Medical Imaging Workflow Dashboard for Proactive Remote Assistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of providing effective remote assistance to multiple local operators performing medical imaging examinations is hindered by the need for rapid switching between differently designed user interfaces and the lack of visibility into the local operator's difficulties, such as repeated imaging stages, which can lead to delayed or failed initiation of remote expert sessions.
Innovation Solution
A system that extracts image features from medical imaging device displays, maps them to completed and current examinations, generates completion time statistics, and provides a graphical overview on a remote workstation, allowing remote experts to proactively initiate assistance sessions based on historical data and real-time comparisons.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If remote experts monitor multiple imaging bays simultaneously by rapidly switching between screen views, then the expert can assist multiple local operators, but the complexity of switching between differently designed user interfaces increases the time and difficulty of providing effective assistance
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a standardized dashboard interface as an intermediary layer between the remote expert and the multiple imaging bays. This dashboard consolidates status information from different imaging systems into a unified view, eliminating the need for experts to directly navigate complex, vendor-specific interfaces while still monitoring multiple bays simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring interface is segmented into modular components, with each imaging bay represented as a separate dashboard card or window. This segmentation allows experts to monitor multiple bays independently without the complexity of integrating all different interface designs into a single unified view
2Ease of operation
If local operators continue imaging examinations without initiating remote expert sessions, then examinations can proceed independently, but problems such as repeated imaging stages may go undetected and lead to delays
Solution Approach 1:
The dashboard provides continuous feedback to remote experts about the status of ongoing examinations by extracting and displaying key parameters such as elapsed time, sequence number, and current imaging stage. This feedback mechanism enables experts to detect anomalies like repeated imaging stages without requiring operators to actively report problems
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary monitoring and analysis of examination progress before problems become critical. By continuously tracking imaging parameters and comparing them against expected patterns, the system can identify potential issues early and alert remote experts proactively, allowing intervention before delays occur
3Measurement precision
If the system extracts and analyzes image features from display frames to generate completion time statistics, then historical data can be used to assess current examination status, but the computational processing time and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the critical features and parameters from the imaging display frames that are necessary for assessing examination status, such as elapsed time, sequence numbers, and current stage indicators. This selective extraction focuses computational resources on processing only the most relevant information rather than analyzing every pixel and detail in the display
Solution Approach 2:
The system processes and stores only the essential examination parameters and completion time statistics rather than all possible data from the imaging systems. This partial processing approach maintains sufficient measurement precision for reliable status assessment while significantly reducing computational burden and data processing time
Data Source
AI summary
A method (100) of providing remote monitoring of a local operator (LO) of a medical imaging device (2) during a medical imaging examination, the method including: mapping image features to medical imaging examinations based at least on timestamps of the image features, the medical imaging examinations to which the image features are mapped including completed medical imaging examinations and a current medical imaging examination; converting the image features mapped to each completed medical imaging examination into a representation (43) of the completed medical imaging examination and a representation (47) of a current status of the current medical imaging examination; generating at least one completion time statistic (45) representing the completion times for the completed medical imaging examinations; and during the current medical imaging examination, displaying the representation of the current status of the current medical imaging examination and the at least one completion time statistic on the workstation.