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US5987519A
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Telemedicine system using voice video and data encapsulation and de-encapsulation for communicating medical information between central monitoring stations and remote patient monitoring stations
Assignee: Georgia Tech Research Corp
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Filing: 1997-09-19
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Granted: 1999-11-16
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Expires: 2017-09-19
Abstract
Abstract The present invention provides a packet-based telemedicine system for communicating video, voice and medical data between a central monitoring station and a patient monitoring station which is remotely-located with respect to the central monitoring station. The patient monitoring station obtains digital video, voice and medical measurement data from a patient and encapsulates the data in packets and sends the packets over a network to the central monitoring station. Since the information is encapsulated in packets, the information can be sent over multiple types or combinations of network architectures, including a Community access Television (CATV) network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide are network (WAN), over a wireless communications network, or over an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network. Thus, a separate transmission protocol is not required for each different type of transmission media. Rather, a single transport/network layer protocol is used for encapsulating the information in packets at the sending end and for de-encapsulating the information at the receiving end. Furthermore, by sending the information in packets, the video, voice and measurement data can be integrated and sent over a single network.
Inventors
- 👤 John W. Peifer
- 👤 Andrew Hopper
- 👤 Michael Burrow
- 👤 Barry Sudduth
- 👤 Samir Panchal
- 👤 Andy Quay
- 👤 W. Edward Price
- 👤 John R. Searle
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 09:00
CPC Classifications
G; G16; G16H; G16H50/00; G16H50/20; A; A61; A61B; A61B5/00; A61B5/0002; A61B5/0015; A61B5/0022; A61B5/74; A61B5/7465; G16H40/00; G16H40/60; G16H40/67
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
252 words
A telemedicine system for transmitting voice, video and medical data between a central monitoring station and a patient monitoring station over a network, the telemedicine system comprising: a first control unit located at the patient monitoring station, the control unit receiving medical data from one or more medical instruments in communication with the control unit and delivering the medical data to a first communication device in communication with the control unit, the communication device encapsulating the medical data in packets in accordance with a preselected communication protocol and outputting the packets onto the network; and a second control unit located at the central monitoring station, the second control unit being in communication with a second communication device, the second communication device receiving the packets output by the first communication device onto the network, the second communication device de-encapsulating the packets to reconstruct the medical data, the reconstructed medical data being provided to the second control unit; wherein the first control unit receives video and voice data from videoconferencing equipment in communication with the control unit and delivers the video and voice data to the first communication device, the communication device encapsulating the video and voice data in packets in accordance with the preselected communications protocol and outputting the packets onto the network, wherein the second communication device receives the packets encapsulating the video and voice data and de-encapsulates the packets to reconstruct the video and voice data, the second communication device providing the video and voice data to the second control unit.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
252 words
A telemedicine system for transmitting voice, video and medical data between a central monitoring station and a patient monitoring station over a network, the telemedicine system comprising: a first control unit located at the patient monitoring station, the control unit receiving medical data from one or more medical instruments in communication with the control unit and delivering the medical data to a first communication device in communication with the control unit, the communication device encapsulating the medical data in packets in accordance with a preselected communication protocol and outputting the packets onto the network; and a second control unit located at the central monitoring station, the second control unit being in communication with a second communication device, the second communication device receiving the packets output by the first communication device onto the network, the second communication device de-encapsulating the packets to reconstruct the medical data, the reconstructed medical data being provided to the second control unit; wherein the first control unit receives video and voice data from videoconferencing equipment in communication with the control unit and delivers the video and voice data to the first communication device, the communication device encapsulating the video and voice data in packets in accordance with the preselected communications protocol and outputting the packets onto the network, wherein the second communication device receives the packets encapsulating the video and voice data and de-encapsulates the packets to reconstruct the video and voice data, the second communication device providing the video and voice data to the second control unit.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
53 words
The telemedicine system of claim 1, wherein the telemedicine system is for transmitting voice, video and medical data between a plurality of central monitoring stations and a plurality of patient monitoring stations, each patient monitoring station comprising said first control unit and each of said central monitoring stations comprising said second control unit.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
The telemedicine system of claim 1, wherein the network is a community access television (CATV) network.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
12 words
The telemedicine system of claim 3, wherein the communications protocol is TCP/IP.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
16 words
The telemedicine system of claim 1, wherein the network is an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
12 words
The telemedicine system of claim 5, wherein the communications protocol is TCP/IP.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
12 words
The telemedicine system of claim 1, wherein the network is the Internet.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
12 words
The telemedicine system of claim 7, wherein the communications protocol is TCP/IP.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
The telemedicine system of claim 1, wherein the network is a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
12 words
The telemedicine system of claim 9, wherein the communications protocol is TCP/IP.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
16 words
The telemedicine system of claim 1, wherein the network is an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
12 words
The telemedicine system of claim 11, wherein the communications protocol is TCP/IP.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
15 words
The telemedicine system of claim 1, wherein the network is a local area network (LAN).
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
12 words
The telemedicine system of claim 13, wherein the communications protocol is TCP/IP.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
15 words
The telemedicine system of claim 1, wherein the network is a wide area network (WAN).
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
12 words
The telemedicine system of claim 15, wherein the communications protocol is TCP/IP.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
65 words
The telemedicine system of claim 1, wherein the network is a hybrid network consisting of a combination of one or more networks selected from the group consisting of: a community access television (CATV) network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, the Internet, a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN).
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
12 words
The telemedicine system of claim 17, wherein the communications protocol is TCP/IP.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
197 words
A method of acquiring and transporting data in a telemedicine system, the method comprising the steps of: generating medical device command data and application-level data in a control unit located at a central monitoring station, the data being represented by one or more bits; encapsulating the data in packets in accordance with a preselected communications protocol, each packet comprising a designation of a patient monitoring station to which the packet is being sent; outputting the packets onto a network; receiving the packets at the patient monitoring station designated by the designation comprised in the packets; de-encapsulating the packets to reconstruct the data; providing the reconstructed data to a control unit located at the patient monitoring station; obtaining video and voice data from videoconferencing equipment located at the central monitoring station; encapsulating the video and voice data in packets in accordance with the preselected communications protocol, each packet comprising the designation of the patient monitoring station; outputting the packets onto the network; receiving the packets at the patient monitoring station; de-encapsulating the packets to reconstruct the video and voice data; and providing the reconstructed video and voice data to the control unit located at the patient monitoring station.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
197 words
A method of acquiring and transporting data in a telemedicine system, the method comprising the steps of: generating medical device command data and application-level data in a control unit located at a central monitoring station, the data being represented by one or more bits; encapsulating the data in packets in accordance with a preselected communications protocol, each packet comprising a designation of a patient monitoring station to which the packet is being sent; outputting the packets onto a network; receiving the packets at the patient monitoring station designated by the designation comprised in the packets; de-encapsulating the packets to reconstruct the data; providing the reconstructed data to a control unit located at the patient monitoring station; obtaining video and voice data from videoconferencing equipment located at the central monitoring station; encapsulating the video and voice data in packets in accordance with the preselected communications protocol, each packet comprising the designation of the patient monitoring station; outputting the packets onto the network; receiving the packets at the patient monitoring station; de-encapsulating the packets to reconstruct the video and voice data; and providing the reconstructed video and voice data to the control unit located at the patient monitoring station.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-11-15 | 2003-05-17 | 2003-11-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-11-15 | 2007-05-17 | 2007-11-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-11-15 | 2011-05-17 | 2011-11-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |