Haptic Feedback System for Remote Medical Examination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical practices face challenges in remote medical examinations, particularly for less experienced practitioners who lack access to diverse patient interactions for learning symptoms and performing diagnoses through touch, as traditional methods rely heavily on visual cues rather than tactile feedback.
Innovation Solution
An electronic apparatus and method utilizing haptics, which includes a head-mounted display and wearable sensors and haptic devices, allowing medical practitioners to interact with 3D models of patients' anatomical portions, providing tactile feedback and bio-signals for enhanced remote examination and training.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional visual-based remote examination methods are used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision of tactile symptoms deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the patient's anatomical structure in 3D space, allowing the practitioner to interact with this digital replica through haptic feedback. The haptic device reproduces tactile sensations from the actual patient examination on the virtual model, enabling remote practitioners to feel tissue characteristics, lesions, and anatomical features without direct physical contact with the patient.
Solution Approach 2:
The haptic device serves as an intermediary between the patient and the remote practitioner. It translates physical tactile information from the patient's body into haptic feedback signals that the practitioner can perceive, bridging the physical gap between examiner and examinee while preserving tactile diagnostic capabilities.
2Loss of information
If physical examination through touch is performed remotely, then loss of information is reduced, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the direct mechanical contact system with an electronic-haptic system. Instead of requiring the practitioner to physically touch the patient, the system uses sensors to detect tactile information and haptic actuators to reproduce these sensations remotely, substituting mechanical direct contact with electronically-mediated haptic feedback.
3Reliability
If haptic feedback devices are integrated into the system, then reliability of remote diagnosis is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The haptic device performs multiple functions: it provides tactile feedback to the practitioner, tracks the examination movements, and transmits force information back to the remote system. This multi-functionality consolidates several components into a single integrated device, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining diagnostic reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables more accurate and effective remote medical consultations by simulating tactile sensations, improving diagnosis and training through immersive and realistic tactile experiences, thereby bridging the gap in hands-on learning for practitioners.
Implementation Method 1
The wearable sensor may receive the touch input and may extract, based on the received touch input, a set of bio-signals including physiological signals and somatic sensation information
Implementation Method 2
The wearable haptic device may generate a haptic feedback based on the received set of bio-signals. The haptic feedback may be generated as a response to the human touch
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic apparatus and method for medical examination of human body using haptics is provided. The electronic apparatus controls a first head-mounted display to render a 3D model of an anatomical portion of the body of a human subject. The rendered 3D model includes a region corresponding to defect portion in the anatomical portion. The electronic apparatus transmits a touch input to wearable sensor in contact with the anatomical portion. Such an input corresponds to a human touch on the region of the rendered 3D model. The electronic apparatus receives, based on the touch input, bio-signals associated with the defect portion via the wearable sensor. The bio-signals include physiological signals and somatic sensation information associated with the defect portion. As a response to the human touch, the electronic apparatus controls a wearable haptic device to generate a haptic feedback based on the received set of bio-signals.