, such as when the ultrasound imaging process is stopped or otherwise completed.

[0039] The ultrasound system 2 sends the received physiological characteristic measurements and ultrasound images to the patient data storage system 18 for storage, as shown by signal 38. In some embodiments, the ultrasound system 2 compiles the physiological characteristic measurements and ultrasound images into a digital file, such as in DICOM format, and sends the digital file to the patient data storage system 18.

[0040] In the slow protocol, the ultrasound system 2 uses data from the patient monitor 6 for real-time display and / or capture of physiological characteristic measurements for integration into a single digital file (e.g., a file in DICOM format). For example, a user of the ultrasound system 2 may desire to display heart rate to provide clinical context for the examination, and desire heart rate data to be embedded in a saved file (DICOM). The ultrasound system 2 and optionally the patient monitor 6 and / or the monitoring center 10 perform a time synchronization operation on a time server to update their internal clocks. This synchronization can be performed before the following method begins, or as one of the initial steps. The steps involved in the slow protocol are as follows:

[0041] A user of the ultrasound system 2 enters information for a subject to be scanned. The information for the subject may be an identifier for the subject, such as an MRN or other unique patient identifier.

[0042] The ultrasound system 2 initiates a connection to the monitoring center 10 via a wired or wireless communication link to transmit patient information for the patient for a given MRN.

[0043] The ultrasound system 2 begins ultrasound imaging of the subject, and the patient monitor 6 obtains measurements of one or more physiological characteristics. The measurements obtained by the patient monitor 6 (and optionally sent to the monitoring center 10) are displayed on the Figure 2 Shown in FIG. 1 is sensor data 40 .

[0044] The ultrasound system 2 requests (signal 42) physiological characteristic measurements of the imaged object via the wireless communication link. In the case where the ultrasound system 2 sends the request to the monitoring center 10, the ultrasound system 2 includes information identifying the object (e.g., MRN) in the request 42. In some embodiments, the request 42 requests physiological characteristic measurements related to a defined time interval (also referred to as a "wave segment"), for example, 100 milliseconds ago until now (i.e., the time when the request 42 is sent).

[0045] The monitoring center 10 sends the requested physiological characteristic measurements (i.e., the requested wave segments) to the ultrasound system 2, as shown in reply 44. The requested physiological characteristic measurements may include one or more timestamps indicating the time(s) at which the measurements were acquired by the patient monitor 6. The timestamps may include digital and / or coordinated universal time (UTC) timestamps.

[0046] Using the timestamps, the ultrasound system 2 synchronizes the received physiological property measurements to the acquired ultrasound image and displays 46 the physiological property measurements (eg, received wave segments) and the ultrasound image on a screen of the ultrasound system 2 .

[0047] A capture event is triggered when the ultrasound system 2 stops imaging (e.g., scanning of the subject is complete), and the ultrasound image and physiological property measurements are compiled into a file for transmission to the patient data storage system 18. The file may be a DICOM file. The physiological property measurements (e.g., wave segments) may be embedded in DICOM metadata with an associated timestamp (e.g., UTC timestamp) that is time-aligned with the ultrasound image.

[0048] In some embodiments, the slow protocol and the fast protocol (i.e., synchronized data exchange) can trigger an anatomical ultrasound scan in response to a change in a vital sign (e.g., a change in heart rate). The trigger can have a delay of less than, for example, 100 milliseconds, although other delays (higher or lower) can be used.

[0049] In some embodiments, the ultrasound system 2 and the patient monitoring system 4 may implement both the fast protocol and the slow protocol simultaneously.

[0050] In some embodiments, a viewing mode is provided. In viewing mode:

[0051] The user interacts with an ultrasound image viewing station, which may be associated with the patient data storage system 18 .

[0052] The user selects a clinical application package that requires physiological property measurements (eg, wave data) that are not included in the primary DICOM capture (ie, the capture representing the raw acquired data).

[0053] The viewing station initiates a connection to the patient monitoring system 4 (eg, the monitoring center 10 ) and requests information for the subject of interest using information identifying the subject (eg, using the MRN).

[0054] The viewing station sends a request for physiological characteristic measurements (eg, wave segments) similar to those performed in the slow protocol.

[0055] The user at the viewing station completes his analysis and generates a DICOM secondary capture file encapsulating the quantitative results (ie, a capture of data derived from the primary capture or some other data source).

[0056] Figure 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating the operation of the ultrasound system 2 and the patient monitoring system 4 according to various embodiments. The ultrasound system 2 is used to acquire an ultrasound image of a first object, and the patient monitoring system 4 is used to obtain measurement results of one or more physiological characteristics of the first object. The patient monitoring system 4 can be configured to perform ECG measurements. In some embodiments, the one or more physiological characteristics measured by the patient monitoring system 4 include one or more hemodynamic characteristics, such as: heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen level, the occurrence of R waves, and the occurrence of T waves.

[0057] In step 101, the ultrasound system 2 performs a time synchronization operation with an Internet-based time server to update an internal clock of the ultrasound system 2. Similarly, in step 201, the patient monitoring system 4 performs a time synchronization operation with an Internet-based time server to update an internal clock of the patient monitoring system 4.

[0058] In step 103, the ultrasound system 2 identifies the patient monitoring system (and in particular the patient monitor 6) that is measuring the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject. Step 103 enables the ultrasound system 2 to identify the patient monitoring system 4. In some embodiments, step 103 includes the ultrasound system 2 receiving an identifier for the first subject (e.g., by an identifier input to the ultrasound system 2 by an operator), and the ultrasound system 2 querying a plurality of patient monitoring systems to identify the patient monitoring system that is measuring the one or more physiological characteristics of the subject having the identifier of the first subject. In some embodiments, the identifier is an MRN.

[0059] The ultrasound system 2 and the patient monitoring system 4 establish a communication link with each other (step 105). In some embodiments, the communication link is a wireless communication link. In these embodiments, the measurement results of the physiological characteristics are communicated to the ultrasound system 2 using a digital communication protocol in the application layer of the protocol stack of the wireless communication link. In these embodiments, the digital communication protocol can communicate the measurement results in a digital format to the ultrasound system 2. In some embodiments, the wireless communication link uses Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

[0060] The patient monitoring system 4 obtains a series of measurements of one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject (step 203). The measurements include corresponding timestamps indicating the corresponding times at which the measurements were acquired by the patient monitoring system 4.

[0061] The patient monitoring system 4 sends a series of time-stamped measurements of one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject to the ultrasound system 2 (step 205). In some embodiments, the time-stamped measurements are sent to the ultrasound system 2 as they are acquired, for example, in real time.

[0062] At the ultrasound system 2 , a series of measurements of one or more physiological characteristics of a first subject are received from the patient monitoring system 4 .

[0063] The ultrasound system 2 acquires a series of ultrasound images of the first object (step 107). The ultrasound images include corresponding timestamps determined according to an internal clock, which indicate the corresponding times when the ultrasound images were acquired. In some embodiments, step 107 is performed when a series of measurements are received from the patient monitoring system 4. In alternative embodiments, the ultrasound system 2 may acquire individual ultrasound images in response to specific measurements in the received series of measurements. For example, the received series of measurements may indicate when an R wave occurs, and the occurrence of the R wave may trigger the ultrasound system 2 to acquire one or more ultrasound images.

[0064] In step 109 , the ultrasound system 2 then synchronizes the received series of measurements with the acquired series of ultrasound images according to the respective time stamps.

[0065] In some embodiments, after synchronizing the measurement results and the ultrasound images in step 109 , the ultrasound system 2 may display a synchronized series of ultrasound images and a series of measurement results on a display unit of the ultrasound system 2 .

[0066] In some embodiments, the ultrasound system 2 may embed the synchronized images and measurements into a data file and send the data file to the patient data storage system 18. The patient data storage system 18 stores the data file with other information and / or data files for the first subject. In some embodiments, the data file is a DICOM file.

[0067] In some embodiments, after the ultrasound system 2 has identified the patient monitoring system 4 in step 103, the ultrasound system 2 may send a query to the patient monitoring system 4, the query including an identifier for the first object and requesting a communication link with the patient monitoring system 4. In step 105, the patient monitoring system 4 may send a response to the ultrasound system 2 to initiate establishment of the communication link.

[0068] In some embodiments, the patient monitoring system 4 sends the series of measurements in step 205 in response to receiving a request from the ultrasound system 2 for the most recently obtained measurement(s) of the physiological characteristic(s) of the first subject.

[0069] Figure 45 is a simplified block diagram illustrating components of an apparatus 50 according to various embodiments. Figure 4 As shown in the device 50 in FIG. 1 , any one of the ultrasound system 2 , the patient monitoring system 4 , the patient monitor 6 in the patient monitoring system 4 , and the monitor center 10 in the patient monitoring system 4 can be implemented.

[0070] The apparatus 50 includes a processing unit 52 that controls the operation of the apparatus 50 and can be configured to run or perform the methods described herein. The processing unit 52 can be implemented in software and / or hardware in a variety of ways to perform the various functions described herein. For example, the processing unit 52 can implement the above-mentioned Figure 1-3 The functions of any of the ultrasound systems 2, patient monitoring systems 4, patient monitors 6, or monitoring centers 10 described herein. The processing unit 52 may include one or more microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs) that may be programmed using software or computer program code to perform the desired functions and / or control components of the processing unit 52 to achieve the desired functions. The processing unit 52 may be implemented as a combination of dedicated hardware (e.g., amplifiers, preamplifiers, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), and / or digital-to-analog converters (DACs)) that perform some functions and processors (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors, controllers, DSPs, and associated circuits) that perform other functions. Examples of components that may be employed in various embodiments of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, conventional microprocessors, DSPs, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), hardware for implementing neural networks, and / or so-called artificial intelligence (AI) hardware accelerators (i.e., processors or other hardware specifically designed for AI applications that can be used with a main processor).

[0071] The processing unit 52 is connected to a memory unit 54, which can store data, information, and / or signals for use by the processing unit 52 to control the operation of the device 50 and / or to run or perform the methods described herein. Thus, the memory unit 54 can store measurements of (one or more) physiological characteristics and / or ultrasound images. In some embodiments, the memory unit 54 stores computer-readable code that can be executed by the processing unit 52, causing the processing unit 52 to perform one or more functions, including the methods described herein. The memory unit 54 may include any type of non-transitory machine-readable medium, such as a cache or system memory including volatile and non-volatile computer memories, such as random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), and the memory unit 54 may be implemented in the form of a memory chip, an optical disk (such as a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), or a Blu-ray disk), a hard disk, a tape storage solution, or a solid-state device, including a memory stick, a solid-state drive (SSD), a memory card, etc.

[0072] The device 50 also includes an interface circuit 56 for enabling a wireless communication link to be established with (one or more) other devices 50, and for exchanging data with those (one or more) other devices 50 as described herein. In the case of a wireless connection, the interface circuit 56 (and therefore the device 50) may include one or more suitable antennas for transmitting / receiving over a transmission medium (e.g., air). The interface circuit 56 is connected to the processing unit 52 so that information or data received by the interface circuit 56 can be provided to the processing unit 52, and / or so that information or data from the processing unit 52 can be transmitted by the interface circuit 56.

[0073] In some embodiments, the device 50 includes a user interface 58, which includes one or more components that enable a user of the device 50 to input information, data and / or commands into the device 50 (e.g., a command to start acquiring ultrasound images or physiological property measurements, or information such as an identifier of an object of interest), and / or enable the device 50 to output information or data to the user of the device 50 (e.g., by displaying ultrasound images, physiological property measurements, or a (synchronized) combination thereof). The user interface 58 may include (one or more) any suitable input component(s), including but not limited to a keyboard, a keypad, one or more buttons, switches or dials, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a stylus, a camera, a microphone, etc., and the user interface 58 may include (one or more) any suitable output component(s), including but not limited to a display screen, one or more lights or light elements, one or more speakers, a vibration element, etc.

[0074] It should be understood that actual implementations of any of the ultrasound system 2, the patient monitoring system 4, the patient monitor 6, or the monitoring center 10 will include a device for Figure 4 Additional components to those shown.

[0075] Thus, methods are provided for providing physiological property measurements from a patient monitoring system to an ultrasound system so that ultrasound images and synchronized physiological property measurements can be displayed and / or stored in a data file for the patient. Also provided is an ultrasound system and a patient monitoring system for implementing these methods.

[0076] By studying the drawings, the present disclosure and the appended claims, those skilled in the art can understand and implement variations to the disclosed embodiments when practicing the principles and techniques described herein. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the words "one" or "an" do not exclude multiple. A single processor or other unit can implement the functions of several items recorded in the claims. Although specific measures are recorded in mutually different dependent claims, this does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used advantageously. The computer program may be stored or distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or solid-state medium provided together with other hardware or as part of other hardware, but the computer program may also be distributed in other forms, such as distributed via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunications systems. Any figure mark in the claims should not be interpreted as limiting the scope.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured to, when executed by a suitable computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform a method of operating an ultrasound system (2) for acquiring an ultrasound image of a first object, the method comprising: utilizing an Internet-based time server (20) to perform (101) a time synchronization operation to update an internal clock of the ultrasound system (2); identifying (103) a patient monitoring system (4; 6) that is measuring one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject; establishing (105) a communication link with the identified patient monitoring system (4; 6); receiving (205) from the patient monitoring system (4; 6) a series of measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject, wherein the received series of measurements include respective timestamps indicating respective times at which the measurements were acquired by the patient monitoring system (4; 6); acquiring (107) a series of ultrasound images of the first object, wherein the ultrasound images include respective time stamps determined according to the internal clock, the respective time stamps indicating respective times at which the ultrasound images were acquired; Synchronizing the received series of measurement results with the acquired series of ultrasound images according to the corresponding timestamps (109); and wherein the method further comprises: A query is sent to the patient monitoring system (4; 6), the query comprising an identifier for the first object and requesting a communication link with the patient monitoring system (4; 6).

2. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein: The communication link is a wireless communication link, and the measurement results are communicated to the ultrasound system (2) using a digital communication protocol in an application layer of a protocol stack for the wireless communication link.

3. The computer program product according to claim 2, wherein: The digital communication protocol communicates the measurement results to the ultrasound system (2) in a digital format.

4. The computer program product according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The method further comprises: The synchronized series of ultrasound images and the series of measurement results are displayed via a display unit (56).

5. The computer program product according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The method further comprises: embedding the synchronized images and measurements into a data file; and The data file is sent to a patient data storage system (18).

6. The computer program product according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: Identify (103) Patient Monitoring System (4; The step of: receiving an identifier for the first subject; and querying a plurality of patient monitoring systems (4; 6) to identify a patient monitoring system (4; 6) that is measuring one or more physiological characteristics of a subject having the identifier of the first subject.

7. The computer program product according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The step of acquiring (107) includes acquiring an individual ultrasound image in response to a particular measurement in the received series of measurements.

8. An operating patient monitoring system (4; 6), the patient monitoring system is used to obtain measurement results of one or more physiological characteristics of a first subject, the method comprising: Utilizing an Internet-based time server (20) to perform (201) a time synchronization operation to update the patient monitoring system (4; 6) Internal clock; establishing (105) a communication link with an ultrasound system (2) that is to acquire an ultrasound image of the first object; obtaining (203) a series of measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject, wherein the measurements include respective timestamps indicating respective times at which the measurements were acquired by the patient monitoring system (4; 6); sending (205) a series of time-stamped measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject to the ultrasound system (2); receiving a query from the ultrasound system (2), the query comprising an identifier for the first subject and requesting a communication link with a patient monitoring system (4; 6) that is measuring one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject; and A response is sent to the ultrasound system (2) to initiate establishment of the communication link.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The communication link is a wireless communication link, and the measurement results are communicated to the ultrasound system (2) using a digital communication protocol in an application layer of a protocol stack for the wireless communication link.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein: The series of time-stamped measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject are transmitted to the ultrasound system (2) as the series of time-stamped measurements are acquired.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein: The method further comprises: receiving a request from the ultrasound system (2) for the most recently obtained measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject; and The sending step is performed in response to receiving the request.

12. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that when executed by a suitable computer or processor, the computer or processor is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 8 to 11.

13. An ultrasound system (2) for acquiring an ultrasound image of a first object, the ultrasound system (2) being configured to: Utilizing an Internet-based time server (20) to perform a time synchronization operation to update an internal clock of the ultrasound system (2); identifying a patient monitoring system (4; 6) that is measuring one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject; establishing a communication link with the identified patient monitoring system (4; 6); receiving from the patient monitoring system (4; 6) a series of measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject, wherein the received series of measurements include respective timestamps indicating respective times at which the measurements were acquired by the patient monitoring system (4; 6); acquiring a series of ultrasound images of the first object, wherein the ultrasound images include corresponding timestamps determined according to the internal clock, the corresponding timestamps indicating corresponding times when the ultrasound images were acquired; synchronizing the received series of measurements with the acquired series of ultrasound images according to the corresponding timestamps, and Therein, the ultrasound system (2) is further configured to send a query to the patient monitoring system (4; 6), the query comprising an identifier for the first object and requesting a communication link with the patient monitoring system (4; 6).

14. A patient monitoring system (4; 6) for obtaining measurements of one or more physiological characteristics of a first subject, the patient monitoring system (4; 6) being configured to: utilizing an Internet-based time server (20) to perform a time synchronization operation to update an internal clock of the patient monitoring system (4; 6); Establishing a communication link with an ultrasound system (2) for acquiring an ultrasound image of the first object; obtaining a series of measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject, wherein the measurements include respective timestamps indicating respective times at which the measurements were acquired by the patient monitoring system (4; 6); sending a series of time-stamped measurements of the one or more physiological characteristics of the first subject to the ultrasound system (2); and Wherein, the patient monitoring system (4; 6) is also configured to receive a query from the ultrasound system (2), the query including an identifier for the first object and requesting a communication link with the patient monitoring system (4; 6) that is measuring one or more physiological characteristics of the first object; and the patient monitoring system (4; 6) is configured to send a response to the ultrasound system (2) to initiate establishment of the communication link.

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