Context-based user interface to medical database

Abstract

To provide a system and a method with a user interface to a medical database in which information selection criteria from previous queries are used in a current query, without requiring a user to repeat the previous information selection criteria.SOLUTION: In a medical database query system 400, a user interface 402 to a medical database 306 is configured to store context information from previous queries 414, 416 and use the context information as part of information selection criteria for a current query 412 without requiring the users 310 to fully specify the information selection criteria in each query. The context information is automatically stored in a second database 424 as profiles 418, 420, 422, for each user 310, for each user group, and optionally for each institution to which the user 310 belongs.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to Related Applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 458,093, entitled "Context - Based User Interface to Medical Database," filed on June 30, 2019, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

[0002] Technical Field The present invention relates to a user interface to a database, and more particularly, to a user interface to a medical database in which information selection criteria from a previous query are used in a current query without the user having to repeat previous information selection criteria.

Background Art

[0003] Related Art Many patients are connected to medical devices either temporarily or for longer periods. For example, a person who has had a heart attack may have a heart pump temporarily implanted to reduce the load on the patient's heart while the heart is recovering. A heart monitor, blood pressure monitor, infusion pump, and many other types of medical devices can be connected to a patient over a long period, such as while the patient is in the hospital. Remote monitoring systems, such as the Impella Connect remote monitoring system available from Abiomed, Inc. of Danvers, Massachusetts, enable clinicians and others to remotely monitor such medical devices. However, when a large number of medical devices are dispersed among a large number of medical institutions, it may be difficult for a clinician to easily specify a single medical device, patient or institution of interest, or a combination of medical devices, patients, and / or institutions of interest.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] Summary of Aspects One aspect of the present invention provides a medical database query system. The medical database query system is available to a plurality of users. Each user is associated with at least one user group.

[0005] The first database of the medical database query system is configured to store information regarding at least one of (a) a plurality of medical devices, (b) a plurality of medical institutions, and (c) a plurality of patients. Each medical device is configured for connection to respective patients. Each medical institution is configured to admit patients and accommodate medical devices configured for connection to respective patients. Information regarding the plurality of patients includes information regarding the medical institution in which each patient is currently admitted and information regarding the medical device to which each patient is currently connected.

[0006] The human user interface is configured to receive a series of requests from the user. Each request includes a request for information from the database. Each request includes respective information selection criteria.

[0007] The second database is configured to store corresponding user profile information for each user and corresponding group profile information for each user group.

[0008] The user profiler is configured to store, in the second database, the information selection criteria of at least some of the series of requests in association with the user who made those at least some of the requests, thereby augmenting the user profile information of the user.

[0009] The group profiler is configured to store, in a second database, the information selection criteria for each such request in association with at least one group associated with the user who made at least some of the series of requests, thereby augmenting the group profile information for the at least one group, in response to at least some of the series of requests.

[0010] The database query engine is configured to search a first database. The search is based on a combination of (a) the information selection criteria from the most recent request of a series of requests, (b) at least one information selection criterion from the user profile information corresponding to the user who made the most recent request, and (c) at least one information selection criterion from the group profile information corresponding to the group associated with the user who made the most recent request.

[0011] The database response engine is configured to provide the user with the results returned by the database query engine.

[0012] Optionally, in any aspect, each user may be associated with an organization. In such an aspect, the second database is further configured to store, for each organization, the corresponding organization profile information. Such an aspect also includes an organization profiler. The organization profiler is configured to store, in a second database, the information selection criteria for each such request in association with the organization associated with the user who made at least some of the series of requests, thereby augmenting the organization profile information for that organization, in response to at least some of the series of requests. In this aspect, the combination (the database query engine being configured to search the first database based on the combination) includes (d) at least one information selection criterion from the organization profile information corresponding to the organization associated with the user who made the most recent request.

[0013] Optionally, any aspect may include a user log-on module configured to automatically identify a user based on respective information selection criteria for a subset of a series of requests.

[0014] Optionally, in any aspect having a user log-on module, the user log-on module may be further configured to automatically identify a group associated with the user based on respective information selection criteria for a subset of a series of requests.

[0015] Optionally, in any aspect having a user log-on module, the user log-on module may be further configured to automatically identify an institution associated with the user based on respective information selection criteria for a subset of a series of requests.

[0016] Optionally, in any aspect having a user log-on module, the user log-on module may be further configured to automatically query a third database. The third database may be configured to store information about a plurality of users, including an estimated current location of each user. The third database may be further configured to store information about a plurality of user groups, including an estimated current location of each group. The user log-on module may be further configured to automatically compare the estimated current location of the user with the estimated current location of at least one of the plurality of groups and identify the group associated with the user based on a match between the estimated current location of the user and the estimated current location of at least one of the plurality of groups.

[0017] Optionally, in any aspect having a third database, the third database may include a calendar database configured to store information about a plurality of meetings, including a location of each meeting, a time of each meeting, and a list of participants in each meeting.

[0018] Optionally, in any embodiment having a user log-on module, to identify a group associated with a user, the user log-on module may be configured to automatically analyze the title of the current meeting of a plurality of meetings in which the user is a participant.

[0019] Optionally, in any embodiment having a user log-on module, to identify a group associated with a user, the user log-on module may be configured to automatically identify at least one participant other than the user in a list of participants in the current meeting in which the user is also a participant among a plurality of meetings.

[0020] Optionally, in any embodiment having a third database, the third database may include an email database configured to store a plurality of electronic messages including the subject line and recipient list of each electronic message.

[0021] Optionally, in any embodiment having a user log-on module, to identify a group associated with a user, the user log-on module may be configured to automatically analyze the distribution list of an electronic message among a plurality of electronic messages.

[0022] Optionally, in any embodiment having a user log-on module, to identify a group associated with a user, the user log-on module may be configured to automatically analyze the subject line of an electronic message among a plurality of electronic messages.

[0023] Optionally, in any embodiment having a user log-on module, to identify a group associated with a user, the user log-on module may be configured to automatically identify at least one recipient in the recipient list of an electronic message among a plurality of electronic messages.

[0024] Optionally, in any embodiment having a third database, the third database may be configured to store an estimated current location of a user based on information from a wireless access point to which a wireless mobile device registered for the user is currently wirelessly connected.

[0025] Optionally, in any embodiment having a third database, the third database is configured to store an estimated current location of a user based on information from a wireless access point to which a wireless mobile device registered for the user is currently wirelessly connected, and to store an estimated current location of a group based on information from at least one wireless access point to which each wireless mobile device registered for each user associated with the group is currently wirelessly connected.

[0026] Optionally, in any embodiment, a human user interface may include an audio user interface and / or a graphical user interface and / or a text user interface.

[0027] Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for querying a medical database. The medical database is accessible by a plurality of users. The method is usable by the plurality of users. Each user is associated with at least one user group.

[0028] A first database is provided. The first database is configured to store information regarding at least one of (a) a plurality of medical devices, (b) a plurality of medical institutions, and (c) a plurality of patients. Each medical device is configured for connection to a respective patient. Each medical institution is configured to admit patients and to house medical devices configured for connection to respective patients. Information regarding the plurality of patients includes information regarding the medical institution in which each patient is currently admitted and information regarding the medical device to which each patient is currently connected.

[0029] A series of requests are received from a user via a human user interface. Each request includes a request for information from a database. Each request includes respective information selection criteria.

[0030] A second database is provided. The second database is configured to store corresponding user profile information for each user and corresponding group profile information for each user group.

[0031] In response to at least some of the series of requests, the information selection criteria for each such request are stored in the second database in association with the user who made those at least some requests, thereby augmenting the user's user profile information.

[0032] In response to at least some of the series of requests, the information selection criteria for each such request are stored in the second database in association with at least one group associated with the user who made those at least some requests, thereby augmenting the group profile information of the at least one group.

[0033] The first database is searched based on a combination of (a) the information selection criteria from the most recent request of the series of requests, (b) at least one information selection criteria from the user profile information corresponding to the user who made the most recent request, and (c) at least one information selection criteria from the group profile information corresponding to the group associated with the user who made the most recent request.

[0034] The results returned as a result of the search of the first database are provided to the user.

[0035] Optionally, in any aspect, each user may be associated with an institution. In such an aspect, the second database is further configured to store corresponding institution profile information for each institution. In such an aspect, in response to at least some of a series of requests, the information selection criteria for each request are stored in the second database in association with the institution associated with the user who made at least some of those requests, thereby augmenting the institution profile information for that institution. Additionally, the combination upon which the first database is searched includes (d) at least one information selection criterion from the institution profile information corresponding to the institution associated with the user who made the most recent request.

[0036] Optionally, in any aspect, a user may be automatically identified based on the respective information selection criteria of a subset of a series of requests.

[0037] Optionally, in any aspect, a group associated with a user may be automatically identified based on the respective information selection criteria of a subset of a series of requests.

[0038] Optionally, in any aspect, an institution associated with a user may be automatically identified based on the respective information selection criteria of a subset of a series of requests.

[0039] Optionally, in any aspect, a third database may be queried. The third database may be configured to store information regarding a plurality of users and a plurality of user groups. The information regarding the plurality of users includes the estimated current location of each user. The information regarding the plurality of user groups includes the estimated current location of each group. The estimated current location of a user may be compared to the estimated current location of at least one of the plurality of groups. A group associated with a user may be identified based at least in part on a match between the estimated current location of the user and the estimated current location of at least one of the plurality of groups.

[0040] Optionally, in any aspect having a third database, the third database may include a calendar database configured to store information regarding a plurality of meetings, including, for each meeting, the location of the meeting, the time of the meeting, and a list of participants in the meeting.

[0041] Optionally, in any aspect, the step of identifying a group associated with a user may include automatically analyzing the title of the current meeting in which the user is a participant among a plurality of meetings.

[0042] Optionally, in any aspect, the step of identifying a group associated with a user may include automatically identifying at least one participant other than the user in the list of participants in the current meeting in which the user is also a participant among a plurality of meetings.

[0043] Optionally, in any aspect having a third database, the third database may include an email database configured to store a plurality of email messages, including, for each email message, the subject of the email message and the recipient list.

[0044] Optionally, in any aspect, the step of identifying a group associated with a user may include automatically analyzing the distribution list of a certain email message among a plurality of email messages.

[0045] Optionally, in any aspect, the step of identifying a group associated with a user may include automatically analyzing the subject of a certain email message among a plurality of email messages.

[0046] Optionally, in any aspect, the step of identifying a group associated with a user may include identifying at least one recipient in the recipient list of a certain email message among a plurality of email messages.

[0047] Optionally, in any embodiment having a third database, the third database may be configured to store an estimated current location of a user based on information from a wireless access point to which a wireless mobile device registered to the user is currently wirelessly connected.

[0048] Optionally, in any embodiment having a third database, the third database may be configured to store an estimated current location of a user and an estimated current location of a group. The estimated current location of the user may be based on information from a wireless access point to which a wireless mobile device registered to the user is currently wirelessly connected. The estimated current location of the group may be based on information from at least one wireless access point to which each wireless mobile device registered to each user associated with the group is currently wirelessly connected.

[0049] Optionally, in any embodiment, the human user interface may include an audio user interface and / or a graphical user interface and / or a text user interface.

[0050] Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The medium is encoded with instructions. When executed by a processor, the instructions establish a process for performing a computer-implemented method for querying a medical database usable by a plurality of users. Each user is associated with at least one user group. The process includes the following.

[0051] A process configured to access a first database. The first database is configured to store information regarding at least one of (a) a plurality of medical devices, (b) a plurality of medical institutions, and (c) a plurality of patients. Each medical device is configured for connection to respective patients. Each medical institution is configured to admit patients and to accommodate medical devices configured for connection to respective patients. Information regarding the plurality of patients includes information regarding the medical institution in which each patient is currently admitted and information regarding the medical device to which each patient is currently connected.

[0052] A human user interface configured to receive a series of requests from a user. Each request includes a request for information from the database. Each request includes respective information selection criteria.

[0053] A second database. The second database is configured to store corresponding user profile information for each user and corresponding group profile information for each user group.

[0054] A user profiler. The user profiler is configured to store, in response to at least some of the series of requests, the information selection criteria of each such request in the second database in association with the user who made those at least some of the requests, thereby augmenting the user profile information of the user.

[0055] A group profiler. The group profiler is configured to store, in response to at least some of the series of requests, the information selection criteria of each such request in the second database in association with at least one group associated with the user who made those at least some of the requests, thereby augmenting the group profile information of the at least one group.

[0056] Database query engine. The database query engine is configured to search a first database based on a combination of (a) an information selection criterion from the latest request among a series of requests, (b) at least one information selection criterion from user profile information corresponding to the user who made the latest request, and (c) at least one information selection criterion from group profile information corresponding to a group associated with the user who made the latest request.

[0057] Database response engine. The database response engine is configured to provide the results returned by the database query engine to the user.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0058] The present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description of specific embodiments in conjunction with the drawings.

[0059]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0060] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC ASPECTS Aspects of the present invention provide a user interface to a medical database. The user interface stores context information from previous queries and uses the context information as part of the information selection criteria for the current query, thereby reducing the user's burden in identifying the information the user wishes to receive, and thereby allowing the user to focus on narrowing down or clarifying the type of information the user is seeking.

[0061] The aspects summarized above and described in further detail below have the effect of improving the accuracy of a database query system in providing information requested by a user without the user having to completely specify the information in each query. Each user query includes at least one information selection criterion. This information selection criterion is used to select information from the database. However, these aspects automatically create and utilize a user profile that stores the information selection criteria previously entered by each user in previous queries. In response to the current user query, the aspects combine (a) the information selection criteria entered by the user in the current query with (b) one or more information selection criteria previously entered by the user and stored in the user profile to form a more specific information selection criterion. The more specific information selection criterion is used to select information from the database. The selected information is then provided to the user. Thus, these aspects utilize the context provided by the user's most recent query to select information from the database.

[0062] Each user is a member of at least one group and is thus associated with at least one group. Examples of groups include doctors who care for a specific patient, doctors who belong to a specific medical practice or clinic, nurses assigned to a specific floor or ward of a hospital, technicians who maintain medical equipment, administrators who belong to a specific hospital, and technical support staff who belong to a specific medical device manufacturer. These aspects also automatically create and utilize a group profile that stores information selection criteria entered by users of each group in previous inquiries. In response to a current user inquiry, the aspects combine, to form more specific information selection criteria, (a) the information selection criteria entered by the user in the current inquiry, (b) one or more information selection criteria previously entered by the user and stored in the user profile, (c) one or more information selection criteria previously entered by users within the same group as the user and stored in the group profile.

[0063] Optionally, each user is associated with an institution, e.g., a hospital that employs the user or has granted the user admission. Other examples of institutions include manufacturers of medical devices and research institutions such as universities. Some aspects automatically create and utilize an institution profile that stores information selection criteria entered by users associated with each institution in previous inquiries. In response to a current user inquiry, these aspects combine, to form more specific information selection criteria, (a) the information selection criteria entered by the user in the current inquiry, (b) one or more information selection criteria previously entered by the user and stored in the user profile, (c) one or more information selection criteria previously entered by users within the same group as the user and stored in the group profile, (d) one or more information selection criteria previously entered by users associated with the same institution as the user and stored in the institution profile.

[0064] Therefore, the above-described other aspects provide database information that more accurately meets the user's needs without imposing on the user the burden of completely specifying each query. These aspects are based on the assumption that a human user typically does not initially know how to completely specify a query and instead makes a series of gradually narrowing queries, a series of gradually broadening queries, or a series of queries with constantly changing focus until the user clarifies the query to meet their needs. In many cases, the user does not know in advance what information they need and instead basically tries their query until information that seems useful is presented. Sometimes, doubts arise from the information returned in response to the query, which may cause the user to make different but related queries.

[0065] These aspects utilize the fact that in a series of queries by the user, at least some of the information selection criteria are likely to be the same or similar between queries. Therefore, the context defined by the first query in a series of queries can be inferred and carried over to subsequent queries, and the user can focus on narrowing or broadening the scope of their query rather than repeating all the information selection criteria previously entered.

[0066] Group profiles and institutional profiles reduce the user's burden when specifying the information the user wants to receive by taking advantage of similarities between possible inquiries by users who are members of the group and users associated with a common institution. Some aspects automatically determine the user's current group membership based on the user's automatically determined current physical location. For example, if a user is physically proximate to other users in a group, such as in a conference room, these aspects may presume that the user is currently a member of the group that includes the other users in the conference room. The user's current physical location can be inferred by these aspects from a conference calendar, the user's mobile device, such as signals received by a wireless access point from a phone, tablet, laptop computer, or other available information.

[0067] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary conventional medical device controller 100, and an exemplary conventional implantable medical device 102 coupled to the medical device controller 100, which in this example is a heart pump. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the medical device controller 100 is an Automated Impella Controller™ available from Abiomed, Inc. of Danvers, Massachusetts, and the heart pump 102 is an Impella® 2.5 heart pump also available from Abiomed, Inc., although any suitable medical device and controller may be used.

[0068] A medical device can be connectable to a patient, for example, by implanting the medical device into the patient or by connecting the medical device to the patient via, for example, wires, straps, light beams, etc. For example, an automatic blood pressure cuff (not shown) is a medical device that can be connected to a patient via a strap. In another example, an electrocardiograph (not shown) is a medical device that can be connected to a patient via wires.

[0069] The medical device controller 100 and any associated medical devices are collectively referred to herein as the medical device 104. In some cases, the medical device and its associated medical device controller are connected. Such connected items are also simply referred to herein as the medical device 104.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 2, each medical device 104, in this case the heart monitor 200, is configured for connection to its respective patient 202. The medical institution 204, represented here as a hospital, is configured to admit patients such as patient 202 and house medical devices 104 such as the heart monitor 200. Other examples of medical institutions 204 include clinics, infirmaries, medical research facilities, and medical device manufacturers.

[0071] Returning to FIG. 1, the medical device controller 100 may include a display screen 106 for displaying operating data regarding the medical device 102, such as heart signal level, battery temperature, blood flow rate, and tubing integrity, to the medical device controller 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the medical device controller 100 may be connected to a computer network and thereby transmit the operating data to a remote data server.

[0072] FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the main components of a data storage and acquisition system 300 for collecting, storing, and retrieving operation data related to medical devices from the medical devices represented by the exemplary medical device 104. Although three medical devices 104 are shown, other numbers of medical devices 104 may be used. All of the medical devices 104 may be located in a single medical institution 204, or the medical devices 104 may be distributed across several medical institutions 204. Each medical device 104 may be connectable to a computer network 302, but this is not necessarily the case. Each network-connectable medical device 104 is configured to automatically and repeatedly capture status information regarding the medical device itself 104 and transmit a message including the status information to a data server 304 that stores the status information in a database 306 via the computer network 302. A monitoring station, exemplified by the monitoring station 308, can request information from the database 306 via the data server 304 and display this information to a user represented by the user 310. An exemplary user 310 group 312 is also shown in dashed lines.

[0073] The monitoring station 308 can also function as a console, in which case the monitoring station / console 308 can be used by the user 310 to manually enter information into the database 306. In addition, some medical devices 104 may also include a user interface for the user 310 to enter information to be stored in the database 306. For example, when a heart pump (FIG. 1) is implanted in a patient 202, patient information such as the patient's name, the name of the medical institution 204 such as the hospital where the patient 202 was admitted, the room number, the identifier of the user authorized to access information regarding the patient 202, the identification of the medical device 104 connected to the patient 202, the medical institution 204 housing the medical device 104, or where the patient 202 was admitted, etc. may be entered and stored in the database 306 by the data server 304 regarding this.

[0074] Therefore, the database 306 stores information about the medical device 104. Specifically, the database 306 is configured to store information regarding at least one of (a) a plurality of medical devices 104, (b) a plurality of medical institutions 204, and (c) a plurality of patients 202. The information regarding the medical device 104 includes information regarding the medical institution 204 in which each of the patients 202 is currently admitted and information regarding the medical device 104 to which each of the patients 202 is currently connected. The information regarding the patient 202 includes information regarding the medical institution 204 in which each of the patients 202 is currently admitted and information regarding the medical device 104 to which each of the patients 202 is currently connected.

[0075] Although FIG. 3 shows a single database 306, several sub-databases may be used, such as one sub-database for each medical institution 204 or for each administrative jurisdiction such as Europe, Japan, the United States, etc. Thus, for example, separate sub-databases may be used to store information regarding patients 202 admitted to each medical institution 204 and / or information regarding medical devices 104 housed in each medical institution 204. That said, these sub-databases are collectively referred to herein as the database 306.

[0076] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a medical database inquiry system 400 according to one aspect of the present invention. The medical database inquiry system 400 includes the database 306 shown in FIG. 3 and makes an inquiry thereto.

[0077] The human user interface 402 is configured to receive a series of requests 404 from the user 310. Although one human user interface 402 and one user 310 are shown, the medical database query system 400 can include any number of human user interfaces 402 and can be used by any number of users 310. For example, each monitoring station / console 308 (FIG. 3) can include a human user interface 402. Returning to FIG. 4, the human user interface 402 can include any combination of a voice user interface 406, a graphical user interface 408, and / or a text-based user interface 410.

[0078] Each request of the series of requests 404 is a request for information from the database 306. Each request of the series of requests 404 includes at least one respective information selection criterion. Examples of information selection criteria include selection criteria that specify a particular patient 202 by patient name or medical identification number (MIN), or a particular medical institution 204 by name or identification number, or a particular medical device 104 by serial number, manufacturer, function, type, etc. Exemplary queries are "Show information about patient Bob Smith" and "Show information about Impella heart pump, serial number 179078".

[0079] Each request of the series of requests 404 can include a combination of information selection criteria. For example, "Show information about patient Bob Smith at ABC Hospital", etc. Some requests specify a single patient 202, medical device 104, and / or medical institution 204, but requests can specify multiple patients 202, multiple medical devices 104, and / or multiple medical institutions 204. For example, "Show all heart pumps at ABC Hospital" and "Show all heart pumps in an alarm state", etc.

[0080] As a result of obtaining information about a group of patients 202, a medical device 104, and / or a medical institution 204, the user 310 may want to narrow down or clarify a search. For example, after asking the system 400 to "show all heart pumps in ABC Hospital," the user 310 may want to see information only about heart pumps in ABC Hospital that are in an alarm state or only about heart pumps that have been implanted for more than a specified time. Thus, in a subsequent request, the user 310 may ask the system 400 to "show alarms" or "show grafts longer than two days." In the context of previous requests such as previous request 414 or previous request 416, the medical database query system 400 uses the most recent request 412 among a series of requests 404 to construct selection criteria for querying the medical database 306 to satisfy the user 310's most recent request 412. Thus, the user queries, "show alarms" and "show grafts longer than two days" can be implemented by the medical database query system 400 as "show all heart pumps in ABC Hospital in an alarm state" and "show all heart pumps in ABC Hospital implanted for more than two days," respectively.

[0081] The medical database query system 400 stores user profiles 418, group profiles 420, and optionally institution profiles 422 in a second database 424. Each user profile 418 includes information selection criteria from some of the previous requests 414-416 made by the user 310. The second database 424 is configured to store corresponding user profile information for each user 310. Similarly, the second database 424 is configured to store corresponding group profile information for each group and optionally corresponding institution profile information for each medical institution.

[0082] In response to the user 310 making a request 412, the user profiler 426 stores the (one or more) information selection criteria of the most recent request 412 in the second database 424 and associates the (one or more) information selection criteria with the user 310 who made the request 412. Thus, over time, as the user makes a series of requests 404, the user profiler 426 augments the user profile information 418 of the user 310.

[0083] Similarly, in response to the user 310 and other users making a request 412, the group profiler 428 stores the (one or more) information selection criteria of the most recent request 412 in the second database 424 and associates the (one or more) information selection criteria with the group of which the user 310 who made the request 412 is a member. Thus, over time, as the users within the group 312 make requests, the group profiler 428 augments the group profile information 420 of the group.

[0084] Similarly, in response to the user 310 or other users making a request 412, the organization profiler 430 stores the (one or more) information selection criteria of the most recent request 412 in the second database 424 and associates the (one or more) information selection criteria with the organization 204 to which the user 310 who made the request 412 belongs. Thus, over time, as the users belonging to the organization 204 make requests, the organization profiler 430 augments the organization profile information 422 of the organization.

[0085] As described above, the medical database query system 400 constructs selection criteria for querying the medical database 306 to satisfy the most recent request 412 of the series of requests 404 in the context of the previous requests 414-416. The database query engine 432 is configured to search the medical database 306 based on a combination of: (a) (one or more) information selection criteria from the most recent request 412; (b) at least one information selection criterion from the user profile information 418 corresponding to the user 310 who made the most recent request 412; (c) at least one information selection criterion from the group profile information 420 corresponding to the group 312 associated with the user 310 who made the most recent request 412; and optionally (d) at least one information selection criterion from the institutional profile information 422 corresponding to the institution 204 associated with the user 310 who made the most recent request 412.

[0086] The database response engine 434 is configured to provide the results returned by the database query engine 432 to the user 310. FIG. 5 shows an exemplary virtual result 500 returned by the database query engine 432 and displayed to the user 310 by one of the monitoring stations / consoles 308 (FIG. 3).

[0087] The membership of each user 310 in one or more groups 312 and / or affiliation with one or more institutions 204 can be represented by data stored in the database 424. This data can be input and maintained by an administrator via an administrative user interface (not shown).

[0088] However, optionally, the user log-on module 436 automatically identifies the user 310, the group 312 to which the user 310 is associated, and / or the institution 204 to which the user 310 is associated, based on, for example, information selection criteria within a subset of a series of requests 404 made by the user 310. One way to automatically identify the user 310 is to compare the information selection criteria within the subset of requests with the information selection criteria within the user profile 418. The user profile 418 that includes the information selection criteria that most closely match the information selection criteria within the subset of requests is assumed to be associated with the current user 310 and can thus be used to identify the current user 310.

[0089] Similarly, one way to automatically identify the group 312 of the current user 310 is to compare the information selection criteria within the subset of requests with the information selection criteria within the group profile 420. The group profile 420 that includes the information selection criteria that most closely match the information selection criteria within the subset of requests most recently made by the user 310 can be assumed to be associated with the current user 310.

[0090] Similarly, one way to automatically identify the institution 204 of the current user 310 is to compare the information selection criteria within the subset of requests with the information selection criteria within the institution profile 422. The institution profile 422 that includes the information selection criteria that most closely match the information selection criteria within the subset of requests most recently made by the user 310 can be assumed to be associated with the current user 310.

[0091] Another way to automatically identify the user 310 and / or the group 312 and / or the institution 204 with which the user 310 is associated is based on the current location of the user 310. In one aspect, the current or estimated location of the user 310 is compared with the estimated locations of several potential groups 312, and the group 312 to which the user 310 is closest can be assumed to be the group 312 with which the user 310 is currently associated. For example, if the user 310 is a member of several groups 312 and one of those groups 312, such as a compliance group, or a member of the compliance group is currently in a meeting in a particular conference room and the user 310 is scheduled to attend the meeting, the user 310 can be assumed to be in the meeting with the compliance group and thus currently a member of that group 312. Thus, to identify the group 312 associated with the user 310, the user log-on module 436 can automatically identify at least one participant other than the user 310 in the list of participants in the current meeting of which the user 310 is also a participant.

[0092] Similarly, if the user 310 belongs to several institutions 204, the current or estimated location of the user 310 can be compared with the locations of the several institutions 204, and the institution 204 to which the user 310 is closest can be assumed to be the institution 204 with which the user 310 is currently associated.

[0093] As schematically shown in FIG. 6, the user log-on module 436 can automatically estimate the current location of the user 310 and / or automatically identify the group 312 of which the user 310 is currently a member using the location database 600 and optionally other infrastructure. The location database 600 can be distinguished from the other databases 306 and 424, but it does not have to be. The location database 600 is configured to store information about the user 310 of the medical database query system 400, including the estimated current location of the user 310 for each user 310. The location database 600 is also configured to store information about a plurality of user groups 312, including the estimated current location of the group 312 for each group 312.

[0094] In some embodiments, the location database 600 includes a calendar database such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Exchange, Google Calendar database, etc. The calendar database stores information about a plurality of meetings. For each meeting, the calendar database stores the location of the meeting, the time of the meeting, and a list of participants in the meeting. Thus, calendar entries typically describe the participants (potential users 310) who are scheduled to meet together at a location. Often, calendar entries include a title or subject line that can be analyzed to infer identification information for a group of participants or the purpose of the meeting, and thus identification information for the group 312. Thus, if the current user 310 is listed as a participant in a currently ongoing meeting with other users 310 of the group 312 of which the current user 310 is a member, the user log-on module 436 can infer that the current user 310 is currently a member of the group 312.

[0095] Optionally or alternatively, the location database 600 includes an email database configured to store a plurality of electronic messages. For each electronic message, the email database stores the subject of the electronic message and the recipient list. To identify the group 312 associated with the current user 310, the user logon module 436 can automatically analyze the distribution list of the electronic message. The recipients of the electronic message can be assumed to be members of the group 312.

[0096] Optionally or alternatively, the user logon module 436 may use both the calendar database and the email database to identify the group 312 of which the current user 310 is a member. The user logon module 436 may require both electronic messages and calendar entries to identify the same group 312 before assuming that the current user 310 is a member of the group. Further, the user logon module 436 can automatically analyze the subject of the electronic message to find multiple electronic messages with common or similar subjects, and then concatenate the distribution lists of each electronic message. Optionally or alternatively, the user logon module 436 can automatically analyze the subject of the electronic message to find a subject similar to the meeting title or subject in the calendar, and correlate the electronic message with the meeting. The distribution list of the electronic message correlated with the attendees of the meeting can be used to increase the confidence that the presented group 312 is actually the group of which the user 310 is currently a member when the electronic message and the meeting have common or similar subjects or titles.

[0097] Thus, to identify the group associated with the user, the user logon module 436 can be configured to automatically analyze the subject of the electronic message and / or automatically identify at least one recipient in the recipient list of the electronic message.

[0098] If the physical location of user 310 can be independently estimated, i.e., if it is determined that user 310 is located inside the conference room or within a predetermined distance from the conference room, apart from the fact that user 310 is scheduled to attend the meeting, then user 310 is in a meeting with others in the conference room and can thus be assumed to be a member of that group 312 currently.

[0099] A calendar entry typically identifies the location of a meeting by means of a conference room name or other identifier. Since conference rooms are usually not mobile, the location database 600 can be provisioned with information regarding the physical location of each conference room. In that case, as schematically shown in FIG. 6, if the current physical location of user 310 can be independently estimated, i.e., if it is determined that user 310 is located inside the conference room or within a predetermined distance from the conference room, apart from the fact that user 310 is scheduled to attend the meeting, based on, for example, a WiFi signal transmitted by a mobile device carried by user 310, then user 310 is in a meeting with participants in the conference room and can thus be assumed to be a member of that group 312 currently. Optionally, the physical locations of other people within group 312 may also be independently estimated from respective WiFi signals transmitted by respective mobile devices carried by other members of group 312.

[0100] The location database 600 can be configured to store the estimated current location of user 310 based on information from wireless access points 602 to which wireless mobile devices, exemplified by mobile phone 604 and Wi-Fi-enabled laptop computer 606, registered to user 310, are currently wirelessly connected 608. The wireless access point 602 can be a Wi-Fi access point, a cellular phone base station, or any other type of wireless infrastructure facility capable of identifying and locating wireless mobile devices 604 - 606. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the wireless access point 602 is in proximity to wireless mobile devices 604 - 606 of user 310 as compared to other wireless access points, exemplified by wireless access points 610 and 612, to which wireless mobile devices 604 - 606 of user 310 could at least theoretically connect but are farther away, and thus establishes a wireless connection 608 with wireless mobile devices 604 - 606 of user 310.

[0101] Similarly, the location database 600 can be configured to store the estimated current locations of other users represented by users 614, 616, 618, and 620 based on information from wireless access points 602, 610 - 612 to which respective wireless mobile devices (not shown) registered to other users 614 - 620 are currently wirelessly connected. Users determined to be in proximity to each other by wireless access points 602, 610 - 612, for example, user 614 and user 616, can be assumed to be members of group 312 or at least candidates for membership in group 312 for the purposes of location database 600 while awaiting further clarification, such as access to the calendars and / or electronic messages of group 312 members, as described herein.

[0102] If it is known, for example, as a result of provisioning the location database 600 or provisioning the database 424 (FIG. 4), that at least some of the users 310 are members of the group 312, then, for the purposes of the location database 600, any set of users 310 who are members of a given group 312 and are simultaneously in proximity to each other within a predetermined distance can be considered to be meeting together for the purpose of automatically determining whether the current user 310 is in proximity to a meeting and thus is currently a member of the group 312.

[0103] Thus, the location database 600 can be configured to store an estimated current location of the group 312 based on information from at least one wireless access point 602 to which each of the wireless mobile devices registered for the users 614 - 616 associated with the group 312 is currently wirelessly connected.

[0104] Although the physical location of each user 310 is described as being determined automatically using wireless technology, wired computer network facilities may optionally or alternatively be used. For example, a wired router 622 may be used to estimate the location of a stationary computer 626 (or at least a stationary network connection) based on which port on the router 622 the computer 626 has established a network connection to.

[0105] Thus, the user logon module 436 can compare the estimated current location of the user 310 with the estimated current location of at least one group 312 of a plurality of groups and identify the group 312 associated with the user 310 based on a match between the estimated current location of the user 310 and the estimated current location of the at least one group 312.

[0106] FIG. 7 is a flowchart generally showing the operation of a medical database query system 300 implementing a method 700 for querying a medical database 306. The system 300 and method 700 are usable by a plurality of users 310. Each user 310 is associated with at least one group 312 of users 310.

[0107] At 702, a first database 306 is provided. The first database 306 is configured to store information regarding at least one of (a) a plurality of medical devices 104, (b) a plurality of medical institutions 204, and (c) a plurality of patients 202. Each medical device 104 is configured for connection to respective patients 202. Information regarding medical institutions 204 includes information regarding the medical institution 204 in which each respective patient 202 is currently admitted and information regarding the medical device 104 to which each respective patient 202 is currently connected. Each medical institution 204 is configured to admit patients 202 and to house medical devices 104 configured for connection to respective patients 202.

[0108] At 704, a series of requests 404 are received from the user 310 via the human user interfaces 406-410. Each request includes a request for information from the database 306. Each request includes respective information selection criteria. In some embodiments, the human user interface includes a voice user interface, a graphical user interface, and / or a text user interface.

[0109] At 706, a second database (profile database) 424 is provided. The second database 424 is configured to store corresponding user profile information 418 for each user 310 and corresponding group profile information 420 for each user 310 group 312.

[0110] At 708, in response to at least some of a series of requests 404, the information selection criteria for each such request are stored in a second database 424 in association with the user 310 who made those at least some requests, thereby augmenting the user profile information 418 of the user 310.

[0111] At 710, in response to at least some of a series of requests 404, the information selection criteria for each such request are stored in a second database 424 in association with at least one group 312 associated with the user 310 who made those at least some requests, thereby augmenting the group profile information 420 of the at least one group 312.

[0112] At 712, the first database 306 is searched based on a combination of (a) the information selection criteria from the most recent request 412 of a series of requests 404, (b) at least one information selection criterion from the user profile information 418 corresponding to the user 310 who made the most recent request 412, and (c) at least one information selection criterion from the group profile information 420 corresponding to the group 312 associated with the user 310 who made the most recent request 412.

[0113] At 714, the result 500 returned as a result of the search of the first database 306 is provided to the user 310.

[0114] Optionally, each user 310 may be associated with an institution 204. In this case, the second database 424 is further configured to store corresponding institutional profile information 422 for each institution 204. Optionally, at 716, in response to at least some of a series of requests 404, the information selection criteria for each request are stored in the second database 424 in association with the institution 204 associated with the user 310 who made those at least some of the requests, thereby augmenting the institutional profile information 422 of that institution 204. In this case, at 712, the combination on which the first database 306 is searched is also included, (d) at least one information selection criterion from the institutional profile information 422 corresponding to the institution 204 associated with the user 310 who made the most recent request 412.

[0115] FIG. 8 is a flowchart generally showing an operation 800 of any user log-on module 436 and any location database 600.

[0116] Optionally, at 802, the user 310 is automatically identified based on the respective information selection criteria of a subset of the series of requests 404.

[0117] Optionally, at 804, the group 312 associated with the user 310 is automatically identified based on the respective information selection criteria of a subset of the series of requests 404.

[0118] Optionally, at 806, the institution 204 associated with the user 310 is automatically identified based on the respective information selection criteria of a subset of the series of requests 404.

[0119] Optionally, at 808, a third database (location database) 600 is queried. The third database 600 is configured to store information about a plurality of users 310 and a plurality of groups 312. For each user, the third database 600 is configured to store the estimated current location of the user 310. For each group, the third database 600 is configured to store the estimated current location of the group 312. At 810, the estimated current location of the user 310 is compared with the estimated current location of at least one group 312 among the plurality of groups. At 812, the group 312 associated with the user 310 is identified based at least in part on a match between the estimated current location of the user 310 and the estimated current location of at least one group 312 among the plurality of groups.

[0120] As described above, the third database (location database) 600 may include a calendar database configured to store information about a plurality of meetings. For each meeting, the third database 600 stores the location of the meeting, the time of the meeting, and a list of participants in the meeting.

[0121] Optionally, at 814, the step of identifying the group 312 associated with the user 310 includes automatically parsing the title of the current meeting of which the user 310 is a participant among the plurality of meetings.

[0122] Optionally, at 816, the step of identifying the group 312 associated with the user 310 includes automatically identifying at least one participant other than the user 310 in the list of participants in the current meeting of which the user 310 is also a participant among the plurality of meetings.

[0123] As described above, the third database (location database) 600 may include an email database configured to store a plurality of email messages including the subject and recipient list of each email message.

[0124] Optionally, at 818, the step of identifying group 312 associated with user 310 includes automatically analyzing the distribution list of a certain electronic message among a plurality of electronic messages.

[0125] Optionally, at 820, the step of identifying group 312 associated with user 310 includes automatically analyzing the subject of a certain electronic message among a plurality of electronic messages.

[0126] Optionally, at 822, the step of identifying group 312 associated with user 310 includes identifying at least one recipient among the recipients of a certain electronic message among a plurality of electronic messages.

[0127] The third database (location database) 600 can be configured to store the estimated current location of user 310 based on information from wireless access point 602 to which wireless mobile devices 604 to 606 registered for user 310 are currently wirelessly connected 608.

[0128] Optionally, the third database (location database) 600 is configured to store the estimated current location of user 310 based on information from wireless access point 602 to which wireless mobile devices 604 to 606 registered for user 310 are currently wirelessly connected 608. In addition, the third database (location database) 600 can be configured to store the estimated current location of group 312 based on information from at least one wireless access point 602 to which the respective wireless mobile devices registered for the respective users 614 to 616 associated with group 312 are currently wirelessly connected.

[0129] Although the present invention has been described through the above exemplary embodiments, modifications and variations of the exemplary embodiments can be made without departing from the inventive concept disclosed herein. For example, specific parameter values such as dimensions and materials may be described in relation to the disclosed embodiments within the scope of the present invention, but the values of all parameters can vary widely to suit various applications. Unless specifically indicated in the context or understood by those skilled in the art, terms such as "about" mean within ±20%.

[0130] As used herein, including in the claims, the term "and / or" when used in connection with a list of items means one or more of the items in the list, i.e., at least one of the items in the list, but not necessarily all of the items in the list. As used herein, including in the claims, the term "or" when used in connection with a list of items means one or more of the items in the list, i.e., at least one of the items in the list, but not necessarily all of the items in the list. "Or" does not mean "exclusive OR".

[0131] Aspects of the embodiments may be described with respect to flowcharts and / or block diagrams. However, all or part of the functions, operations, decisions, etc. of each block, or combination of blocks, may be combined, separated into separate operations, or performed in a different order. References to "modules" are for convenience only and are not intended to limit their implementation. All or part of each block, module, or combination thereof may be implemented as computer program instructions (such as software), hardware (such as combinational logic, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), processor or other hardware), firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0132] The medical database query system 400, or a portion thereof, may be implemented by one or more processors that execute instructions stored in memory or are controlled by instructions. Each processor may, as needed, be a general-purpose processor such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a dedicated processor, or the like, or a combination thereof.

[0133] The memory may be a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, or any other memory, or a combination thereof, suitable for storing control software or other instructions and data. The instructions defining the functions of the present invention can be in many forms including information permanently stored on a tangible non-transitory non-writable storage medium (e.g., a read-only memory device in a computer such as a ROM, or a device readable by a computer I / O attachment such as a CD-ROM or DVD disk), information changeably stored on a tangible non-transitory writable storage medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a removable flash memory, and a hard drive), or information transmitted to a computer via a communication medium including a wired or wireless computer network, and can be sent to the processor. Further, although aspects may be described in connection with various exemplary data structures, the system can be embodied using various data structures.

[0134] Aspects of the disclosure, or portions thereof, may be combined in ways not described above and / or not explicitly claimed. Additionally, the aspects disclosed herein may be appropriately implemented without elements not specifically disclosed herein. Accordingly, the present invention should not be regarded as limited to the disclosed aspects.

[0135] As used herein, numerical terms such as "first", "second", and "third" are used to distinguish respective databases from one another and are not intended to indicate a particular order or total number of databases in a particular aspect. Thus, for example, a given aspect may include only a second database and a third database.

Claims

1. A first database (306) configured to store information regarding each medical institution (204) in which each patient (202) is currently hospitalized and information regarding each medical device (104) to which each patient (202) is currently connected, (a) a plurality of medical devices, each medical device (104) being configured for connection to respective patients (202); (b) a plurality of medical institutions, each medical institution (204) being configured to admit patients (202) and to house medical devices (104) configured for connection to respective patients (202); and (c) a plurality of patients (202), A human user interface (402) configured to receive a series of requests (404) from a user (310), each request (412-416) being a request for information from the first database (306) and each request (412-416) including respective information selection criteria, A second database (424) configured to store corresponding user profile information (418) for each user (310) and corresponding group profile information (420) for each group (312) of users (310), A user profiler (426) configured to store, in the second database (424), in association with the user (310) who made at least some of the series of requests (404), the information selection criteria of each such request (412) in response to at least some of the series of requests (404), thereby augmenting the user profile information (426) of the user (310), A group profiler (428) configured to store, in the second database (424), in association with at least one group (312) associated with the user (310) who made at least some of the series of requests (404), the information selection criteria of each such request (412) in response to at least some of the series of requests (404), thereby augmenting the group profile information (420) of the at least one group (312), A database query engine (432) configured to search the first database (306) based on a combination of (a) an information selection criterion from the latest claim (412) among the series of claims (404), (b) at least one information selection criterion from the user profile information (418) corresponding to the user (310) who made the latest claim (412), and (c) at least one information selection criterion from the group profile information (420) corresponding to the group (312) associated with the user (310) who made the latest claim (412), A database response engine (434) configured to provide the result (500) returned by the database query engine (432) to the user (310) A medical database query system (400) usable by a plurality of users, wherein each user (310) is associated with at least one user group. **Claim 2** Each user (310) is associated with an institution (204), The second database (424) is further configured to store corresponding institution profile information (422) for each institution (204), The system (400) In response to at least some of the series of claims (404) (claims 412, 414, 416), an institution profiler (430) configured to store the information selection criteria of such each claim (412, 414, 416) in the second database (424) in association with the institution (204) associated with the user (310) who made the at least some of the claims (412, 414, 416), thereby augmenting the institution profile information (422) of the institution (204). Further comprising The combination (wherein the database query engine (432) is configured to search the first database (306) based on the combination) includes (d) at least one information selection criterion from the institution profile information (422) corresponding to the institution (204) associated with the user (310) who made the latest claim (412). The medical database query system (400) according to claim 1. **Claim 3** The medical database query system (400) according to claim 1, further comprising a user log-on module (436) configured to automatically identify the user (310) based on each of the information selection criteria of the subset of the series of requests (404).

4. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 3, wherein the user log-on module (436) is further configured to automatically identify the group (312) associated with the user (310) based on each of the information selection criteria of the subset of the series of requests (404).

5. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 4, wherein the user log-on module (436) is further configured to automatically identify the institution (204) associated with the user (310) based on each of the information selection criteria of the subset of the series of requests (404).

6. The user log-on module (436) automatically queries a third database (600) configured to store information regarding a plurality of users (310), including the estimated current location of the user for each user (310), and information regarding a plurality of groups of users (310) (312), including the estimated current location of the group (312) for each group (312), compares the estimated current location of the user (310) with the estimated current location of at least one of the plurality of groups (312), and identifies the group (312) associated with the user (310) based on a match between the estimated current location of the user (310) and the estimated current location of the at least one of the plurality of groups (312). The medical database query system (400) according to claim 3, further configured as such.

7. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 6, wherein the third database (600) includes a calendar database configured to store information regarding a plurality of meetings, including the location of the meeting, the time of the meeting, and a list of participants in the meeting for each meeting.

8. ​ The medical database query system (400) according to claim 7, wherein, in order to identify the group (312) associated with the user (310), the user log-on module (436) is configured to automatically analyze the title of the current meeting among the plurality of meetings in which the user (310) is a participant.

9. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 7, wherein, in order to identify the group (312) associated with the user (310), the user log-on module (436) is configured to automatically identify at least one participant other than the user (310) in the list of participants in the current meeting in which the user (310) is also a participant among the plurality of meetings.

10. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 6, wherein the third database (600) includes an email database configured to store a plurality of electronic messages including the subject and recipient list of each electronic message.

11. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 10, wherein, in order to identify the group (312) associated with the user (310), the user log-on module (436) is configured to automatically analyze the distribution list of a certain electronic message among the plurality of electronic messages.

12. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 10, wherein, in order to identify the group (312) associated with the user (310), the user log-on module (436) is configured to automatically analyze the subject of a certain electronic message among the plurality of electronic messages.

13. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 10, wherein, in order to identify the group (312) associated with the user (310), the user log-on module (436) is configured to automatically identify at least one recipient in the recipient list of a certain electronic message among the plurality of electronic messages.

14. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 6, wherein the third database (600) is configured to store the estimated current location of the user (310) based on information from a wireless access point (602) to which wireless mobile devices (604, 606) registered for the user (310) are currently wirelessly connected (608).

15. The third database (600) is configured to store the estimated current location of the user (310) based on information from a wireless access point (602) to which wireless mobile devices (604, 606) registered for the user (310) are currently wirelessly connected (608), and the estimated current location of the group (312) based on information from at least one wireless access point (602, 610 - 612) to which each wireless mobile device registered for each user (614 - 620) associated with the group (312) is currently wirelessly connected of the medical database query system (400) according to claim 6.

16. The medical database query system (400) according to claim 1, wherein the human - user interface (402) includes a voice user interface (406).

17. The medical database query system according to claim 1, wherein the human - user interface (402) includes a graphical user interface (408).

18. The medical database query system according to claim 1, wherein the human - user interface (402) includes a text user interface (410).

19. A method (700) for querying a medical database (306) usable by a plurality of users (310), each user (310) being associated with at least one user group (312), the method including the following steps: A step (702) of providing a first database (306) configured to store information regarding at least one of (a) a plurality of medical devices (104), each medical device (104) being configured for connection to a respective patient (202), (b) a plurality of medical institutions, each medical institution (204) being configured to admit a patient (202) and to accommodate medical devices (104) configured for connection to respective patients (202), and (c) a plurality of patients (202), the information including information regarding the medical institution (204) in which each patient (202) is currently hospitalized and information regarding the medical device (104) to which each patient (202) is currently connected; A step (704) of receiving, via a human user interface (402), a series of requests (404) from a user (310), each request (412 - 416) being a request for information from the first database (306) and each request (412 - 416) including respective information selection criteria; A step (706) of providing a second database (424) configured to store corresponding user profile information (418) for each user (310) and corresponding group profile information (420) for each user group (312); A step (708) of, in response to at least some of the series of requests (404), storing the information selection criteria of each such request (412) in the second database (424) in association with the user (310) who made the at least some requests, thereby augmenting the user profile information (426) of the user (310); A step (710) of, in response to at least some of the series of requests (404), storing the information selection criteria of each such request (412) in the second database (424) in association with at least one group (312) associated with the user (310) who made the at least some requests (412), thereby augmenting the group profile information (420) of the at least one group (312); A step (712) of searching the first database (306) based on a combination of (a) an information selection criterion from the latest request (412) among the series of requests (404), (b) at least one information selection criterion from the user profile information (418) corresponding to the user (310) who made the latest request, and (c) at least one information selection criterion from the group profile information (420) corresponding to the group (312) associated with the user (310) who made the latest request; and A step (714) of providing the user (310) with the result (500) returned as a result of the search of the first database (306). **Claim 20** Each user (310) is associated with an organization (204), The second database (424) is further configured to store corresponding organization profile information (422) for each organization (204), The method is In response to at least some of the series of requests (404), storing, in the second database (424), the information selection criteria of each request in association with the organization (204) associated with the user (310) who made the at least some of the requests, thereby augmenting the organization profile information (422) of the organization (204) (716) further comprising The method according to claim 19, wherein the combination based on which the first database (306) is searched includes (d) at least one information selection criterion from the organization profile information (422) corresponding to the organization (204) associated with the user (310) who made the latest request (412). **Claim 21** The method according to claim 19, further comprising a step (802) of automatically identifying the user (310) based on the respective information selection criteria of a subset of the series of requests (404). **Claim 22** The method according to claim 21, further comprising a step (804) of automatically identifying the group (312) associated with the user (310) based on the respective information selection criteria of a subset of the series of requests (404). **Claim 23** The method according to claim 22, further comprising a step (806) of automatically identifying the institution (204) associated with the user (310) based on each information selection criterion of the subset of the series of requests (404).

24. Automatically, information about a plurality of users (310) including the estimated current location of the user (310) for each user (310), and information about a plurality of user groups (312) including the estimated current location of the group (312) for each group (312) querying a third database (600) configured to store; comparing the estimated current location of the user (310) with the estimated current location of at least one group (312) of the plurality of groups (810); and identifying the group (312) associated with the user (310) based at least in part on a match between the estimated current location of the user (310) and the estimated current location of the at least one group (312) of the plurality of groups (812) The method according to claim 22, further comprising.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the third database (600) includes a calendar database configured to store information about a plurality of meetings, each meeting including a meeting location, a meeting time, and a list of participants in the meeting.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the step (812) of identifying the group (312) associated with the user (310) includes automatically analyzing the title of the current meeting in which the user (310) is a participant among the plurality of meetings.

27. The method according to claim 25, wherein the step of identifying the group (812) associated with the user (310) includes automatically identifying at least one participant other than the user (310) in the list of participants in the current meeting in which the user (310) is also a participant among the plurality of meetings.

28. The method according to claim 24, wherein the third database (600) includes an email database configured to store a plurality of email messages, each email message including a subject line and a recipient list of the email message.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the step (812) of identifying the group (312) associated with the user (310) includes automatically analyzing a distribution list of a certain electronic message among the plurality of electronic messages.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein the step (812) of identifying the group (312) associated with the user (310) includes automatically analyzing a subject line of a certain electronic message among the plurality of electronic messages.

31. The method according to claim 28, wherein the step (812) of identifying the group (312) associated with the user (310) includes identifying at least one recipient in the recipient list of a certain electronic message among the plurality of electronic messages.

32. The method according to claim 24, wherein the third database (600) is configured to store the estimated current location of the user (310) based on information from a wireless access point (602) to which a wireless mobile device (604 - 606) registered for the user (310) is currently wirelessly connected (608).

33. The third database (600) based on information from a wireless access point (602) to which a wireless mobile device (604 - 606) registered for the user (310) is currently wirelessly connected (608), the estimated current location of the user (310), and based on information from at least one wireless access point (602, 610 - 612) to which each wireless mobile device (604, 606) registered for each user (614 - 620) associated with the group (312) is currently wirelessly connected, the estimated current location of the group (312) The method according to claim 24, wherein the third database (600) is configured to store the above.

34. The method according to claim 19, wherein the human - user interface (402) includes a voice user interface (406).

35. The method according to claim 19, wherein the human - user interface (402) includes a graphical user interface (408).

36. The method according to claim 19, wherein the human - user interface (402) includes a text user interface (410).

37. Instructions for establishing a process for performing a computer - implemented method (700) for querying a medical database (306) that can be used by a plurality of users (310) when executed by a processor A non - transitory computer - readable medium encoded with, where each user (310) is associated with at least one user group (312), and the process includes Accessing a first database (306) configured to store information about at least one of (a) a plurality of medical devices (104), each medical device (104) being configured for connection to a respective patient (202), (b) a plurality of medical institutions (204), each medical institution (204) being configured to admit patients (202) and to house medical devices (104) configured for connection to respective patients (202), and (c) a plurality of patients (202), including information about the medical institution (204) in which each patient (202) is currently admitted and information about the medical device (104) to which each patient (202) is currently connected A human - user interface (402) configured to receive a series of requests (404) from a user (310), each request (412 - 416) being a request for information from the first database (306) and each request (412 - 416) including respective information selection criteria A second database (424) configured to store corresponding user - profile information (418) for each user (310) and corresponding group - profile information (420) for each user group (312) A user profiler (428) configured to store, in response to at least some of the series of requests (404), the information selection criteria of such requests in the second database (424) in association with the user (310) that made the at least some requests (412), thereby augmenting the user - profile information (420) of the user (310) In response to at least some of the series of requests (404), store the information selection criteria for each such request in the second database (424) in association with at least one group (312) associated with the user (310) who made the at least some requests (412), thereby augmenting the group profile information (420) of the at least one group (312), a group profiler (428) configured to: A database query engine (432) configured to search the first database (306) based on a combination of (a) information selection criteria from the most recent request (412) of the series of requests (404), (b) at least one information selection criteria from the user profile information (418) corresponding to the user (310) who made the most recent request (412), and (c) at least one information selection criteria from the group profile information (420) corresponding to the group (312) associated with the user (310) who made the most recent request (412); A database response engine (434) configured to provide the results (500) returned by the database query engine (432) to the user (310); A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

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