Clinical Avatar Animation Synchronization for Clearer Patient Displays

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Solution Overview

Problem

The use of multiple animated avatars in medical displays can lead to visual distraction and confusion, potentially causing mental and physical fatigue among clinicians, necessitating a solution to maintain information visibility while reducing confusion and distraction.

Innovation Solution

Synchronize the repeating animations of multiple avatars on the same or different display units within a clinical environment to reduce cognitive load and enhance information focus, using display control signals to align start, mid, and end points, and adjust animation periods.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If multiple animated avatars are used to display clinical parameters, then information visibility and quick overview are improved, but visual distraction and clinician fatigue increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation visibilityVSAvoidvisual distraction
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple avatar animations into a synchronized display system where all avatars share a common animation timeline. This merging of animation control allows the system to maintain multiple information displays while reducing the chaotic visual effect of independent animations, thereby improving information visibility while decreasing visual distraction.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements periodic animation cycles that are synchronized across all avatars. By using regular, predictable animation periods rather than continuous or random animations, the system provides rhythmic visual updates that are easier for clinicians to process, maintaining information visibility while reducing the cognitive load and visual fatigue caused by unsynchronized animations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

2Loss of information

If multiple independent animations are displayed simultaneously, then individual patient information is clearly represented, but cognitive load and confusion increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation clarityVSAvoidcognitive load
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the animation control systems of multiple avatars into a unified synchronization mechanism. Each avatar maintains its own information display characteristics, but their animation timing is combined into a coordinated system, preserving information clarity while reducing the cognitive complexity of processing multiple independent animations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal animation synchronization system that serves all avatars simultaneously. This multi-functional approach allows a single synchronization mechanism to control multiple avatars, each displaying different patient information, thereby maintaining information clarity while reducing the overall cognitive load through standardized animation behavior.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Object-affected harmful factors

If animation synchronization is implemented across multiple displays, then visual distraction is reduced, but system complexity and computing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisual confusionVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary synchronization system that coordinates animations across multiple displays. Rather than requiring complex direct coordination between all display elements, the intermediary synchronization layer manages timing and coordination, reducing visual confusion while keeping system complexity manageable through a centralized control approach.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4700786A1Controlling display
Publication Date: 2026.02.25 KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS NV
  • EP4700786A1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4700786A1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP4700786A1 patent drawingFigure 4A~4C

AI summary

Proposed concepts thus aim to provide schemes, solutions, concepts, designs, methods and systems pertaining to controlling a display of data. In particular, embodiments aim to provide a method for controlling a display of data by generating one display control signal which defines the display of an avatar of a first patient including a repeating animation, and generating another display control signal which defines the display of an avatar of a second patient using another repeating animation. In order to reduce the potential confusion and distraction of multiple animations (on the same or different display units), at least one of the display control signals is adapted to synchronize the (at least) two animations to one another. In this way, the synchronized animations are less confusing and distracting to look at, allowing a clinician to focus instead on the actual data that they are indicating.