Abstract:
A network based surgical system including a first medical device having a first network interface, a second medical device having a second network interface, a communications network over which the first medical device, through the first network interface, and the second medical device, through the second network interface, are communicable, wherein the first network interface and the second network interface employ the same network protocol for communicating over the communications network, and wherein the first network interface has a maximum throughput greater than a maximum throughput of the second network interface.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to network based surgical systems, and more specifically to a network based endoscopic surgical system including a standardized communication protocol capable of transferring uncompressed digital video. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Prior art surgical systems typically comprise a plurality of differing communication protocols and hardware depending upon the type of, and amount of, data being transmitted. For example, systems utilizing lower bandwidth (e.g., 100 Mbs or less) connections have been used for communication between equipment, and lack the speed to transmit digital video data to, and from, cameras, surgical displays, storage devices, control stations, computer networks, and the like. Separate higher bandwidth connections are then also required. This necessitates utilizing one type of connection hardware and its corresponding protocols for command, control, and status functions, and another type of connection hardware and its corresponding protocols for video transmission. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,490 discloses a networking infrastructure for an operating room including a plurality of medical devices, each of which is connected through a single communication channel to the network. However, the &#39;490 patent does not provide a system that accommodates devices and network interfaces with different maximum throughputs using a single communication protocol. The &#39;490 patent also does not disclose such a system capable of providing uncompressed streaming video. 
     It is therefore desired to provide a network based surgical system having a single communication protocol. It is further desired to provide a network based surgical system capable of streaming uncompressed digital video. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object to provide a network based surgical system for providing individual equipment command and control, individual equipment status and the transfer of uncompressed digital video signals. 
     It is a further object to provide a network based surgical system having standardization for device connectivity and protocol standardization. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a network based surgical system including a high speed Ethernet network utilizing commercially available protocols. 
     It is a further object to provide a system including routing and switching capability, which can isolate each network device (e.g., cameras, display devices, PCs, printers, device controllers and surgical instruments, such as endoscopes and the like). 
     These and other objectives are achieved by providing a network based surgical system including a first medical device having a first network interface, a second medical device having a second network interface, a communications network over which the first medical device, through the first network interface, and the second medical device, through the second network interface, are communicable, wherein the first network interface and the second network interface employ the same network protocol for communicating over the communications network, and wherein the first network interface has a maximum throughput greater than a maximum throughput of the second network interface. The same network protocol may be, e.g., Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10 gigabit Ethernet, or 100 gigabit Ethernet. 
     Other objects are achieved by providing a network based surgical system including a video camera having a first network interface, two or more medical devices each having a second network interface, a communications network over which the video camera, through the first network interface, and the second medical devices, through the second network interfaces, are communicable, wherein the communications network includes at least one switch for sending and receiving data between each of the video camera and two or more medical devices, wherein the first network interface and the second network interface employ the same commercially available network protocol for communicating over the communications network, and wherein the first network interface has a maximum data rate greater than a maximum data rate of the second network interfaces. 
     Other objects of the invention and its particular features and advantages will become more apparent from consideration of the following drawings and accompanying detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is another block diagram of the exemplary embodiment according to  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is another block diagram of the exemplary embodiment according to  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an exemplary embodiment of a system according to the present invention. The system includes one or more medical devices and/or operating room devices (e.g.,  104 - 106 ,  130 - 134 ). The medical devices may comprise, for example, endoscopes, endoflators, thermoflators, light sources, electro-surgical units, operating room cameras, and/or endoscope cameras. The operating room devices may also include device control units  130 , camera control units  131 , display devices (to include touch screen displays)  132 , music players, computers  134 , nurses&#39; stations (e.g., personal computers), servers, printers  136 , data storage devices, microprocessors, microcontrollers and/or embedded controllers, environmental controllers, surgical tables, telecommunication controllers, hospital information systems, etc. 
     The medical and/or operating room devices according to the present invention include network interfaces (e.g.,  140 - 150 ) for communicating via a communication network of the system. For example, a medical and/or operating room device may include a built-in or external network card, network adapter or NIC (network interface card). The network interfaces are preferably Ethernet network interfaces; however, any commercially available high-speed interface may be utilized. Each of the media devices may also include an address (e.g., MAC address) to enable communications to and from other devices in the network. By means of the network interfaces and a common communication protocol, each of the medical and/or operating room devices only requires a network connection and therefore does not require separate connections for different types of data and bandwidths. 
     The network interfaces for various medical and/or operating room devices may have different maximum throughputs or maximum bandwidths. For example, a network interface for a camera may have a high maximum throughput (e.g., 1 gigabit/sec or more). In some embodiments, a network interface of the present invention has a throughput of 10 gigabit/second (“Gbit/sec”), 100 Gbit/sec, or more. Other network interfaces of the system have lower throughputs, such as less than 1 Gbit/sec or less than 100 megabit/second (“Mbit/s”). However, the network interfaces employ the same network protocol for communicating over the communications network. One lower layer is used to provide all required bandwidth capabilities. Each of the medical and/or operating room devices may further include separate or common power supply couplings (not shown); for example, “Power Over Ethernet” applications. 
     The system may further include at least one network switch  120  including any number of ports. The switch  120  is preferably an Ethernet network switch supporting both low bandwidths (e.g., 10 Mbit/s, 100 Mbit/s, etc.) as well as high bandwidths (e.g., 1 Gbit/s or more). Each of the medical devices is connectable to a port of the network switch  120  or direct to other devices via a coupling (e.g.,  110 - 120 ). The couplings of the system may be, for example, twisted pair, copper cabling, InfiniBand, fiber optic, and/or wireless. In some embodiments, the couplings may be selected in accordance with IEEE standards for pertaining to Gigabit Ethernet, 10 gigabit Ethernet, and/or 100 gigabit Ethernet. The switch  120  receives and/or inspects data or data packets (e.g., html format), determines a source and destination device, and forwards the data according. The network switch  120  provides capability to isolate each piece of equipment or medical device from the other on the network via a plurality of channels. Thus, if one channel fails (e.g., cable shorting, component failure, etc.) the remaining communication channels are unaffected. 
       FIG. 2  shows another exemplary embodiment of the system according to the present invention. The system may include one or more subnetworks of medical devices such as subnetwork  108 . The subnetwork  108  includes a plurality of devices (e.g., slave devices) connectable in series. For example, the devices  108   a - 108   c  may include a light source, an endoflator, a thermoflator and/or an electro-surgical unit. 
     The system can also be connected to other, possibly remote, medical devices and networks via local area networks, wide area networks or the Internet  160 , either wirelessly or by direct connection. 
       FIG. 3  shows an exemplary embodiment of the system wherein at least one of the medical devices is a camera  104  for generating video data  150 . The camera  104  may be, for example, a standard definition (SD) camera or preferably a high definition (HD) camera. In some embodiments, the camera  104  is coupled to or comprised in an endoscope to capture video imagery and/or assist in a medical procedure. The camera  104  may also be an operating room camera. 
     The camera  104  captures video imagery and transmits or streams uncompressed video data  150  via the network. In some embodiments, the uncompressed video data  150  is high definition video data. The video data  150  is sent to a display  132  or other devices in communication with the particular operating room network or via an external network  160  or Internet. The video data  150  is preferable streamed at 1 Gbit/sec or more. The camera  104  may also receive send and receive status data  152  and command data  154  (e.g., in html format). Data communicated by the system according to the present invention, such as the video data  150 , status data  152  and command data  154 , is preferably addressed to particular Ethernet address(es) of one or more of the medical devices. 
     Data sent and received in the system according to the present invention, such as video data  150 , is typically packetized and sent (e.g., streamed) using the same lower layer protocol. The system preferable uses an Ethernet protocol (e.g., Gigabit Ethernet, 10 gigabit Ethernet, 100 gigabit Ethernet). Other lower layer protocols employed by the system may include a synchronous optical networking protocol (SONET), synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH), or Wi-Fi. Non-packetized protocols, such as asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) or dynamic synchronous transfer mode (DTM), either utilizing packetized or non-packetized transmission techniques, may be implemented in some embodiments. 
     The camera  104  may further be in communication with a camera control unit (CCU)  131 . The CCU may, for example, be of the type described in commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/695,960, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference. The CCU  131  captures and/or processes the uncompressed video data  150 . The CCU  131  may also send and receive status data  152  and command data  154 , e.g., to operate and adjust camera settings, via the operating room network. For example, the CCU  131  provides command data  154  to control the camera by adjusting color balance, light, focal distance, resolution, zoom, focus, shading, and other types of optical characteristics. The CCU  131  may also receive command data  154  from any number of input devices and/or computers. 
     Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular arrangement of parts, features and the like, these are not intended to exhaust all possible arrangements or features, and indeed many modifications and variations will be ascertainable to those of skill in the art.