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DE-102024210804-A1 - Procedure for positioning a patient bed, patient bed and positioning arrangement

DE102024210804A1DE 102024210804 A1DE102024210804 A1DE 102024210804A1DE-102024210804-A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for positioning a mobile patient stretcher (1) relative to a stationary medical device (2), wherein the patient stretcher (1) comprises a control unit (5), a drive (4) and/or a steering system, wherein the drive (4) and/or the steering system can be controlled by the control unit (5) based on control signals, wherein the patient stretcher (1) has an optical sensor device (7) configured to capture at least one image (9) of a camera environment, wherein at least one first optical marker (11) is arranged in a floor area (10) in an environment of the medical device (2), characterized in that the sensor device (7) captures the first optical marker (11) in an image (9) and provides the image (9) to the control unit (5), wherein the control unit (5) determines a position and/or orientation of the patient stretcher (1) relative to the medical device (2) based on the provided image (9) of the first marker and/or the first marker (11) encompassed by the image, wherein for positioning the mobile The patient bed (1) is controlled by the drive (4) and/or the steering based on the specified position and/or orientation.

Inventors

  • Andreas Deinlein
  • Róbert Jacko

Assignees

  • Siemens Healthineers Ag

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241111

Claims (14)

  1. Method for positioning a mobile patient stretcher (1) relative to a stationary medical device (2), wherein the patient stretcher (1) comprises a control device (5), a drive (4) and/or a steering system, wherein the drive (4) and/or the steering system is controllable by means of the control device (5) based on control signals, wherein the patient stretcher (1) has an optical sensor device (7) configured to capture at least one image (9) of a camera environment, wherein at least one first optical marker (11) is arranged in a floor area (10) in an environment of the medical device (2), characterized in that the sensor device (7) captures the first optical marker (11) in an image (9) and provides the image (9) to the control device (5), wherein the control device (5) determines a position and/or orientation of the patient stretcher (1) relative to the medical device (2) based on the provided image (9) of the first marker (11) and/or the first marker (11) encompassed by the image, wherein for positioning the mobile The patient bed (1) is controlled by the drive (4) and/or the steering based on the specified position and/or orientation.
  2. Procedure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that at least one second optical marker (17) is arranged on the medical device (2), wherein the sensor device (7) detects the second optical marker (17) in an image (9) and provides the image (9) to the control device (5), wherein the control device (5) determines a fine position and/or fine orientation of the patient bed (1) relative to the medical device (2) based on the provided image (9) of the second marker (17) and/or the second marker (17) encompassed by the image (9), wherein the drive (4) and/or the steering is controlled based on the determined fine position and/or fine orientation to position the mobile patient bed (1).
  3. Procedure according to Claim 2 , characterized in that the control device (5) for positioning the mobile patient stretcher (1) in a remote area (14) controls the drive (4) and/or the steering based on the specified position and/or orientation, and for positioning the mobile patient stretcher (1) in a near area (15) controls the drive (5) and/or the steering based on the specified fine position and/or fine orientation
  4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (5) is configured to determine a trajectory for the patient stretcher (1) based on the provided image (9) of the first marker, the provided image (9) of the second marker (17) and/or the first and/or second markers (11, 17) encompassed by the image (9), wherein the trajectory describes a shortest, uniform, straight and/or patient-friendly path of the patient stretcher (1) to the stationary medical equipment (2), in particular to dock the patient stretcher (1) to the medical equipment (2), wherein the control device (5) controls the drive (4) and/or the steering based on the determined trajectory.
  5. A method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one further optical marker is arranged on walls and/or objects in the vicinity of the medical device (2), wherein the sensor device (4) detects the further optical marker in an image (9) and provides the image (9) to the control device (5), wherein the control device (5) determines environmental information based on the provided image (9) of the further marker and/or the further marker encompassed by the image (8), and the control device (5) controls the drive (4) and/or the steering for positioning the mobile patient stretcher (1) based on the environmental information
  6. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first, second and/or further optical markers (11, 17) form an optical code and the optical code comprises and/or encodes marker information, wherein the first, second and/or further optical markers (11, 17) form a square, rectangular or regular geometric shape and comprise a predetermined number of marker elements (16), wherein the marker elements (16) represent simple geometric figures and are positioned in a defined arrangement scheme, wherein the marker elements (16) and/or the arrangement of the marker elements (16) encode the marker information.
  7. Procedure according to Claim 6 , characterized in that the regular geometric shape of the optical markers (11, 17) has corner regions, wherein marker elements (16) are arranged in the corner regions and/or the marker elements (16) are arranged in the corner regions.
  8. Procedure according to Claim 6 or 7 , characterized in that the marking elements (16) for encoding the marker information differ at least partially in their shape, size and/or color.
  9. Procedure according to one of the Claims 6 until 8 , characterized in that the control unit (5) determines the marker information based on the provided image (9) of the first, second and/or further markers (11, 17) and/or the first, second and/or further markers (11, 17) encompassed by the image (9), wherein the control unit (5) controls the drive (4) and/or the steering based on the marker information for positioning the mobile patient stretcher (1) and/or determines the trajectory based on the marker information.
  10. Procedure according to one of the Claims 2 until 9 , characterized in that the first optical marker (11) is larger than the second and/or further optical markers (17).
  11. Method according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that the first and second optical markers (11, 17) are arranged in alignment with respect to a longitudinal direction (L) of the patient bed (1) in the positioned and/or docked state.
  12. Patient couch (1) with an optical sensor device (7) and a control device (5), characterized in that the sensor device (7) and the control device (5) are configured to perform and/or apply the method according to one of the preceding claims.
  13. Patient couch (1) after Claim 12 , characterized in that the sensor device (7) comprises a camera for recording and/or capturing the image (8), wherein the camera has a detection direction, wherein the camera is arranged with the detection direction aligned with the longitudinal direction (L) of the patient bed (1).
  14. Positioning arrangement comprising the patient bed (1) according Claim 12 or 13 , a medical device (2) and at least one first optical marker (11), wherein the first optical marker (11) is arranged in a floor area in a vicinity of the medical device (2), wherein the patient bed (1) is configured to perform the method according to one of the Claims 1 until 11 to apply and/or execute.

Description

The invention relates to a method for positioning a patient bed relative to a stationary medical device, wherein the patient bed comprises a control unit, a drive, and/or a steering system, the drive and/or steering system being controllable by means of the control unit based on control signals. The invention further relates to a patient bed for applying the method and a positioning arrangement comprising the patient bed. Mobile patient couches are a well-known technology. They can either work in conjunction with a medical imaging system during image data acquisition or be operated independently of the imaging system. To facilitate moving or maneuvering the patient stretcher, the chassis of the mobile patient stretcher can, for example, include four freely rotating casters, one at each corner of the stretcher, and a fifth, centrally located wheel positioned between the casters. This fifth wheel is pressed against the ground by a spring mechanism and acts as a guide wheel. In manual operation, the fifth wheel allows the stretcher to be easily pushed straight ahead or around tight curves, and when stationary, it allows the stretcher to be rotated around the fifth wheel. Alternatively, for a motorized or autonomous operation, the fifth wheel can be equipped with a drive motor that can assist or independently move the stretcher. Currently, the operator is responsible for determining the direction of movement by rotating the stretcher around the fifth wheel. The four casters then align themselves according to the direction specified by the user and follow the manual input. Such a patient stretcher is, for example, described in the German utility model patent. DE 202016007430 known. Such mobile patient couches offer the possibility of placing a patient on the couch outside of an examination room, i.e., detached from the medical imaging system, and/or, for example, attaching the coils (e.g., head, extremity or body coils) that may be required for image data acquisition during a magnetic resonance examination. The mobile patient bed must then be moved to the medical imaging system. As mentioned earlier, this requires an operator to either push the patient bed, with the patient on it, into the examination room and then, ideally, align it with a docking station of the medical imaging system, or the patient bed must move itself to the docking station. The patient table must be moved to the docking point at the lowest possible speed to prevent or suppress any sudden impact. For operation with the medical imaging system, the patient table is often equipped with a docking device comprising a docking arm. In order for the docking process to begin and, if necessary, be mechanically or hydraulically assisted, the patient table, and especially the docking arm of the docking device, must be positioned at an angle within an acceptable range of -7° to +7°. Ideally, an angle of -2° to +2° should be achieved during approach to minimize lateral jerking caused by the automatic realignment of the patient table to 0° during the docking process. Even moving a patient stretcher within a building and/or room can cause discomfort for the patient. Such movements often take place in confined spaces, which can lead to collisions with surrounding objects and/or the need for frequent forward, backward, and/or sideways maneuvering. However, the inconveniences for the patient during the journey, especially when positioning themselves in front of the scanner and/or aligning themselves for docking, must still be accepted. In contrast, the object of the present invention is to provide alternative means that allow for increased patient comfort when driving, steering, and/or positioning a mobile patient stretcher. In particular, the object of the present invention is to provide means that enable reliable and precise positioning of the patient stretcher at a medical facility. This problem is solved by a method for positioning a patient bed, a patient bed, and a positioning arrangement. Preferred and/or alternative, advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims, the description, and the accompanying figures. The solution to the problem according to the invention with regard to the claimed method is described below. Features, advantages, or alternative embodiments mentioned herein are The provisions of the invention can also be applied to the other claimed subject matter and vice versa. In particular, claims (which, for example, relate to a method) can also be further developed with features described or claimed in connection with one of the devices. The corresponding functional features of the method are thereby realized by corresponding subject matter modules or units. Regardless of the grammatical gender of a particular term, persons with male, female or other gender identities are included. The present invention relates in a first aspect to a method for positioning a patient bed relative to a stationary medical device, wherein th