Computer-implemented systems and methods for tracking and managing percutaneous drainage catheters

Abstract

Systems and methods for using computer-aided data collection and analysis for percutaneous drainage catheters using mobile device applications and corresponding remote servers to facilitate the collection, storage, and transmission of more accurate quantitative and qualitative data concerning the maintenance of percutaneous drainage catheters. Artificial intelligence may be used to identify complications in advance and monitor anticipated use and exhaustion of consumable supplies, prompt for replacement, or automatically orders as needed.

Description

COMPUTER-IMPLEMENTED SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRACKING AND MANAGING PERCUTANEOUS DRAINAGE CATHETERSCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Prov. Pat. App. Ser. No. 63 / 528,003, filed July 20, 2023, the entire disclose of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the Invention

[0002] This disclosure is related to the field of percutaneous drainage catheters, and more particularly to computer-implemented systems and methods for maintaining such catheters Description of the Related Art

[0003] Percutaneous drainage catheters are medical devices used to drain fluids or collections that have accumulated in a patient’s body, such as abscesses or pleural effusions. The procedure involves a radiologist or interventional radiologist using imaging technology such as ultrasound or CT scan to guide the insertion of a needle into the fluid collection. Once the needle is in place, a flexible catheter is threaded through the needle and into the fluid collection. The catheter is then connected to a drainage bag or bottle, allowing the fluid to be collected outside the body.

[0004] Such catheters may also be used to assist with fluid drainage following a surgical procedure. In general, the catheter should be monitored for any signs of infection, such as redness, swelling, or drainage from the insertion site. The drainage bag or bottle should be emptied regularly and replaced as needed to prevent it from becoming overfilled.

[0005] In addition to monitoring the catheter and drainage system, the patient should also be monitored for any signs of complications related to the surgery or the underlying condition that required the catheter placement. This may include monitoring vital signs such as blood pressure and heart rate, assessing pain levels, and monitoring for any changes in the patient’s overall condition. A qualified physician or other medical professional may also examine the discharged fluid in the drainage bag for color, consistency, opacity, and so forth.

[0006] If the catheter is needed for an extended period of time, it may need to be replaced periodically to prevent infection or other complications. The patient or their caregiver should also receive education on how to care for the catheter and drainage system, including proper hand hygiene, how to empty and replace the drainage bag or bottle, and how to recognize signs of infection or other complications.

[0007] The catheter should be removed once the fluid collection has been drained completely or when it is no longer needed. This is usually done under sterile conditions to reduce the risk of infection. After removal, the insertion site should be covered with a sterile dressing to promote healing and prevent infection.

[0008] While percutaneous drainage catheters are generally considered safe and effective, they are not without their drawbacks and challenges. For example, the insertion site can become infected, which may require treatment, or even removal of the catheter. Also, the catheter itself can become blocked or kinked, which can prevent proper drainage of the fluid collection, resulting in internal fluid accumulation, and requiring that the catheter be flushed and cleaned, or replaced. Additionally, catheters can leak, which can cause discomfort for the patient and present risk of infection if the leak is due to a poor seal. The catheter can also become dislodged or accidentally removed, which can be painful, and may require re-insertion or replacement.

[0009] Perhaps most critically for the outpatient, the fluid bag must be periodically drained and the volume and characteristics of the fluid tracked. Tracking the volume helps the outpatient’s medical professionals identify and even predict problems in advance. For example, fluid volumes would normally be expected to decrease overtime. If they are not, this suggests a potential complication that may require further medical attention or treatment. Additionally, the fluid is often expected to change in color and consistency over time. A darkening or thickening, or change to an unexpected color, may also indicate a potential complication that may require further medical attention or treatment.

[0010] Thus, it is important to monitor the catheter and drainage system closely for any signs of these or other complications, and to seek medical attention if any issues arise. This duty falls on the patient, and, patient compliance with tracking this data is thus an important aspect of outpatient care, because the information assists medical professionals in monitoring the patient’s progress and detecting problems or complications. Typically, patients are asked to keep track of their drainage output, symptoms, changes in their condition, and the characteristics of the drained fluid (e.g., color and consistency). This information is usually recorded in a paper log or diary and shared with their healthcare provider during follow-up appointments.

[0011] However, patient compliance with data tracking is often inconsistent. Patients may forget or neglect to record their data regularly for various reasons, such as not having the log handy when they are draining fluid. Additionally, even if they do remember to record the data, the informationmay be inaccurate due to inconsistencies in how the patient determines or measures drainage output, and inherent variation in the subjective assessment of qualitative characteristics like color and consistency. Patients often feel overwhelmed by the process or simply do not see the purpose or value to the medical provider in recording their data.

[0012] To improve patient compliance with data tracking, healthcare providers have attempted a number of techniques, most of which are essentially patient education. For example, many provide written instructions and guidance on how to track and record data, and literature that emphasizes the importance of doing so, and may place phone calls or send text messages to provide regular reminders to encourage compliance. However, patients often disregard or misplace literature and eventually come to disregard phone calls and reminders. Further, even if successful, these techniques do not address the fundamental problem that, even if patients are compliant, the quality of the data they collect is questionable.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The following is a summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The sole purpose of this section is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0014] Because of these and other problems in the art, described herein, among other things, is a method for analysis and monitoring of a percutaneous drainage catheter in a patient, comprising: a health care provider treating said patient for a medical condition, said treatment including the placement of a percutaneous drainage catheter in said patient, said percutaneous drainage catheter being in fluid communication with a container for accumulating drainage fluid from said patient; using a patient mobile device, said patient capturing image data of fluid accumulation in said container, said capturing comprising the use of an augmented reality user interface generated by a software application of said patient mobile device to display an overlay in an image capture interface, said overly indicating when the orientation, scale, and position of said container in said image capture interface are within acceptable ranges; transmitting, via a telecommunications network, a copy of said captured image data to a remote computer server; receiving, at said remote computer server, said captured image data; at said remote computer server, using an artificial intelligence model to estimate a volume of fluid accumulation in said container based on saidreceived captured image data; transmitting said estimated volume to said patient mobile device; receiving, at said patient mobile device, said transmitted estimated volume; displaying, at said patient mobile device, said received estimated volume; said remote computer server using a second artificial intelligence model to identify or classify one or more risk factors associated with said fluid accumulated in said container based said received image data by examining characteristics of said fluid, said characteristics including coloration, consistency, and / or volume; and said remote computer transmitting to a computer of said health care provider said identified one or more risk factors.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a user interface for managing user profiles in a percutaneous catheter tracking system according to the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a user interface for a patient dashboard in a percutaneous catheter tracking system according to the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of a user interface for a drainage catheter tracker in a percutaneous catheter tracking system according to the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 depict embodiments of user interfaces for adding and managing drainage catheters in a percutaneous catheter tracking system according to the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, and 8E depict embodiments of user interfaces for managing clinical visits in a percutaneous catheter tracking system according to the present disclosure.

[0020] FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, and 9E depict embodiments of user interfaces for a care coordinator in a percutaneous catheter tracking system according to the present disclosure.

[0021] FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, and 10F depict embodiments of user interfaces for managing patient visits for a care coordinator according to the present disclosure.

[0022] FIGS. 11 A, 1 IB, 11C, 1 ID, and 1 IE depict embodiments of user interfaces for providing emergency virtual care according to the present disclosure.DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

[0023] The following detailed description and disclosure illustrates by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description will clearly enable one skilled in the art to make and use the disclosed systems and methods, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the disclosed systems and methods. As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the disclosures, it is intended that allmatter contained in the description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

[0024] At a high level of generality, the systems and methods described herein provide computer- aided data collection and analysis for percutaneous drainage catheters. The systems and methods described here make use of mobile device applications and corresponding remote servers to facilitate the collection, storage, and transmission of more accurate quantitative and qualitative data concerning the maintenance of percutaneous drainage catheters, and may also use artificial intelligence systems to analyze the data and provide early identification of potential medical complications, sometimes recognizing subtle trends that would not be apparent to even an experienced human medical professional. The systems and methods may further use artificial intelligence to monitor the anticipated use and exhaustion of the patient’s supply of consumable medical materials, and predictably prompt the patient to place an order for more to ensure sufficient and timely supply, or may automatically place such orders on the patient’s behalf.

[0025] FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of a system (701) suitable for implementation of the methods described herein. In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 7, a patient user (703) has an associated patient user computer (705), generally (but not necessarily) a mobile device associated with the patient. The patient user computer (705) will generally be equipped with the typical hardware associated with consumer mobile devices or other computers, such as a still and / or video camera or other system capable of obtaining image data in a digital format. The depicted patient user computer (705) is in communication with a server computer (707) over a telecommunications network (709). In the depicted embodiment, the telecommunications network (709) comprises the Internet and related telecommunications infrastructure for facilitating typical client-server communication. The patient user computer (705) will generally have application software (713) programmed for network communication with corresponding software (708) on the server computer (707). Programming techniques for creating such software (713) and (708) are known in the art, and may include, without limitations, client-server architecture, a proprietary communications protocol, or a web application.

[0026] The patient user computer (705) will, by use of the application (713), perform or cause to be performed the various functions described herein with respect to the patient user computer (705). The server computer (707) will likewise perform or cause to be performed the various functions described herein with respect to the server computer (707). The depicted servercomputer (707) includes, or has access to, one or more artificial intelligence (“Al”) models (714) trained to provide the classifications, predictions, and other Al functions described herein.

[0027] It will be understood that this description is exemplary and non-limiting, and that in a given embodiment or implementation, the allocation of functions may differ from that described and shown, and various functions may be performed by additional or alternative computer devices, whether or not depicted in the drawings. It will also be understood that the architecture depicted in FIG. 7 is exemplary only, and other architectures may also be suitable for implementation of the methods described herein. For example, the artificial model(s) (714) could be on the patient user computer (705) to allow operation in an environment in which access to network operations is unreliable or unavailable, such as remote location, environmental interference, and the like.

[0028] Generally, patient users (703) are referred to the application (713) by a medical professional (725), typically a physician or nurse, for the management of the percutaneous drainage catheters (717), and the patient user (703) may be provided with written instructions or other papers upon discharge to install and use the application (713) to manage the percutaneous drainage catheters (717). Generally, one or more of the medical professionals also has downloaded or installed application software to a medical user computer (723) and has also undergone a registration process to create a medical user (725) account. Such accounts may have different feature access and settings than those of patient accounts, as described in further detail elsewhere herein.

[0029] In an embodiment, a single mobile device application or service may be used by both patient users (703) and medical users (725), with the available feature set being managed and limited programmatically based on the type of account after authentication. Alternatively, different versions of the application may be provided which contain only the function or feature set used by each type of user. For the sake of simplicity, this disclosure, will refer to a single application, but it will be understood that, in an embodiment, there may be a plurality of mobile device applications.

[0030] Additionally, for the sake of simplicity, this disclosure will refer to a mobile device application, but it will be understood that the functions described herein may be implemented, in whole or in part, as on-line services in a software-as-a-service model or other on-line distribution or deployment model, for one or more user account roles. Regardless of the particular implementation, the mobile device application(s) and / or services are generally programmed toprovide GUIs to users for providing information and manipulating the application to perform the various functions described herein, in a manner that will be familiar to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

[0031] As seen in FIG. 7, a patient user (703) has been prescribed a drainage catheter (717) which is attached at a site (718) and connected to a container (715) for accumulating drainage fluid. The server computer (707) may be communicably connected via the telecommunications network (711) to one or more data stores. The data store (709) may provide data storage and data base functions to any of the user computers (705), (720), or (723), or server computer (707). By way of example, and not limitation, the data store (709) may be a cloud storage environment. Also by way of example, and not limitation, the server computer (707) may be a computer providing software-as-a-service over the telecommunications network (711). Such a computer may be remotely hosted in a data center. Generally, the server computer (707) is programmed with server software (708) which provides various services to the user applications (713), (719), and (721) on the user computers (705), (720), and (723). These services and functions are described in further detail herein.

[0032] Generally, the patient user (703) will be outfitted with a drainage catheter (717) and a fluid container (715) as part of a medical procedure. The patient user (703) is generally discharged along with written instructions for the care and maintenance of the catheter (717), including a frequency and schedule for inspecting and draining the container (715). The medical professional (725) may also provide the patient user (703) with instructions for downloading and installing the application (713) on the user computer (705). This may be done through the use of a QR code, link, URL, or any other method known in the art, or in the future developed, for communicating to the patient user (703) how to download and install the application (713).

[0033] The patient user (703) may download the application (713) while in the care of the healthcare provider, or may do so upon returning home. In an embodiment, the patient application (713) may be installed and used by a third party, such as a family member, a spouse, or other care provider who is living with or otherwise monitoring the convalescence of the patient user (703). Generally, the patient user computer (705) will be physically proximate to the patient user (703) so that it can be used to capture images of the fluid container (715).

[0034] As shown in the remaining figures, the patient application (713) has a plurality of user interfaces providing access to various functions. These functions include, but are not necessarilylimited to, establishing and maintaining patient profde information (see, e.g., FIG. 1), a patient dashboard (see, e.g., FIG. 2), adding, tracking, and monitoring drainage catheters (see, e.g., FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6), and managing clinical visits (FIGS. 8A-E). The application may also provide other interfaces to other types of users, such as a coordinator interface (FIGS. 9A-E), a scheduling interface (FIGS. 10A-F), and an emergency care interface (FIGS. 11A-E).

[0035] FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a user profile management user interface (101). As shown in the depicted embodiment, the interface (101 A) includes a form (201) for entering and managing general information about the patient user (703). The interface (101) also includes a menu (207) for navigating to different areas of the application (713), and a menu (208) for managing account details. This interface (101) may be used by the patient user (703) to enter and manage personal information such as name, date of birth, age, e-mail address, phone number, mailing address, and so forth. Additionally, the patient user (703) may be able to provide, or review, information about the patient user (703). The information provided by the patient user (703) via this and other interfaces may be stored in the data store (709) and / or made available for viewing on other computers (720) and (723) in the system (701).

[0036] In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 2, a user interface is provided for a patient dashboard (102). The depicted dashboard (102) has a number of interface elements, sometimes called “widgets,” including a visual depiction of active drains (203 A), a drainage snapshot tracker (204), a notification section (205), and a list of upcoming visits or appointments (206). The active drain tracker (203A) may provide an image of the patient user (703), with a symbolic representation (202) of where the drains (717) are located (718). This may assist the patient user (703) in determining which drain (717) is referenced. For example, if a notification appears in the notification section (205) about a particular drain (717), the patient user (703) may be able to click on that notification, and the corresponding drain (717) may be highlighted or emphasized in the drain tracking display (203A). This may help patient users (703) understand which drain (717) has a problem or is the subject matter of the notification, without having to decipher medical language about where the drain (717) is located. This is particularly useful for patient users (703) who may have multiple drains (717). The dashboard (102) (and other interfaces described herein) generally comprises a plurality of different widgets, which may be configurable or selectable by the patient user (703).

[0037] In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 3, a user interface is provided for tracking drainage (103). The depicted interface (103) comprises two sections, including a graph (204) depicting the recorded amount of drainage, and a chart (210A) depicting the same information in a tabular format. The patient user (703) may access this screen by clicking on a navigation element in the menu (207), which may open a submenu (209) to various additional views in the application.

[0038] When maintaining a drainage catheter (717), the patient user (703) is generally asked to drain the container (715) at regular intervals, and to record or monitor the amount of fluid drained. This information is traditionally recorded on a piece of paper, but, in the depicted embodiment, the patient user (703), using a patient user computer (705), may capture an image of the catheter (717), the drainage container (715), and / or the drain site (718). This photo may be displayed in the tabular section (201 A), or elsewhere in the application. This image can be used for several purposes.

[0039] First, a common difficulty with monitoring drainage is accurately detecting the amount of fluid drained. This is often the case because the patient user (703) may not consistently measure or assess how much fluid is in the container (715).

[0040] Typically, the container (715) has a series of graduation lines indicating the volume of fluid at various levels. However, when the fluid level is between two graduation lines, particularly for round containers (715) having different surface areas at various elevations, the patient user (703) is essentially guessing. This can be remediated using the systems and methods disclosed herein by the use of imaging technology, of the patient user computer (705) to capture the container (715), and fluid level, and using mathematics and / or artificial intelligence models to estimate the volume of fluid in the container (715). The accuracy of these estimates may be improved by supplying the application with the identification or configuration of the particular container (715).

[0041] The application may also include an interface for imaging the container (715) which provides instructions and directions to the patient user (703), such as by including an overlay in the image screen to indicate to the patient user (703) how to orient the container (715), and where in the image to place it. The application may also include programming and / or artificial intelligence models for determining whether the angle and perspective is optimal, or within permissible tolerances, for accurate estimation, such as by conducting visual imaging to search for the surface area of the collected fluid. If the surface area can be seen, then the angle is probably incorrect and should be adjusted.

[0042] The amount of fluid drained can then be entered or uploaded to the application, either by the patient user (703) entering the amount using a graphical user interface, or as automatically determined using the techniques described herein. A combination of these may also be used, whereby an estimate is provided or suggested by the application, which the patient user (703) can then modify or approve in his or her discretion. As described elsewhere herein, these images may also be transmitted to the data store (709) and made available for display on other computers (770), (723) in the system (701). In an embodiment, the use of artificial intelligence and / or mathematical estimation may be especially helpful for patient users (703) who struggle to hold the container (715) still. If the patient user (703) experiences tremors or other neurological disorders that can cause the hands to shake, it may be difficult for the patient user (703) to accurately estimate the fluid volume. In such cases, a video clip, or sequence of images captured by the camera may be used to refine and improve the estimated volume. This would improve the accuracy of drainage records collected by such patient users (703).

[0043] Another use that may be made of the images or other video graphic data captured of the drainage container (715) is to assess the color, consistency, or other characteristics of the fluid therein. Typically, over the natural course of use of a drainage catheter (717), the color and consistency of the fluid changes over time. It may become clearer, or cloudier, for example. Some changes are normal, but other changes may indicate a potential complication or problem. The imaging techniques described herein may be used to conduct visual analysis of the image data of the fluid and compare it to an artificial intelligence model that has been trained to recognize and classify drainage fluids based on factors such as coloration, consistency, and volume to predict or classify risk factors associated with the fluid. In this fashion, early warnings may be provided about potential problems or complications with the catheter.

[0044] By way of example, and not limitation, if the drainage volume is proceeding in accordance with typical or expected values, and the coloration of the fluid is gradually clearing over time, and then the volume suddenly stops, and the fluid becomes darker and thicker, this may indicate a blocked catheter (717) or hematoma, which may require prompt medical attention to correct. In the event that such a problem is detected, the application may provide an indication or signal to another computer (720), (723) alerting a medical professional (725) that the patient user (703) may need attention. In that case, the medical professional (725) may contact the patient user and requestan office visit, or conduct a virtual or emergency visit or other telemedicine examination to determine whether medical intervention is necessary.

[0045] In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 4, a user interface (104) is shown which provides more detailed information about active drains (210B). This interface (104) is similar in concept to the tabular presentation of tracking data (210A) shown in FIG. 3. In the interface of FIG. 4, each of the drains are identified, along with information about the drain, such as the history of drainage volume, upcoming appointments, location, and a unique identifier associated with the drain. The patient user (703) can view notifications, drainage history, and schedule follow-up appointments as necessary based on the information provided.

[0046] In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 5, a user interface (105) is provided for additional detailed information about a specific drain (210C). In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 5, the patient user (703) accesses the depicted interface (210C) by clicking on one of the drains. As shown in FIG. 4, the first drain has a drain ID AB689, the same drain ID shown in FIG. 5. The patient user (703) clicks on the box for drain ID AB689 in the interface of FIG. 4 to open the user interface of FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the patient user (703) has the option to enter information about specific drainage volumes. This interface allows the patient user (703) to provide the date on which a container was emptied, enter the output volume, and characterize the fluid color, consistency, and other characteristics, as well as the conditions of the catheter site (718), or provide other notes. The patient user (703) may also upload a photo of the drain output and / or site (718). In an embodiment, patient user (703) data of the photo may be used to automatically populate the date and time of the recordation, which eliminates the potential for user input errors. In an embodiment, the patient user (703) need not upload a photo, but rather the photo is automatically uploaded when taken. In a still further embodiment, the results of the analysis of the photos may be used to automatically populate fields such as output volume, color, and condition of the insertion site, as well as other fields not shown in FIG. 5. The patient user (703) may then update or modify those fields as appropriate.

[0047] FIG. 6 depicts an embodiment of a user interface (106) for adding a drain (203B). The depicted interface (106) allows the patient user (703) to identify the drainage site (718) on a ragdoll image, and to enter basic information about the drain, such as the installation date, type, site, size, name of monitoring physician, next follow-up date, and a nickname or a common name to help the patient user (703) quickly refer to the drain.

[0048] These and other user functions may be available in the application (713) for use on a patient user computer (705). The application (713) may be a downloadable, standalone application written for the native operating system of the patient user computer (705), or may be a web application, software-as-a-service, or other deployment methodology known in the art or in the future developed for delivering software services. The particular selection and arrangement of functions within the architecture will depend upon the needs and programming strategies deployed in any particular embodiment.

[0049] FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, and 8E depict various user interfaces for managing clinical visits. This function may be available in the patient user application (713) and may also be available in a care coordinator application (719) or medical professional application (721). In the depicted embodiments, the patient user (703) may schedule a clinic visit with the medical professional (725), or may review the patient user (703) visit history, upcoming appointments, and notes and information about the visits. If the visit was a virtual or telemedicine visit, a video of the visit, if captured, may be included for the patient user (703) or physician to play back and review what was said and viewed. The application may also facilitate a virtual or telemedicine visit by turning on the image capture feature of both the patient user computer (705) and a care provider computer (707) and / or medical professional computer (723) so that the physician and patient user (703) can see and talk to each other, and the patient user (703) can use the imaging equipment on the patient user computer (705) to display the catheter (717), container (715), and site (718).

[0050] As further shown in the depicted embodiments, the patient user (703) may be able to schedule a virtual visit with the medical professional (725), using a calendar interface, which may in turn integrate with or communicate with scheduling software or calendaring software associated with the physician to find available times and offer those to the patient user (703). As can be seen in the depicted embodiments, the patient user (703) may have the ability using the user interfaces to indicate the nature of the visit. For example, in the depicted embodiment (108E), the patient user (703) may indicate which drain the visit pertains to, as well as where the drain is located, and the nature of the problem (“pain around drain site”). This provides the medical professional (725) participating in the virtual visit advanced notice of the issues, giving that person a chance to check notes and charts and to be fully informed before the visit, making better use of the time during the visit. Additionally, or alternatively, the medical professional (725) may be able to pull up a historyusing the medical application (721), and acquire the same information in that fashion, without having to check other records on other computers.

[0051] FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D and 9E depict embodiments of user interfaces for use by a care coordinator. Referring also to FIG. 7, the care coordinator may be an administrator, nurse, or other healthcare professional operating from a clinic or other healthcare facility, generally associated with a care provider computer (720). The care coordinator application (719) is installed or available thereon for providing the functions described herein. As will be readily understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art, the care coordinator application (719) may have some of the same features as the patient user application (713), particularly common and familiar features such as user profile management.

[0052] In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 9A, a care coordinator dashboard (109A) is shown. The depicted dashboard (109A) shows a summary of patient data about the patient users (703) being monitored by the care coordinator and the medical professional (725) with whom the care coordinator is working, as well as a list of recent patient users (703), notifications, and upcoming visits. In this fashion, information is readily accessible as to which patient users (703) have been recently seen, which will soon be seen, and a collection of all notifications from all patient users (703) being managed by the care coordinator through the facility are available in one place. This interface may also alert the care coordinator to notifications that have not yet been answered, allowing the care coordinator to contact the medical professional (725) and insure that prompt care is provided.

[0053] The depicted embodiment of FIG. 9B shows a user interface for adding new patient users (703) to the dashboard (109B). Basic demographic information about the patient users (703) may be included. This interface may be used by a care coordinator to set up a patient user (703) in the system prior to discharge, or shortly after discharge, and before the patient user (703) downloads and installs the patient user application (713). In an embodiment, after the patient user (703) is added, a patient-specific code may be provided that can be passed along to the patient user (703) to insure that the patient user (703) downloads the correct application, and that the patient version of the application is linked up or connected to the care provider version of the application automatically.

[0054] The embodiment (109C) of FIG. 9C depicts a user interface for displaying a list of patient users (703). The depicted interface includes a unique patient user (703) identifier, patient user(703) name, type of drain, phone number, and alert status. From the patient user (703) list, a patient user (703) menu selected to load a patient management interface, such as that depicted in the embodiment of FIG. 9D.

[0055] In the depicted embodiment (109D), the patient management interface includes various widgets or sections providing patient identification information and contact information, a list of drains, a ragdoll visual showing where the drains are installed, a tracker snapshot, a notification panel, and a list of upcoming visits. These widgets may be the same or similar to parallel functionality found in the patient user application (713). By making the patient user (703) information the same information available to the care provider, communication is improved. Similarly, the embodiment (109E) of FIG. 9E provides an interface for creating a new drain to add to a patient user (703) record. This interface has elements similar to those of the patient user application (713). This interface may be used when the drain is installed and before the patient user (703) is discharged to automatically set up the drain data for the patient user (703), so that when the patient user (703) arrives home for convalescence, the patient’s profile information and drain information is already loaded. By preloading this information, compliance is more likely.

[0056] FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, and 10F depict various embodiments of screen interfaces for scheduling visits with a care provider or medical professional. These interfaces will be familiar to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Similarly, FIGS. 11 A, 11B, 11C, 11D, and HE depict user interface elements for a care provider to schedule and manage virtual care visits.

[0057] In an embodiment, one or more of the applications may be programmed to track the type and quantity of equipment and consumables prescribed or used by the patient user (703). The application may then estimate when the patient user (703) should reorder new supplies to ensure timely arrival before existing supplies are exhausted. These estimates may be modified, adjusted, or updated based on the image data collected by the patient user computer, which could assess or measure soiling levels, wear, or other factors. In a further embodiment, the application could be programmed to automatically place such orders for the patient when required. In a further embodiment, the application could track prescription status and provide advance alerts to the medical professional (725) indicating that a prescription has expired and a new prescription must be issued. These alerts may also be issued sufficiently in advance to ensure the prescription can be entered and filled to cause replacement supplies to reach the patient before existing supplies are exhausted.

[0058] Throughout this disclosure, the term “computer” describes hardware which generally implements functionality provided by digital computing technology, particularly computing functionality associated with microprocessors. The term “computer” is not intended to be limited to any specific type of computing device, but it is intended to be inclusive of all computational devices including, but not limited to: processing devices, microprocessors, personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, workstations, terminals, servers, clients, portable computers, handheld computers, cell phones, mobile phones, smart phones, tablet computers, server farms, hardware appliances, minicomputers, mainframe computers, video game consoles, handheld video game products, and wearable computing devices including but not limited to eyewear, wrist wear, pendants, fabrics, and clip-on devices.

[0059] As used herein, a “computer” is necessarily an abstraction of the functionality provided by a single computer device outfitted with the hardware and accessories typical of computers in a particular role. By way of example and not limitation, the term “computer” in reference to a laptop computer would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to include the functionality provided by pointer-based input devices, such as a mouse or track pad, whereas the term “computer” used in reference to an enterprise-class server would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to include the functionality provided by redundant systems, such as RAID drives and dual power supplies.

[0060] It is also well known to those of ordinary skill in the art that the functionality of a single computer may be distributed across a number of individual machines. This distribution may be functional, as where specific machines perform specific tasks; or, balanced, as where each machine is capable of performing most or all functions of any other machine and is assigned tasks based on its available resources at a point in time. Thus, the term “computer” as used herein, can refer to a single, standalone, self-contained device or to a plurality of machines working together or independently, including without limitation: a network server farm, “cloud” computing system, software-as-a-service, or other distributed or collaborative computer networks.

[0061] Those of ordinary skill in the art also appreciate that some devices which are not conventionally thought of as “computers” nevertheless exhibit the characteristics of a “computer” in certain contexts. Where such a device is performing the functions of a “computer” as described herein, the term “computer” includes such devices to that extent. Devices of this type include but are not limited to: network hardware, print servers, file servers, NAS and SAN, load balancers,and any other hardware capable of interacting with the systems and methods described herein in the matter of a conventional “computer.”

[0062] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, some aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied as a system, method or process, or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

[0063] Any combination of one or more computer readable media may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD- ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0064] Throughout this disclosure, the term “software” refers to code objects, program logic, command structures, data structures and definitions, source code, executable and / or binary files, machine code, object code, compiled libraries, implementations, algorithms, libraries, or any instruction or set of instructions capable of being executed by a computer processor, or capable of being converted into a form capable of being executed by a computer processor, including without limitation virtual processors, or by the use of run-time environments, virtual machines, and / or interpreters. Those of ordinary skill in the art recognize that software can be wired or embedded into hardware, including without limitation onto a microchip, and still be considered “software”within the meaning of this disclosure. For purposes of this disclosure, software includes without limitation: instructions stored or storable in RAM, ROM, flash memory BIOS, CMOS, mother and daughter board circuitry, hardware controllers, USB controllers or hosts, peripheral devices and controllers, video cards, audio controllers, network cards, Bluetooth® and other wireless communication devices, virtual memory, storage devices and associated controllers, firmware, and device drivers. The systems and methods described here are contemplated to use computers and computer software typically stored in a computer- or machine-readable storage medium or memory.

[0065] Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0066] Throughout this disclosure, the term “network” generally refers to a voice, data, or other telecommunications network over which computers communicate with each other. The term “server” generally refers to a computer providing a service over a network, and a “client” generally refers to a computer accessing or using a service provided by a server over a network. Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the terms “server” and “client” may refer to hardware, software, and / or a combination of hardware and software, depending on context. Those having ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that the terms “server” and “client” may refer to endpoints of a network communication or network connection, including but not necessarily limited to a network socket connection. Those having ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that a “server” may comprise a plurality of software and / or hardware servers delivering a service or set of services. Those having ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that the term “host” may, in noun form, refer to an endpoint of a network communication or network (e.g., “a remote host”), or may, in verb form, refer to a server providing a service over a network (“hosts a website”), or an access point for a service over a network.

[0067] Throughout this disclosure, the term “cloud” and “cloud computing” and similar terms refers to the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted and accessed over the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than local servers or personal computers.

[0068] Throughout this disclosure, the terms “web,” “web site,” “web server,” “web client,” and “web browser” refer generally to computers programmed to communicate over a network using the HyperText Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”), and / or similar and / or related protocols including butnot limited to HTTP Secure (“HTTPS”) and Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“SHTP”). A “web server” is a computer receiving and responding to HTTP requests, and a “web client” is a computer having a user agent sending and receiving responses to HTTP requests. The user agent is generally web browser software.

[0069] Throughout this disclosure, the term “GUI” generally refers to a graphical user interface for a computing device. The design, arrangement, components, and functions of a graphical user interface will necessarily vary from device to device depending on, among other things, screen resolution, processing power, operating system, device function or purpose, and evolving standards and tools for user interface design. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that graphical user interfaces generally include a number of widgets, or graphical control elements, which are generally graphical components displayed or presented to the user and which are manipulable by the user through an input device to provide user input, and which may also display or present to the user information, data, or output.

[0070] Throughout this disclosure, geometric terms may be used to characterize, among other things, sizes, shapes, dimensions, angles, distances, and relationships. These terms may be used with qualifiers such as “generally,” “about,” and “approximately.” One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that, in the context of this disclosure, these terms are used to describe a recognizable attempt to conform a device or component to the qualified term. By way of example and not limitation, components described as being “generally coplanar” will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art to not be actually coplanar in a strict geometric sense because a “plane” is a purely geometric construct that does not actually exist and no component is truly “planer,” nor are two components ever truly coplanar. Variations from geometric descriptions are unavoidable due to, among other things, manufacturing tolerances resulting in shape variations, defects, imperfections, non-uniform thermal expansion, natural wear, minor variations that are nevertheless recognizable as the qualified term, and other deformations. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand how to apply geometric terms, whether or not qualified by relative terms such as “generally,” “about,” and “approximately,” to describe a reasonable range of variations from the literal geometric term in view of these and other considerations appropriate to the context. Additionally, the use of the conjunctive and disjunctive should not necessarily be construed as limiting, and the conjunctive may include the disjunctive, and vice versa.

[0071] The terms “artificial intelligence” and “Al” refer broadly to a discipline in computer science concerning the creation of software that performs (or appears to perform) tasks using the reasoning faculties of humans. In practice, AIs currently lack the ability to exercise true human reasoning, and are instead trained to simulate reasoning. This effect is contextual, and in most cases, narrowly confined to one, or a very small number, of well-defined tasks (such as recognizing a human face in an image). A common implementation of Al is supervised machine learning, where a model is trained by providing large sets of pre-classified inputs, each set representing different desired outputs from the Al. For example, if the Al is meant to recognize a human face, one set of inputs contains a human face in each image, and one set does not. The “Al” is a statistical engine that uses mathematics to identify and model data patterns common to one set but not the other. This process is known as “training” the Al. Once the Al is trained, new unclassified data is provided to it for analysis, and the software assesses which of the labels it has been trained on best fits the new data. Most AIs also provide a confidence level in the prediction. A human supervisor may provide feedback to the Al as to whether it was right, and this feedback may be used to refine its models further. Each discrete task that an Al is trained to perform may be referred to herein as a “model.” General-purpose AIs not trained on one specific task, notably large language models like ChatGPT, are trained in fundamentally the same way, using enormous data sets covering a broad range of topics, and such models produce output by, essentially, generatively predicting, based on the training data, what the next word in the response should be.

[0072] While the invention has been disclosed in conjunction with a description of certain embodiments, including those that are currently believed to be the preferred embodiments, the detailed description is intended to be illustrative and should not be understood to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, embodiments other than those described in detail herein are encompassed by the present invention. Modifications and variations of the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method for analysis and monitoring of a percutaneous drainage catheter in a patient, comprising: a health care provider treating said patient for a medical condition, said treatment including the placement of a percutaneous drainage catheter in said patient, said percutaneous drainage catheter being in fluid communication with a container for accumulating drainage fluid from said patient; using a patient mobile device, said patient capturing image data of fluid accumulation in said container, said capturing comprising the use of an augmented reality user interface generated by a software application of said patient mobile device to display an overlay in an image capture interface, said overly indicating when the orientation, scale, and position of said container in said image capture interface are within acceptable ranges; transmitting, via a telecommunications network, a copy of said captured image data to a remote computer server; receiving, at said remote computer server, said captured image data; at said remote computer server, using an artificial intelligence model to estimate a volume of fluid accumulation in said container based on said received captured image data; transmitting said estimated volume to said patient mobile device; receiving, at said patient mobile device, said transmitted estimated volume; displaying, at said patient mobile device, said received estimated volume; said remote computer server using a second artificial intelligence model to identify or classify one or more risk factors associated with said fluid accumulated in said container based said received image data by examining characteristics of said fluid, said characteristics including coloration, consistency, and / or volume; and said remote computer transmitting to a computer of said health care provider said identified one or more risk factors.

Images