Remote Medical Device Interface Visualization System

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Medical devices with electronic components face challenges in training, treatment, and troubleshooting due to distributed facilities and scattered patients, leading to inefficiencies in operation and management, particularly in blood centers where innovative methods for enhancing efficiency, productivity, and safety are lacking.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for remote visualization and configuration of medical devices, utilizing a processor to establish communication channels with multiple devices, providing miniature and larger screen representations of device interfaces for live data feed, allowing remote control and management, troubleshooting, and reconfiguration of medical devices through a user interface.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If operators and administrators manually manage medical devices in distributed facilities, then they can directly access and control the devices, but they experience inefficiencies and productivity losses due to lack of information and access

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoperational efficiencyVSAvoidaccess to device information
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system creates virtual copies of physical medical device interfaces that can be displayed and controlled remotely. The virtual interface replicates the functionality and appearance of the actual device screen, allowing operators to interact with devices remotely as if they were physically present. This eliminates the need for operators to travel to distributed facilities while maintaining full access to device information and control capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces a communication channel and virtual interface as an intermediary between the operator and the physical medical device. This intermediary transmits device information and control commands between the remote operator and the physical device, enabling efficient management without direct physical access. The intermediary resolves the contradiction by providing information access while eliminating the need for physical presence.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If the system displays detailed interface screens for multiple medical devices, then operators can access complete device information, but the interface complexity and difficulty of monitoring multiple devices increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedevice interface informationVSAvoidinterface complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the display of multiple device interfaces by providing both miniature representations and expandable detailed views. Each medical device interface is divided into a compact thumbnail form for overview monitoring and a full detailed form for in-depth analysis. This segmentation allows operators to monitor multiple devices simultaneously while accessing complete information when needed, reducing the perceived complexity of the overall interface.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system adds a spatial dimension to interface display by implementing a hierarchical view structure. Miniature interface representations are arranged in a two-dimensional grid layout that fits multiple devices on a single screen, while detailed views are accessed through expansion into a separate full-screen dimension. This dimensional approach allows comprehensive monitoring of multiple devices without overwhelming the operator with complex simultaneous displays.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Speed

If the system provides live feed from medical device screens, then real-time monitoring capability is improved, but the amount of data transmitted and processed increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvereal-time monitoring speedVSAvoiddata transmission and processing
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality by transmitting and processing data at different resolutions based on the viewing context. When devices are displayed in miniature thumbnail form, only low-resolution data is transmitted and processed, consuming minimal energy. When a device interface is expanded to full detailed view, high-resolution data transmission and processing is activated for that specific device only. This localized quality adjustment reduces overall energy consumption while maintaining real-time monitoring capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2778994B1Systems, articles of manufacture, and methods for multi-screen visualization and instrument configuration
Publication Date: 2021.11.10 FENWAL INC
  • EP2778994B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2778994B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP2778994B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

Example systems and methods to visualize and manage medical device operations and troubleshooting are provided. Interface information from a plurality of medical devices is used to generate a visualization of the interface information from the one or more of the plurality of medical devices. Each medical device interface is represented by a miniature representation of the interface in the visualization. Each miniature representation is to convey information shown on the interface of the medical device. The visualization is provided to a user via a user interface at a remote control computer. The user interface is to facilitate user selection of a miniature representation to trigger display of a larger representation of the selected medical device interface information via the user interface.