Patent ID: 6369847
Filing Date: 2002-04-09
Classification: G16H,H04M,H04N

Abstract:
A method for diagnosing and treating a medical condition utilizing a video-conferencing system having a central video-teleconferencing station and one or more remote video-teleconferencing stations, the central video-teleconferencing station having a plurality of video-teleconferencing units are located therein, one for each of the remote video-conferencing stations, and each having an integrated video-teleconferencing control unit for selective actuation by an infra-red radiation beam generating control device, the central video-teleconferencing station having at least one central video monitor, audio transmitter and speaker and a controller unit in controllably telemetry connected relation, a communications link establishing communication with said central video-teleconferencing station and at least one of said remote video-teleconferencing stations, each of said remote video-teleconferencing stations having a mobile emergency center cart having a video-conferencing unit having a remote video monitor, audio speaker and transmitter and a video-conferencing camera being in electronic connection with the communications link and capable of responding to said controller unit for panning and zoom movement, said method comprising the steps of:(a) locating a patient and medical personnel within a remote video-conferencing station; (b) locating said mobile emergency center cart within the remote video-conferencing station and in desired relation with the patient and medical personnel; (c) transmitting infra-red radiation beam transmission control signals from the control device operated by the medical practitioner to a selected integrated video-teleconferencing control unit for medical practitioner controlled video-teleconferencing with the video-teleconferencing unit of the selected remote video-teleconferencing station; (d) shielding the infra-red radiation beam signal transmission from the control device to define an infra-red radiation beam of sufficiently narrow width so as to prevent simultaneous control of an unintended integrated video-teleconferencing unit by the infra-red radiation beam to ensure that only the selected integrated video-teleconferencing control unit of the central video-teleconferencing station is selected; (e) actuating said controller unit and via said communications link for selecting a remote video-conferencing station for patient diagnosis and treatment video-conferencing; (f) actuating said controller unit for selective panning and zoom control of said video-conferencing camera of the selected remote video-conferencing station to present a desired video image of the patient and/or medical personnel on the video monitor of the central video-conferencing station; and (g) directing the medical personnel via the video-telecommunications link to perform medical treatment on the patient, with such medical treatment being visible on the central video-teleconferencing monitor.