Mobile Robot Remote Stroke Consultation System
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of healthcare leads to fragmented care, particularly in stroke diagnosis and treatment, where timely access to clinical specialist expertise is crucial but often unavailable, resulting in inadequate treatment for most stroke patients due to the lack of specialized facilities and protocols in community hospitals.
Innovation Solution
A robotic system comprising a mobile robot with a camera and a user interface that allows remote control and monitoring by a physician, enabling the entry and display of medical information, including the NIHSS questionnaire and t-PA dosage calculations, to facilitate remote observation and treatment of stroke patients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If clinical specialist expertise is concentrated in leading stroke centers, then treatment quality improves for those patients, but accessibility deteriorates for the majority of stroke victims in community hospitals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a robotic system with remote communication capabilities as an intermediary between community hospitals and specialist centers. The robot equipped with camera and display allows real-time visual consultation, enabling specialists at leading centers to guide treatment at community hospitals without physical presence, thus bridging the accessibility gap while maintaining treatment quality
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system creates a virtual copy of the specialist consultation experience by transmitting video feeds and enabling real-time interaction. This allows the specialist's expertise to be replicated and delivered remotely to multiple community hospitals simultaneously, expanding accessibility without compromising the reliability of specialist-guided treatment
2Loss of time
If immediate specialist consultation is provided for stroke patients, then treatment timeliness improves, but system complexity increases due to need for integrated communication and monitoring infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system is designed as a multi-functional platform that integrates camera monitoring, display capabilities, and remote communication functions into a single device. This universal system can perform multiple tasks including patient observation, video consultation, and real-time data transmission, reducing overall system complexity compared to having separate systems for each function while enabling immediate specialist consultation
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system enables semi-autonomous operation where local medical staff can initiate and conduct consultations using the robot's communication tools. The system provides self-service capabilities for basic monitoring and communication functions, reducing the burden on specialists while maintaining timely access to expert guidance when needed
Data Source
AI summary
A robotic system that can be used to treat a patient. The robotic system includes a mobile robot that has a camera. The mobile robot is controlled by a remote station that has a monitor. A physician can use the remote station to move the mobile robot into view of a patient. An image of the patient is transmitted from the robot camera to the remote station monitor. A medical personnel at the robot site can enter patient information into the system through a user interface. The patient information can be stored in a server. The physician can access the information from the remote station. The remote station may provide graphical user interfaces that display the patient information and provide both a medical tool and a patient management plan.