Abstract:
A patient position monitoring apparatus capable of monitoring the position of a patient is provided. The patient position monitoring apparatus includes a position guider emitting a source and a plurality of guide markers sensing the source emitted from the position guider and transmitting sensed information to the position guider. The position guider determines whether positions of the guide markers are changed through the sensed information. When the position of the patient is changed, and thus the source emitted from the position guider is out of the range of the guide markers, a warning signal is output. Accordingly, a user can monitor a variation in the position of the patient even if the user does not continuously observe the patient.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a patient position monitoring apparatus, and more particularly, to a patient position monitoring apparatus capable of monitoring a variation in the position of a patient. 
         [0003]    2. Discussion of the Related Art 
         [0004]    There are many occasions when a patient should not be moved during medical treatment in a hospital because it is required to fix a body part of the patient to which the medical treatment is given. Accordingly, even a slight motion of the patient must be detected. 
         [0005]    For example, ultrasonic therapy is required to radiate ultrasonic waves only to the affected part, and thus the motion of the patient must be continuously observed. Accordingly, a user (or a doctor) has to continuously watch the patient or marks the affected part of the patient, captures an image of the affected part using an optical camera and monitor the captured image in real time to detect a motion of the patient. 
         [0006]    However, the aforementioned method requires the user to spend time because the user has to continuously monitor the patient. Furthermore, it is difficult to move the patient to the original position because the user determines the movement according to user&#39;s experience. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a patient position monitoring apparatus which outputs a warning signal when a patient position is changed during medical treatment that requires the patient position to be fixed. 
         [0008]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a position guider of a patient position monitoring apparatus, which includes a plurality of source emitting parts located above a patient to which a plurality of guide markers for sensing a source are attached and emitting the source to the guide markers; a first communication unit performing communication with the guide markers; and a first controller receiving information sensed by the guide markers from the guide markers through the first communication unit and determining whether the position of the patient is changed. 
         [0009]    According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a guide marker of a patient position monitoring apparatus, which includes a source sensor sensing a source emitted from a position guider; a second communication unit performing communication with the position guider; and a second controller transmitting information sensed by the source sensor to the position guider through the second communication unit. 
         [0010]    According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a patient position monitoring apparatus including a position guider emitting a source; and a plurality of guide markers sensing the source emitted from the position guider and transmitting sensed information to the position guider. The position guider determines whether positions of the guide makers are changed through the sensed information. 
         [0011]    The patient position monitoring apparatus may further include a strap that has a first adhesive part for attaching the guide markers to the strap, which is formed on one side of the strap, and is located on the affected part of a patient. The first adhesive part may correspond to one of a Velcro tape and a metal fiber. A second adhesive part for attaching each guide marker to the strap may be formed on the bottom face of each guide marker, and the second adhesive part may correspond to one of a Velcro tape and a magnet. 
         [0012]    The patient position monitoring apparatus may further include an output unit receiving a warning signal for warning a user that the positions of the guide markers are changed from the position guider and outputting the warning signal. 
         [0013]    The position guider may judge that the position of the patient is changed if it is determined that the source emitted from the source emitting parts is out of the range of the source sensor through the sensed information. 
         [0014]    According to the present invention, the guide markers are attached to portions to which a source is emitted from the source emitting pars, the guide markers respectively include the source sensor, and the position guider receives information sensed by the source sensor and outputs a warning signal when the source is out of the range of the source sensor to monitor a motion of the patient. 
         [0015]    Furthermore, when the patient moves, the patient can be returned to the original position by moving the patient such that the source emitted from the source irradiating parts reach the range of the source sensor. 
         [0016]    Moreover, the interval of the source irradiating parts can be previously determined, and thus a treatment route and treatment area for the patient can be calculated through the first controller included in the position guider to provide convenience and accuracy during medical treatment. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  illustrates a patient position monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of ultrasonic therapy equipment including the patient position monitoring apparatus illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a strap and a guide marker of the patient position monitoring apparatus illustrated in  FIG. 1  according to and embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0021]      FIGS. 4   a , 4 b ,  4   c  and  4   d  illustrate various arrangements of source emitting parts of the patient position monitoring apparatus according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements, and thus their description will be omitted. 
         [0023]    A patient position monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be explained with reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 .  FIG. 1  illustrates the patient position monitoring apparatus  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 2  is a block diagram of ultrasonic therapy equipment including the patient position monitoring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a strap and a guide marker of the patient position monitoring apparatus according to the present invention. 
         [0024]    The patient position monitoring apparatus  100  monitors the position of a patient  70  and outputs a warning signal if the position of the patient  70  is changed during medical treatment. The patient position monitoring apparatus  100  according to the current embodiment of the invention includes a position guider  10 , a plurality of guide markers  20  and a strap  30 . The patient position monitoring apparatus  100  may further include output units. Here, the output units include a display  40  and a voice output unit  50 . The output units may further include a lamp which outputs a warning signal as flicking light. 
         [0025]    The display  40  displays a menu of various functions executed in the patient position monitoring apparatus  100 . The display  40  may indicate points to which the guide markers  20  are attached or a treatment route of the patient  70 . A liquid crystal display (LCD) or a touch screen may be used as the display  40 . The touch screen functions as both a display device and an input device. 
         [0026]    The voice output unit  50  outputs a voice under the control of the position guider  10 . Particularly, the voice output unit  50  receives the warning signal from the position guider  10  and outputs the warning signal as a voice. 
         [0027]    The position guider  10  includes source emitting parts  12 , a first communication unit  14  and a first controller  16 . The source emitting parts  12  are located above the patient to which the plurality of guide markers  20  are attached and emit a source to the guide markers  20 . The number of source emitting parts  12  corresponds to the number of guide markers  20 . The source emitting parts  12  are formed on a source emitting plate  11  (refer to  FIG. 4 ) and emit one of a laser, LED light, ultrasonic waves, sprit light and infrared rays. For example, when the source emitting parts  12  emit laser beams  13 , the laser beams  13  arrive at the patient  70  located under the source emitting parts  12  and are indicated on the strap  30  attached to the affected part of the patient  70 . The source emitting parts  12  will be described later with reference to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0028]    The first communication unit  14  performs communication with the guide markers  20 . Here, wired or wireless communication can be used. 
         [0029]    The first controller  16  corresponds to a microprocessor that controls the overall operation of the position guider  10 . The first controller  16  receives information on the sensed source from the guide markers  20  and determines whether the position of the patient  70  is changed. 
         [0030]    Further, the position guider  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1  has the source emitting parts  12  formed on the side facing the patient  70 . However, the shape of the position guider  10  is not limited thereto. The position guider  10  may be fixed to a therapy table  60  or a movable supporting table. 
         [0031]    Each of the guide markers  20  includes a source sensor  22 , a second communication unit  24  and a second controller  26 . The source sensor  22  senses the source emitted from the corresponding source emitting part  12 . The source sensor  22  may be placed opposite to the source emitting part  12  to stably sense the source emitted from the source emitting part  12 . The source sensor  22  is selected according to the type of the source emitted from the source emitting part  12  and includes one of a laser sensor, an LED sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a sprit light sensor and an infrared sensor. For example, when a laser is emitted from the source emitting part  12 , the laser sensor is used as the source sensor  22 . 
         [0032]    The second communication unit  24  performs communication with the position guider  10 . Here, wired or wireless communication may be used. 
         [0033]    Further, the second controller  26  corresponds to a microprocessor which controls the overall operation of the guide markers  20 . The second controller  26  transmits information sensed by the source sensor  22  to the position guider  10  through the second communication unit  24 . The first communication unit  14  and the second communication unit  24  are connected to each other through a wired or wireless method. 
         [0034]    The first controller  16  of the position guider  10  receives the information sensed by the source sensor  22 , determines whether the source emitted from the source emitting part  12  is out of the range of the source sensor  22  through the received information and judges that the position of the patient  70  is changed if when the source is out of the range of the source sensor  22 . When it is determined that the position of the patient  70  is changed, the first controller  16  can output a warning signal through the voice output unit  16 . Further, the first controller  16  can output the warning signal through the display  40 . When the position of the patient  70  is changed and thus the warning signal is output through the voice output unit  50  or the display  40 , the user can recognize the change of the patient position and move the patient  70  to the original position such that the source irradiated from the source emitting part  12  reaches the range of the source sensor  22 . 
         [0035]    The strap  30  is used to attach the guide markers  20  to the patient  70  and is located on the affected part of the patient  70 . The strap  30  includes a first adhesive part  38  formed on one side thereof. The strap  30  may cover the body of the patient  70  including the affected part or only the affected part. The first adhesive part  38  is formed to attach the guide markers  20  to the strap  30 . A Velcro tape or a metal fiber can be used as the first adhesive part  38 . 
         [0036]    Each of the guide markers  20  includes a second adhesive part  28  formed on one side thereof. The second adhesive part  28  is attached to the first adhesive part  38  of the strap  30 . The second adhesive part  28  may use a Velcro tape when the first adhesive part  38  is a Velcro tape and use a magnet when the first adhesive part  38  is a metal fiber. The first adhesive part  38  and the second adhesive part  28  are not limited to the Velcro tape, metal fiber and magnet and can use various methods which can attach the first and second adhesive parts  38  and  28  to each other. 
         [0037]    Although the patient position monitoring apparatus  100  according to the current embodiment of the invention includes the display  40  and the voice output unit  50  which are separated from the position guider  10 , the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the position guider  10  may include the display  40  or the voice output unit  50 . 
         [0038]    The source emitting parts  12  according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be explained with reference to  FIGS. 4   a , 4 b ,  4   c  and  4   d .  FIGS. 4   a , 4 b ,  4   c  and  4   d  illustrate various shapes of the source emitting parts of the patient position monitoring apparatus of the present invention. 
         [0039]    The plurality of source emitting parts  12  are formed on the source emitting plate  11 . The source emitting parts  12  are connected to the position guider  10  through a wired or wireless method and emit a source. The source emitting parts  12  may be respectively formed at four corners of the source emitting plate  11 , as shown in  FIG. 4   a , and the interval or positions of the source emitting parts  12  may be varied, as shown in  FIG. 4   b . Further, the source emitting parts  12  may be arranged in a triangular shape, as shown in  FIG. 4   c , and two source emitting parts  12  may be formed in a row, as shown in  FIG. 4   d.    
         [0040]    Though  FIGS. 4   a , 4 b ,  4   c  and  4   d  show the source emitting parts  12  in four arrangement forms, the present invention is not limited thereto. 
         [0041]    Furthermore, the patient position monitoring apparatus  100  may include a cover for covering one of the plurality of source emitting parts  12  to reduce the number of source emitting parts  12 . 
         [0042]    The interval of the source emitting parts  12  formed on the source emitting plate  11  can be determined in advance, and thus the first controller  16  can calculate a treatment route or a treatment area for the patient through the previously determined interval of the sources  13  corresponding to the source emitting parts  12 . 
         [0043]    Moreover, the source emitting parts  12  may be designed such that the source emitting parts  12  can move on the source emitting plate  11 . In addition, the source emitting parts  12  may be connected to a flexible rail without using the source emitting plate  11  to change the positions and number of the source emitting parts  12 . The source emitting parts  12  can be formed in various manners. 
         [0044]    While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in forms and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.