Methods, systems, media, and electronic devices for enabling telemedicine

Abstract

A method, system, medium, and electronic device for implementing telemedicine are disclosed. The method includes: setting the number of video encoders based on the number of medical instruments requiring video signal acquisition at the medical treatment site; connecting each medical instrument requiring video signal acquisition to the video signal acquisition interface of its corresponding video encoder; the video encoder acquiring video signals from the connected medical instruments, encoding the acquired video signals to obtain encoded video signals; the video encoder storing the encoded video signals as video content for a streaming service; and a medical video conferencing device obtaining the encoded video signals based on the streaming services provided by each video encoder, and publishing a video stream to the telemedicine terminal device based on the encoded video signals. The technical solution provided in this disclosure enriches the implementation methods of telemedicine, improves the application flexibility and reliability of telemedicine, and helps reduce the complexity and cost of implementing telemedicine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of medical technology, and in particular to a method for implementing telemedicine, a system for implementing telemedicine, a storage medium, and an electronic device. Background Technology

[0002] Telemedicine refers to the technology that enables the long-distance transmission of medical information through remote communication technology, holographic imaging technology, next-generation electronic information technology, and computer multimedia technology, thereby providing medical services remotely. In the process of implementing telemedicine (such as remote medical consultations, remote medical teaching, and remote surgical guidance), remote medical personnel (such as medical experts or trainees) typically need to understand the current displays of various medical instruments at the medical treatment site and interact remotely with on-site medical personnel via audio / video. For example, a remote medical expert can guide on-site medical personnel to successfully complete the medical treatment process.

[0003] With the development of medical technology, the types and quantities of medical instruments used at the rescue site are often more than one or two. How to easily and conveniently provide the display screens of various medical instruments used at the rescue site to remote medical personnel in a timely manner, so that remote medical personnel can better participate in the medical rescue process, is a technical issue worthy of attention. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this disclosure is proposed. Embodiments of this disclosure provide a method, system, storage medium, and electronic device for implementing telemedicine.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for implementing telemedicine is provided. The method includes: setting a number of video encoders based on the number of medical instruments requiring video signal acquisition at a medical treatment site; wherein the number of video encoders is less than the number of medical instruments; connecting each of the medical instruments requiring video signal acquisition to a video signal acquisition interface of a corresponding video encoder; wherein each video encoder has one or more video signal acquisition interfaces, and each video encoder is connected to one or more medical instruments; the video encoder acquires video signals from the connected medical instruments and encodes the acquired video signals to obtain a video encoded signal; the video encoder stores the video encoded signal as video content for a streaming service; and the medical video conferencing device obtains the video encoded signal based on the streaming service provided by each video encoder, and publishes a video stream to a remote medical terminal device based on the video encoded signal.

[0006] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a system for implementing telemedicine is provided. The system includes: at least one video encoder, a medical video conferencing device, and at least one telemedicine terminal device. The video encoder and the medical video conferencing device are located at a medical treatment site. Each video encoder has one or more video signal acquisition interfaces. Each video encoder is connected to one or more medical instruments at the medical treatment site that require video signal acquisition through its own video signal acquisition interface. The number of video encoders is less than the number of medical instruments at the medical treatment site that require video signal acquisition, and the number of video encoders is determined based on the number of medical instruments at the medical treatment site that require video signal acquisition. The video encoder comprises: a first acquisition module for acquiring video signals from a medical instrument connected to the video encoder; an encoding module for encoding the video signals acquired by the first acquisition module to obtain video encoded signals, and storing the video encoded signals as video content for a streaming service; and a streaming service module for providing streaming services to medical video equipment based on the stored video encoded signals. The medical video equipment comprises: a first acquisition module for obtaining the video encoded signals based on the streaming services provided by the streaming service modules of each video encoder; and a publishing module for publishing video streams to the remote medical terminal equipment based on the video encoded signals obtained by the first acquisition module.

[0007] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the storage medium storing a computer program for implementing any of the methods described above.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a processor; a memory for storing processor-executable instructions; the processor being configured to read the executable instructions from the memory and execute the instructions to implement any of the methods described above.

[0009] Based on the above embodiments of this disclosure, a method, system, storage medium, and electronic device for implementing telemedicine are provided. By setting up video encoders at the medical treatment site and connecting them to medical instruments, the hardware modification of medical video equipment to increase video signal acquisition interfaces can be avoided. This helps to avoid the high cost, long modification cycle, and equipment stability problems caused by hardware stacking. Since the number of video encoders can be determined according to the number of medical instruments at the medical treatment site, the technical solution of this disclosure can conveniently meet the different requirements of different telemedicine scenarios for the number of video signal acquisition interfaces. This helps to avoid the phenomenon that modified medical video equipment has a fixed number of video signal acquisition interfaces, making it difficult to apply to different telemedicine scenarios. Each video encoder provides a streaming service, allowing the medical video equipment to access the network and obtain the video encoded signal corresponding to the video signal acquired by each video encoder for the medical instrument. This allows the medical video equipment to conveniently provide video streams to various telemedicine terminal devices, and the number of video encoders connected to the medical video equipment is unlimited, which further enhances the application flexibility of the technical solution of this disclosure. Therefore, the technical solutions provided in this disclosure are conducive to enriching the implementation methods of telemedicine, improving the application flexibility and reliability of telemedicine, and reducing the implementation complexity and cost of telemedicine.

[0010] The technical solutions of this disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0011] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent from the more detailed description of the embodiments thereof in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are provided to further illustrate the embodiments of this disclosure and form part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of this disclosure to explain the disclosure and do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of the technology disclosed herein for realizing telemedicine;

[0013] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of the method for implementing telemedicine disclosed herein;

[0014] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a system for implementing telemedicine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of an electronic device provided in an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0016] Example embodiments according to this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the described embodiments are merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments of this disclosure, and it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the example embodiments described herein.

[0017] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​of the components and steps set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0018] Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the embodiments of this disclosure are only used to distinguish different steps, devices, or modules, and do not represent any specific technical meaning, nor do they indicate a necessary logical order between them.

[0019] It should also be understood that in the embodiments disclosed herein, "a plurality of" may refer to two or more, and "at least one" may refer to one, two or more.

[0020] It should also be understood that any component, data or structure mentioned in the embodiments of this disclosure can generally be understood as one or more unless expressly defined or given to the contrary in the context.

[0021] Furthermore, the term "and / or" in this disclosure is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this disclosure generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0022] It should also be understood that the description of the various embodiments in this disclosure emphasizes the differences between the various embodiments, and the similarities or similarities can be referred to each other. For the sake of brevity, they will not be described in detail.

[0023] At the same time, it should be understood that, for ease of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawings are not drawn according to actual scale.

[0024] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit this disclosure or its application or use.

[0025] Techniques, methods, and equipment known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such techniques, methods, and equipment should be considered part of the specification.

[0026] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be discussed further in subsequent figures.

[0027] The embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to electronic devices such as terminal devices, computer systems, and servers, and can operate with a wide range of other general-purpose or special-purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known terminal devices, computing systems, environments, and / or configurations suitable for use with electronic devices such as terminal devices, computer systems, or servers include, but are not limited to: personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, handheld or laptop devices, microprocessor-based systems, set-top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframe computer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems, etc.

[0028] Electronic devices such as terminal devices, computer systems, and servers can be described in the general context of computer system executable instructions (such as program modules) executed by a computer system. Typically, program modules can include routines, programs, object programs, components, logic, data structures, etc., which perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Computer systems / servers can be implemented in a distributed cloud computing environment. In a distributed cloud computing environment, tasks can be executed by remote processing devices linked through a communication network. In a distributed cloud computing environment, program modules can reside on local or remote computing system storage media, including storage devices.

[0029] This disclosure outlines

[0030] In the process of developing this disclosure, the inventors discovered that, in the implementation of telemedicine, to enable remote medical personnel (such as medical experts) to have a real-time and comprehensive understanding of the situation at the medical treatment site, a medical video conferencing device can be installed at the medical treatment site (such as an operating room). This medical video conferencing device has a video signal acquisition interface and connects to the medical instruments at the treatment site through its video signal acquisition interface, thereby acquiring the video signals from the medical instruments. The medical video conferencing device can then publish video streams to remote terminals based on the acquired video signals. Furthermore, the medical video conferencing device can provide remote audio / video interactive services for on-site medical personnel and remote medical personnel (such as medical experts). However, the current display of the medical instruments that remote medical personnel can see through the remote terminal usually depends on the number of video signal acquisition interfaces of the medical video conferencing device. In reality, medical video conferencing devices typically have two video signal acquisition interfaces, meaning that the device can only acquire video signals from a maximum of two medical instruments simultaneously. If remote medical personnel need to see more current displays from the medical instruments, the hardware structure of the medical video conferencing device needs to be modified to increase the number of video signal acquisition interfaces. Modifying the hardware structure of medical video conferencing equipment often involves processes such as mold making, redesign, and selection, resulting in high costs and long cycles. Furthermore, the modified equipment may not flexibly meet the demands for the number of video signal acquisition interfaces in different telemedicine environments, lacking flexibility in use. Additionally, hardware modifications typically involve adding expansion boards, which often leads to hardware stacking, increasing the complexity of inter-hardware connections and compromising operational stability.

[0031] In the process of implementing telemedicine, medical instruments with more video signal acquisition interfaces than medical video equipment cannot be connected to the medical video equipment through video signal acquisition interfaces. However, if the medical video equipment can obtain the video signals of these medical instruments through other means, it will not only help avoid the problems of high cost, long cycle and lack of flexibility caused by hardware modification of the medical video equipment, but also help avoid the impact of hardware stacking on the operational stability of the medical video equipment.

[0032] Exemplary Overview

[0033] The technical solution for implementing telemedicine disclosed herein is applicable to various application scenarios, such as remote surgical guidance, remote medical teaching, and remote consultation. The following is a detailed explanation in conjunction with the appendix. Figure 1 Taking remote surgical guidance as an example, this paper explains the technical solution disclosed for realizing telemedicine.

[0034] Figure 1 In the scenario, expert A and expert B, from their respective expert offices, use telemedicine terminal equipment 100 and 110 respectively to remotely guide a surgery in operating room 120 of a distant hospital. Operating room 120 is equipped with six medical instruments. It is assumed that expert A and expert B need to monitor four of these medical instruments in real time (i.e.,... Figure 1 If the medical instruments 120-1, 120-2, 120-3 and 120-4 are currently displaying images, then a video encoder 120-5 and a medical video device 120-6 can be installed in the operating room 120, and the video encoder 120-5 and the medical video device 120-6 each have two video signal acquisition interfaces.

[0035] Assuming that medical instruments 120-1 and 120-2 are located close to each other, and medical instruments 120-3 and 120-4 are also located close to each other, a video encoder 120-5 can be installed at the location of either medical instrument 120-1 or 120-2, and a medical video device 120-6 can be installed at the location of either medical instrument 120-3 or 120-4. The two video signal acquisition interfaces of the video encoder 120-5 are connected to medical instruments 120-1 and 120-2 respectively, while the two video signal acquisition interfaces of the medical video device 120-6 are connected to medical instruments 120-3 and 120-4 respectively.

[0036] Remote medical terminal device 100, remote medical terminal device 110, video encoder 120-5, and medical video device 120-6 are all connected to the Internet. Before the surgery officially begins, remote medical terminal device 100, remote medical terminal device 110, and medical video device 120-6 all join the same video conference.

[0037] During the surgery, the video encoder 120-5 acquires the video signals of medical instruments 120-1 and 120-2 in real time, and encodes the two video signals to obtain two video encoded signals (i.e. two video streams). These two video encoded signals are obtained by the medical video device 120-6 through the streaming service provided by the video encoder 120-5. The medical video conferencing device 120-6 also collects video signals from medical instruments 120-3 and 120-4 in real time. It decodes the two video encoded signals obtained through the streaming service to obtain two video signals, and performs a screen mixing encoding process on these two video signals and the two video signals it collected, thus obtaining a video stream. The medical video conferencing device 120-6 then publishes this video stream to remote medical terminal devices 100 and 110 via video conferencing, allowing expert A and expert B to view the current screens of medical instruments 120-1, 120-2, 120-3, and 120-4 in real time during the video conference using remote medical terminal devices 100 and 110 respectively.

[0038] In addition, during the operation, medical personnel in operating room 120 can also interact with experts A and B via voice / video through a video conference jointly joined by remote medical terminal equipment 100, remote medical terminal equipment 110, and medical video equipment 120-6.

[0039] Exemplary methods

[0040] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of the method for implementing telemedicine disclosed herein. Figure 2 The method shown includes steps S200, S201, S202, S203, and S204. The following describes... Figure 2 Each step in the process will be explained separately.

[0041] S200. Set the number of video encoders according to the number of medical instruments that need to collect video signals at the medical treatment site.

[0042] The medical treatment site described in this disclosure can be an operating room, emergency resuscitation room, or ICU (Intensive Care Unit) or other places used for medical treatment of patients.

[0043] The medical instruments disclosed herein generally refer to devices that act directly or indirectly on the human body and can generate video signals (i.e., the medical instrument can display corresponding images in real time). In one example, the medical instrument may have a miniature camera, such as a laparoscope or thoracoscope. This disclosure does not limit the specific form of the medical instrument.

[0044] The video encoder in this disclosure can be a device capable of compressing digital video signals. In one example, a video encoder refers to a device capable of compressing and decompressing digital video signals; that is, a video encoder can perform both encoding and decoding operations. Specifically, the video encoder can be a video codec supporting H.264 (i.e., AVC (Advanced Video Coding), H.265 (i.e., HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding)), VP9 (i.e., NGOV (Next Gen Open Video)), or AV1 (Alliance for OpenMedia Video 1). This disclosure does not limit the specific form of the video encoder.

[0045] In one example, the number of video encoders in this disclosure is related to the number of medical instruments, and the number of video encoders is usually less than the number of medical instruments. In a special application scenario, the number of video encoders can be the same as the number of medical instruments. For example, in a medical treatment scene, the medical video equipment is not connected to medical instruments, and a video encoder is connected to only one medical instrument. In this case, the number of video encoders is the same as the number of medical instruments.

[0046] In one example, the number of medical instruments that a video encoder can connect to typically depends on the number of video signal acquisition interfaces that the video encoder has. This disclosure can first subtract the number of medical instruments that the medical video device can connect to from the total number of medical instruments that need to acquire video signals, thereby obtaining a difference. Then, based on this difference and the number of video signal acquisition interfaces that each video encoder has, the number of video encoders that need to be set up at a medical rescue site can be determined.

[0047] S201. Connect the medical instruments that need to acquire video signals to the video signal acquisition interface of the corresponding video encoder.

[0048] The medical instrument of this disclosure has a video interface for outputting video signals generated by the medical instrument to external devices. The video encoder of this disclosure has a video signal acquisition interface for collecting video signals output from external devices. The video signal acquisition interface is also a type of video interface. A video encoder typically has multiple video signal acquisition interfaces, allowing it to connect to one or more medical instruments. It should be noted that the video signal generated by the medical instrument of this disclosure can be a video signal containing both sound and image; such a video signal can also be called an audio-visual signal. In one example, the video signal generated by the medical instrument of this disclosure can also be a video signal containing only image and no sound.

[0049] In one example, the video signal acquisition interface / video interface in this disclosure can be HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), S-Video (Separate Video), SDI (Serial Digital Interface), Type-C, VGA (Video Graphics Array), USB (Universal Serial Bus), or RGB (Red, Green, Blue), etc. This disclosure does not limit the specific form of the video signal acquisition interface / video interface. Furthermore, medical instruments and video encoders are typically connected via a wired connection; therefore, the video encoder is usually placed close to the medical instrument.

[0050] In one example, different medical instruments may have different types of video interfaces, and a video encoder may have different types of video signal acquisition interfaces. The types of video signal acquisition interfaces that different video encoders have may be the same or different.

[0051] In one example, this disclosure allows some medical instruments requiring video signal acquisition to be connected to a medical video conferencing device, while the remaining medical instruments are connected to video encoders. This fully utilizes the resources of the medical video conferencing device itself and reduces the number of video encoders required. Of course, if the video signal acquisition interface of the medical video conferencing device cannot be connected to the medical instruments due to being occupied or malfunctioning, this disclosure does not preclude the possibility of connecting all medical instruments requiring video signal acquisition to video encoders. In this case, the medical video conferencing device is primarily used to acquire video encoded signals from all video encoders separately and to publish video streams to remote medical terminal devices based on all acquired video encoded signals. Additionally, in this case, the medical video conferencing device can also be used for audio / video interaction between medical personnel at the medical treatment site and remote medical personnel.

[0052] The medical video equipment disclosed herein refers to video communication equipment used in the medical field, and is mainly suitable for scenarios such as remote consultation, remote surgical teaching, and remote surgical guidance. In one example, the medical video equipment can be implemented using equipment such as computers suitable for the medical environment.

[0053] In one example, if the medical video equipment has n (n is an integer greater than or equal to 1) video signal acquisition interfaces and the number of medical instruments that need to acquire video signals is m (m is an integer greater than n), the n medical instruments can be wired to the video signal acquisition interfaces of the medical video equipment, and the remaining mn medical instruments can be wired to the video signal acquisition interfaces of the corresponding video encoders. A video encoder can usually be wired to multiple medical instruments simultaneously.

[0054] By utilizing the number of video signal acquisition interfaces on the medical video equipment and the number of medical instruments requiring video signal acquisition, the number of video encoders can be determined. This allows the technical solution of this disclosure to flexibly construct a system for telemedicine based on the actual conditions of the medical treatment site. By connecting the medical video equipment and video encoders to the medical instruments at the treatment site, and connecting the medical video equipment to as many medical instruments as possible (e.g., connecting all video signal acquisition interfaces to medical instruments), the number of video encoders required is reduced, thereby lowering the implementation cost of telemedicine.

[0055] S202. The video encoder acquires video signals from the medical instrument connected to it and encodes the acquired video signals to obtain a video encoded signal.

[0056] The encoding processing of video signals disclosed herein can refer to the format conversion / compression processing of the acquired raw video signals, and the encoding processing disclosed herein can be based on H.264, H.265, VP9, ​​or AV1, etc. The encoded video signal obtained after encoding processing is usually in the form of a video file of the corresponding format. In one example, different video encoders may support the same or different encoding protocols.

[0057] In one example, if a video encoder is connected to only one medical instrument, it continuously encodes the video signal output in real time from that instrument, resulting in one encoded video signal, which is one video stream. If a video encoder is connected to multiple medical instruments simultaneously, it simultaneously acquires the video signals output in real time from each instrument. The encoder then performs independent encoding on each acquired video signal, resulting in multiple encoded video signals, which are multiple video streams. In this example, the encoding of any one video signal is independent of the others; the encoder does not perform mixed encoding on multiple video signals. However, this disclosure does not preclude the possibility that the video encoder may perform mixed encoding on the acquired multiple video signals.

[0058] By using a video encoder to independently encode multiple video signals from various medical instruments, the loss of image details that would result from non-independent encoding of multiple video signals can be avoided. This helps to ensure the image quality of each encoded video signal, thereby providing high-quality video images to remote terminals.

[0059] S203, The video encoder stores the video encoded signal as video content for the streaming service.

[0060] The streaming service disclosed herein is a service used to implement live streaming, video-on-demand, and video surveillance. Each video encoder has at least one pre-configured streaming service address. The number of streaming service addresses configured in a video encoder is related to the number of medical devices connected to that video encoder. For example, if a video encoder connects to n (n is an integer greater than 1) medical devices, the video encoder has n pre-configured streaming service addresses, each corresponding to one medical device, and each streaming service address is unique. The streaming service address in this disclosure can be represented in the form of a URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

[0061] When the video encoder starts the streaming service, it can allocate a memory storage block in its memory for each pre-set streaming service address. When the video encoder acquires video signals from the medical instruments connected to it, it can determine the streaming service address corresponding to each video signal and the memory storage block corresponding to each streaming service address. The video encoder stores the encoded video signals obtained after encoding each video signal in the corresponding memory storage block. That is, the video encoder stores each encoded video signal in memory one after another. The access address of each encoded video signal in memory corresponds to its respective streaming service address, and the byte content stored in each memory storage block is the video content of the streaming service provided by the video encoder.

[0062] In one example, the streaming service provided by the video encoder can be based on protocols such as RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol), SRT (Secure Reliable Transport), or FLV (Flash Video). Therefore, the pre-configured streaming service address in the video encoder can be an RTSP-based address, an SRT-based address, or an FLV-based address, etc. Furthermore, the content stored in each memory block should be ensured to be unaffected by other video encoding signals. The video encoder typically starts the streaming service when it begins acquiring video signals from the medical instrument.

[0063] S204. The medical video equipment obtains the video encoding signal based on the streaming service provided by each video encoder, and publishes the video stream to the remote medical terminal equipment based on the obtained video encoding signal.

[0064] In one example, the streaming service address of a video encoder can be obtained by the medical video device through information exchange between the video encoder and the medical video device via the Internet, or it can be obtained by the medical video device through manual settings by the user in the medical video device.

[0065] The medical video equipment disclosed herein can access the streaming service addresses of various video encoders at the medical treatment site via the Internet. For example, the medical video equipment can access the streaming service addresses of various video encoders by connecting to WIFI or mobile networks, thereby reading the video encoded signal stored in memory corresponding to each streaming service address, and pulling the video encoded signal to the local medical video equipment. In other words, for any streaming service address provided by any video encoder, the video encoder, based on the medical video equipment's access to the streaming service address, forms a video stream from the video encoded signal stored in the memory storage block corresponding to the streaming service address, and provides it to the medical video equipment, thereby enabling the medical instrument to broadcast live to the medical video equipment.

[0066] In one example, the streaming services provided by different video encoders typically use the same protocol. For instance, each video encoder may use an RTSP-based streaming service, an SRT-based streaming service, or an FLV-based streaming service. The medical imaging device can access each video encoder based on its respective streaming service address, using either the RTSP, SRT, or FLV protocol, to read video encoding information from the video file at each address. Of course, this disclosure does not exclude the possibility that different video encoders may use different protocols for their streaming services.

[0067] Utilizing RTSP, SRT, or FLV protocols to implement streaming services can reduce the latency of medical video equipment obtaining video encoding information and facilitate the live streaming of the display images of various medical instruments, thereby ensuring the real-time nature of telemedicine. In particular, streaming services based on the FLV protocol can better achieve the effect of live streaming the display images of various medical instruments to medical video equipment.

[0068] In one example, the medical video conferencing device of this disclosure can simultaneously broadcast video streams to one or more remote medical terminal devices. The video stream broadcast by the medical video conferencing device can be a video stream in which various video encoded signals are displayed on the same video screen, that is, the current display screens of all medical instruments are simultaneously displayed on the screens of the remote medical terminal devices, allowing remote medical personnel (such as medical experts or trainees) to clearly see the current display screens of each medical instrument at the medical treatment site. Specifically, the medical video conferencing device can perform mixed-screen encoding processing on the currently acquired video encoded signals, thereby ultimately forming a single video stream from multiple video encoded signals, and broadcasting this single video stream to all remote medical terminal devices. The mixed-screen encoding processing of this disclosure refers to the processing method of merging multiple video streams into one video stream. The remote medical terminal device of this disclosure can be implemented using a computer (such as a laptop computer).

[0069] In one example, the screen mixing encoding process performed by the medical video conferencing device can be specifically as follows: First, each video encoded signal from all video encoders is decoded separately to obtain individual video signals. Then, according to an equal screen division layout, the video signal acquired by the medical video conferencing device itself and the decoded video signals are mixed and encoded to obtain a single video stream. Here, the equal screen division layout refers to dividing the screen display area into multiple blocks based on the total number of video signals. Each block is typically the same size, and one block corresponds to one video signal. During the screen mixing encoding process, the medical video conferencing device can align the time of each video signal, meaning that the displays of various medical instruments on the remote medical terminal device can be simultaneous displays. Of course, the medical video equipment in this disclosure may not perform time alignment processing on the various video signals. Without time alignment, there may be a time difference between the displayed images of the various medical instruments on the remote medical terminal. For example, the time difference between the displayed images of the various medical instruments on the remote medical terminal is related to the time difference between the display time of the medical instrument corresponding to the video signal acquired by the medical video terminal through the local video signal acquisition interface at a given moment and the display time of the medical instrument corresponding to the video signal acquired by the video encoders obtained by the medical video terminal through the streaming service at that same moment. When the screen is divided into i blocks (e.g., i is 4, 6, 8, or 9), if the total number of video signals is less than i (e.g., when i is 6, the total number of video signals is 5), then during the screen mixing encoding process, all video signals and one or more preset video signals (e.g., preset black screen video signals) can be mixed together for screen encoding. Of course, this disclosure does not exclude the possibility of using an unequal screen layout for mixed screen encoding. For example, considering factors such as the different importance of medical instruments or the different complexity of the displayed content, the block corresponding to a certain medical instrument can be set in the center, and the area of ​​that block is larger than the area of ​​the blocks corresponding to other medical instruments.

[0070] By decoding each video encoding signal from the video encoder separately, the effect of streaming services to broadcast the display images of various medical instruments to medical video equipment is fully utilized. This decoding process can be considered as enabling the medical video equipment to preview the display images of each medical instrument. By adopting a screen division layout for mixed-screen encoding, the implementation of the technical solution disclosed herein is not affected by the number of medical instruments, thus making the technical solution disclosed herein flexible in implementation and facilitating convenient and quick implementation of mixed-screen encoding.

[0071] In one example, the medical video equipment is equipped with a camera and a microphone. It can capture video signals (including both sound and image) from the medical treatment scene. When performing screen mixing and encoding, the medical video equipment can use the video signals captured by the camera and microphone as one video signal, and mix it with other video signals. Specifically, the medical video equipment can use an equal-division layout to mix and encode the video signals from the medical instruments, the video signals from the medical treatment scene, and the decoded video signals. For example, assuming the medical video equipment captures three video signals (two corresponding to two medical instruments and one corresponding to the medical treatment scene), and after decoding, obtains four video signals (corresponding to four medical instruments), the medical video equipment can use an eight-division layout to mix and encode these seven video signals, plus a preset black screen video signal without image content, to obtain one video stream.

[0072] By incorporating video signals from the medical treatment site collected by the medical video equipment itself during the mixed-screen encoding process, remote medical personnel (such as medical experts or students on research trips) can easily understand the situation at the medical treatment site in real time, and the medical personnel at the treatment site can easily conduct voice / video interaction with the remote medical personnel.

[0073] In one example, the medical video conferencing device can use video conferencing to broadcast video streams to remote medical terminal devices. Specifically, all remote medical terminal devices and the medical video conferencing device join the same video conference. In this video conference, each remote medical terminal device acts as an independent participant, while the medical video conferencing device acts as a participant (each medical instrument and each video encoder does not act as a participant). The medical video conferencing device broadcasts its mixed-encoding video stream to the video conference; that is, the mixed-encoding video stream is broadcast as the video signal source for the medical video conferencing device as a participant. The video conference interface displayed locally on the medical video conferencing device can include the current display of each medical instrument, as well as the current view of the medical treatment site. After receiving the video stream broadcast by the medical video conferencing device, the remote medical terminal device decodes the video stream and displays the decoded video signal on its local video conference interface. For example, the current display of each medical instrument and the current view of the medical treatment site are displayed in an equally divided screen layout. In addition, medical video equipment can also display the current view (such as a picture containing sound and image) of the remote terminal location captured by the telemedicine terminal device through its camera and microphone.

[0074] By using telemedicine terminal equipment and video conferencing equipment as participants, and employing video conferencing technology to transmit a mixed-screen encoded video stream from the video conferencing equipment to the telemedicine terminal, the current display screens of various medical instruments at the medical treatment site, as well as the scene of the medical treatment, can be conveniently and efficiently provided to the telemedicine terminal equipment. Furthermore, medical personnel at the medical treatment site and telemedicine personnel can also use video conferencing technology for technical exchanges. In addition, telemedicine personnel can participate in telemedicine anytime and anywhere using the telemedicine terminal equipment, which not only helps to reduce the difficulty of implementing telemedicine, but also helps to improve the feasibility and reliability of telemedicine.

[0075] Exemplary System

[0076] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the system for implementing telemedicine disclosed herein. Figure 3 The system shown mainly includes: at least one video encoder 300, one medical video device 310, and at least one remote medical terminal device 320. The following is a description of each device included in the system.

[0077] The video encoder 300 and medical video equipment 310 disclosed herein are installed at the medical treatment site, and each video encoder 300 has one or more video signal acquisition interfaces. Each video encoder 300 is connected to one or more medical instruments 330 at the medical treatment site that need to acquire video signals through its own video signal acquisition interface. The number of video encoders 300 is less than the number of medical instruments 330 at the medical treatment site that need to acquire video signals, and the number of video encoders 300 is determined according to the number of medical instruments 330 at the medical treatment site that need to acquire video signals.

[0078] In one example, the video encoder 300 of this disclosure mainly includes: a first acquisition module 3001, an encoding module 3002, and a streaming service module 3003. The first acquisition module 3001 is mainly used to acquire video signals from a medical instrument connected to the video encoder 300. The encoding module 3002 is mainly used to encode the video signals acquired by the first acquisition module 3001 to obtain encoded video signals, and to store the encoded video signals as video content for streaming services. The streaming service module 3003 is mainly used to provide streaming services to medical video equipment based on the encoded video signals stored in the encoding module 3002.

[0079] In one example, the medical video conferencing device 310 of this disclosure mainly includes: a first acquisition module 3101 and a publishing module 3102. The first acquisition module 3101 is mainly used to obtain various video encoded signals based on the streaming services provided by the streaming service modules 3003 of each video encoder 300. The publishing module 3102 is mainly used to publish video streams to remote medical terminal devices based on the video encoded signals obtained by the first acquisition module 3101.

[0080] In one example, the medical video device 310 of this disclosure has one or more video signal acquisition interfaces. The number of video encoders 300 is determined by the difference between the number of medical instruments 330 that need to acquire video signals at the medical treatment site and the number of video signal acquisition interfaces of the medical video device 310, and the number of video signal acquisition interfaces of the video encoders 300. The medical video device 310 is connected to some of the medical instruments 330 that need to acquire video signals at the medical treatment site through its own video signal acquisition interfaces, and the video encoders 300 are connected to the remaining medical instruments 330 that need to acquire video signals at the medical treatment site. In this example, the medical video device 310 of this disclosure may further include a second acquisition module 3103, which is mainly used to acquire video signals from the medical instruments 330 connected to the medical video device 310.

[0081] In one example, when a video encoder 300 is connected to multiple medical instruments 330, the first acquisition module 3001 in the video encoder 300 is used to simultaneously acquire video signals from the multiple medical instruments 330 to obtain multiple video signals. The encoding module 3002 independently encodes each of the multiple video signals acquired by the first acquisition module 3001 to obtain multiple encoded video signals. Furthermore, the encoding module 3002 can store the acquired multiple encoded video signals in memory according to the preset streaming service address in its respective video encoder 300. In this example, the first acquisition module 3101 can access each video encoder 300 based on a real-time streaming protocol, a secure and reliable transmission protocol, or a flash video protocol, according to the preset streaming service address of each video encoder 300 in the medical video device 310. It then obtains the encoded video signals stored in the encoding module 3002 of each video encoder 300 through the streaming service module 3003 in the video encoder 300.

[0082] In one example, the publishing module 3102 in the medical video device 310 mainly includes a first submodule 31021 and a second submodule 31022. The first submodule 31021 is mainly used to perform mixed-screen encoding on the various video encoded signals obtained by the first acquisition module 3101 to obtain a video stream. The second submodule 31022 is mainly used to publish the video stream obtained by the first submodule 31021 to the remote medical terminal device 320.

[0083] In one example, the first submodule 31021 may include a decoding unit 310211 and a screen mixing encoding unit 310212. The decoding unit 310211 is mainly used to decode the various video encoded signals obtained by the first acquisition module 3101. The screen mixing encoding unit 310212 is mainly used to perform screen mixing encoding on the video signals acquired by the medical video device itself (such as the video signals acquired by the second acquisition module 3103) and the various video signals obtained after decoding by the decoding unit 310211, according to an equally divided screen layout, to obtain a video stream.

[0084] In one example, the medical video device 310 of this disclosure is equipped with a camera and a microphone, and the medical video device 310 further includes a third acquisition module 3104. The third acquisition module 3104 is mainly used to acquire video signals from the medical treatment scene through the camera and microphone. In this example, the screen mixing encoding unit 310212 can be used to: according to the equal division layout of the screen, perform screen mixing encoding processing on the video signals of the medical instruments acquired by the second acquisition module 3103 and the video signals of the medical treatment scene acquired by the third acquisition module 3104, together with the various video signals obtained after decoding processing by the decoding unit 310211, to obtain a video stream.

[0085] In one example, the second submodule 31022 in the medical video conferencing device 310 can be specifically used to publish the video stream obtained by the mixing encoding unit 310212 to a video conference joined by the medical video conferencing device. In this example, the remote medical terminal device 320 may include: a second acquisition module 3201, a decoding module 3202, and a screen display module 3203. The second acquisition module 3201 is mainly used to obtain the video stream published by the second submodule 31022 in the medical device 310 through the video conference joined by the remote medical terminal device 320. The decoding module 3202 is mainly used to decode the video stream obtained by the second acquisition module 3201 to obtain a video signal. The screen display module 3203 is mainly used to display the video signal decoded by the decoding module 3202, for example, displaying the current screens of various medical instruments 330 in the medical treatment site and the current screen of the medical treatment site in the interface of the video conference joined by the remote medical terminal device 320.

[0086] Exemplary electronic devices

[0087] The following is for reference. Figure 4 To describe an electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 4 A block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. (As follows) Figure 4 As shown, the electronic device 41 includes one or more processors 411 and memory 412.

[0088] The processor 411 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or other form of processing unit with data processing capabilities and / or instruction execution capabilities, and may control other components in the electronic device 41 to perform desired functions.

[0089] The memory 412 may include one or more computer program products, which may include various forms of computer-readable storage media, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may, for example, include random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory. The non-volatile memory may, for example, include read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, and flash memory. One or more computer program instructions may be stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor 411 may execute the program instructions to implement the methods for implementing telemedicine and / or other desired functions described in the various embodiments of this disclosure above.

[0090] In one example, electronic device 41 may further include input device 413 and output device 414, etc., these components being interconnected via a bus system and / or other forms of connection mechanism (not shown). Furthermore, the input device 413 may also include, for example, a keyboard, mouse, etc. The output device 414 can output various information to the outside. The output device 414 may include, for example, a display, speaker, printer, and communication networks and their connected remote output devices, etc.

[0091] Of course, for the sake of simplicity, Figure 4 Only some of the components of the electronic device 41 relevant to this disclosure are shown, omitting components such as buses, input / output interfaces, etc. In addition, the electronic device 41 may include any other suitable components depending on the specific application.

[0092] Exemplary computer program products and computer-readable storage media

[0093] In addition to the methods and devices described above, embodiments of this disclosure may also be computer program products comprising computer program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps in the methods for implementing telemedicine according to various embodiments of this disclosure as described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification.

[0094] The computer program product can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages ​​to perform the operations of the embodiments of this disclosure. The programming languages ​​include object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, as well as conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can be executed entirely on a user's computing device, partially on a user's computing device, as a standalone software package, partially on a user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server.

[0095] Furthermore, embodiments of this disclosure may also be computer-readable storage media having stored thereon computer program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps in the methods for implementing telemedicine according to various embodiments of this disclosure as described in the "Exemplary Methods" section above.

[0096] The computer-readable storage medium may be any combination of one or more readable media. A readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A readable storage medium may, for example, include, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (not an exhaustive list) of a readable storage medium may include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0097] The basic principles of this disclosure have been described above with reference to specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the advantages, benefits, and effects mentioned in this disclosure are merely examples and not limitations, and should not be considered as essential features of each embodiment of this disclosure. Furthermore, the specific details disclosed above are for illustrative and facilitative purposes only, and are not limitations. These details do not limit the scope of this disclosure to the necessity of employing the aforementioned specific details for implementation.

[0098] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on its differences from other embodiments. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably. For system embodiments, since they largely correspond to method embodiments, the description is relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions in the method embodiments.

[0099] The block diagrams of devices, apparatuses, devices, and systems disclosed herein are merely illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that they must be connected, arranged, or configured in the manner shown in the block diagrams. As those skilled in the art will recognize, these devices, apparatuses, devices, and systems can be connected, arranged, and configured in any manner. Words such as “comprising,” “including,” “having,” etc., are open-ended terms meaning “including but not limited to,” and are used interchangeably with them. The terms “or” and “and” as used herein refer to the terms “and / or,” and are used interchangeably with them unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “such as” as used herein refers to the phrase “such as but not limited to,” and is used interchangeably with it.

[0100] The methods and apparatus of this disclosure may be implemented in many ways. For example, they may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination of software, hardware, and firmware. The above-described order of steps for the methods is for illustrative purposes only, and the steps of the methods of this disclosure are not limited to the order specifically described above unless otherwise specifically stated. Furthermore, in some embodiments, this disclosure may also be implemented as a program recorded on a recording medium, the program including machine-readable instructions for implementing the methods according to this disclosure. Thus, this disclosure also covers recording media storing programs for performing the methods according to this disclosure.

[0101] It should also be noted that in the apparatus, devices, and methods of this disclosure, the components or steps can be disassembled and / or recombined. These disassemblies and / or recombinations should be considered as equivalent solutions to this disclosure.

[0102] The above description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather to be carried out within the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0103] The above description has been given for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of this disclosure to the forms disclosed herein. Although numerous exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled in the art will recognize certain variations, modifications, alterations, additions, and sub-combinations thereof.

Claims

1. A method for enabling telemedicine, characterized by, The method comprises: According to the number of medical instruments needing to collect video signals in the medical treatment site, the number of video encoders is set; wherein the number of video encoders is less than the number of medical instruments, and the medical instruments comprise: devices that directly or indirectly act on the human body and form video signals; The medical instruments needing to collect video signals are respectively connected with the video signal collection interfaces of the corresponding video encoders; wherein one video encoder has one or more video signal collection interfaces, and one video encoder is connected with one or more medical instruments, and the video encoder and the medical instruments are arranged in the medical treatment site together; The video encoder collects video signals from the medical instruments connected therewith, and encodes the collected video signals to obtain video encoding signals; The video encoder stores the video encoding signals as video contents of the pull stream service; The medical video equipment in the medical treatment site obtains the video encoding signals based on the pull stream service provided by each video encoder, and publishes video streams for the remote medical terminal equipment based on the video encoding signals.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, According to the number of medical instruments needing to collect video signals in the medical treatment site, the number of video encoders is set, which comprises: The number of video signal collection interfaces of the medical video equipment in the medical treatment site is determined; According to the difference between the number of medical instruments needing to collect video signals in the medical treatment site and the number of video signal collection interfaces of the medical video equipment, and the number of video signal collection interfaces of the video encoders, the number of video encoders is set; And the medical instruments needing to collect video signals are respectively connected with the video signal collection interfaces of the corresponding video encoders, which comprises: The medical instruments needing to collect video signals are connected with the video signal collection interfaces of the medical video equipment; The remaining medical instruments needing to collect video signals are respectively connected with the video signal collection interfaces of the corresponding video encoders.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The video encoder collects video signals from the medical instruments connected therewith, and encodes the collected video signals to obtain video encoding signals, which comprises: For any video encoder, if the video encoder is connected with multiple medical instruments, the video encoder independently encodes each video signal collected from each medical instrument connected therewith, thereby obtaining multiple video encoding signals.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, The video encoder stores the video encoding signals as video contents of the pull stream service, which comprises: The video encoder stores the video encoding signals in the memory according to the locally preset pull stream service address; And the medical video equipment obtains the video encoding signals based on the pull stream service provided by each video encoder, which comprises: The medical video equipment accesses each video encoder based on the real-time streaming protocol, the secure reliable transmission protocol or the flash video protocol according to the locally preset pull stream service address corresponding to each video encoder, and obtains the video encoding signals stored by each video encoder.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein, The medical videoconferencing device publishes the video stream to the remote medical terminal device based on the video coding signals. The medical videoconferencing device encodes the video coding signals to obtain a video stream and publishes the video stream to the remote medical terminal device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The medical videoconferencing device encodes the video coding signals to obtain a video stream, comprising: The medical videoconferencing device decodes the video coding signals respectively, and encodes the video signals collected by itself and the video signals obtained by decoding to obtain a video stream according to a screen layout.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The method further comprises: The medical videoconferencing device collects the video signals of the medical treatment site through a camera and a microphone; The medical videoconferencing device collects the video signals of the medical treatment site through a camera and a microphone; The medical videoconferencing device collects the video signals of the medical treatment site through a camera and a microphone; 8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, The medical videoconferencing device collects the video signals of the medical treatment site through a camera and a microphone; The medical videoconferencing device publishes the video stream to the video conference it joins; The remote medical terminal device obtains the video stream by joining the video conference and decodes the video stream to display the decoded video signals.

9. A system for enabling telemedicine, characterized by The system comprises at least one video encoder, a medical videoconferencing device, and at least one remote medical terminal device, wherein the video encoder and the medical videoconferencing device are arranged in a medical treatment site, each video encoder has one or more video signal collection interfaces, each video encoder is connected to one or more medical instruments in the medical treatment site through its own video signal collection interface, the number of video encoders is less than the number of medical instruments in the medical treatment site, and the number of video encoders is determined according to the number of medical instruments in the medical treatment site, and the medical instruments comprise devices that directly or indirectly act on the human body and form video signals. The video encoder and the medical instruments are arranged in the medical treatment site, and the video encoder comprises: A first collection module for collecting video signals from the medical instruments connected to the video encoder; An encoding module for encoding the video signals collected by the first collection module to obtain video coding signals and storing the video coding signals as video content of a pull stream service; A pull stream service module for providing a pull stream service for the medical videoconferencing device based on the stored video coding signals. The medical videoconferencing device comprises: A first acquisition module for obtaining the video coding signals based on the pull stream services provided by the pull stream service modules of the video encoders; A publishing module for publishing a video stream to the remote medical terminal device based on the video coding signals obtained by the first acquisition module.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein, The medical video device has one or more video signal acquisition interfaces, and the number of the video encoders is determined according to the difference between the number of the medical instruments needing to acquire video signals in the medical treatment site and the number of the video signal acquisition interfaces of the medical video device, and the number of the video signal acquisition interfaces of the video encoders; the medical video device is connected with part of the medical instruments needing to acquire video signals in the medical treatment site through the video signal acquisition interfaces of the medical video device, and the video encoders are connected with the rest of the medical instruments needing to acquire video signals in the medical treatment site; The medical video device further comprises: The second acquisition module is configured to acquire video signals from the medical instruments connected with the medical video device.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein, The publishing module comprises: The first sub-module is configured to perform screen mixing encoding on the video encoded signals obtained by the first acquisition module to obtain a video stream; The second sub-module is configured to publish the video stream obtained by the first sub-module to the remote medical terminal device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein, The first sub-module comprises: The decoding unit is configured to decode the video encoded signals obtained by the first acquisition module respectively; The screen mixing encoding unit is configured to perform screen mixing encoding on the video signals acquired by the medical video device itself and the video signals obtained by decoding the video encoded signals by the decoding unit according to a screen layout to obtain a video stream.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein, The medical video device comprises a camera and a microphone, and the medical video device further comprises: The third acquisition module is configured to acquire video signals of the medical treatment site by the camera and the microphone; The screen mixing encoding unit is configured to perform screen mixing encoding on the video signals of the medical instruments acquired by the second acquisition module and the video signals of the medical treatment site acquired by the third acquisition module together with the video signals obtained by decoding the video encoded signals by the decoding unit according to a screen layout to obtain a video stream.

14. The system of claim 12 or 13, wherein, The second sub-module is configured to publish the video stream obtained by the screen mixing encoding unit to the video conference in which the medical video device is joined; The remote medical terminal device comprises: The second acquisition module is configured to acquire the video stream published by the second sub-module through the video conference in which the remote medical terminal device is joined; The decoding module is configured to decode the video stream acquired by the second acquisition module; The picture display module is configured to display the video signals decoded by the decoding module.

15. A computer readable storage medium, the storage medium storing a computer program, the computer program being configured to execute the method of any one of claims 1-8.

16. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising: a processor; a memory configured to store executable instructions for the processor; the processor is configured to read the executable instructions from the memory and execute the instructions to implement the method of any one of claims 1-8.

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