US-12626512-B2 - Clinical monitoring device

US12626512B2US 12626512 B2US12626512 B2US 12626512B2US-12626512-B2

Abstract

A clinical monitoring device, in particular a patient zone monitoring device is described. The monitoring device comprises a first sensing unit comprising at least one first sensor configured to acquire spatial data representing spatially resolved depth information with respect to a first field of view of the first sensing unit, a second sensing unit comprising at least one second sensor configured to acquire thermal data representing spatially resolved temperature information with respect to a second field of view of the second sensing unit, and a processing unit comprising at least one processor, the processing unit being configured to receive the spatial data from the first sensing unit and the thermal data from the second sensing unit and process at least the spatial data and the thermal data to generate scene data representing information with respect to a scene in a volume comprised in at least one of the first field of view and the second field of view.

Inventors

MARCEL WALZ
Tobias GEBHARDT

Assignees

HYPROS GMBH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210806
Priority Date: 20201026

Claims (19)

1 . A clinical monitoring device, in particular a patient zone monitoring device, comprising: a first sensing unit comprising at least one first sensor configured to acquire spatial data representing spatially resolved depth information with respect to a first field of view of the first sensing unit; a second sensing unit comprising at least one second sensor configured to acquire thermal data representing spatially resolved temperature information with respect to a second field of view of the second sensing unit; and a processing unit comprising at least one processor, the processing unit being configured to receive the spatial data from the first sensing unit and the thermal data from the second sensing unit and process at least the spatial data and the thermal data to generate scene data representing information with respect to a scene in a volume comprised in at least one of the first field of view and the second field of view.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein: the scene data includes information on at least one of presence, class and properties of one or more objects within the volume.
3 . The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein: the first field of view at least partially overlaps the second field of view.
4 . The monitoring device of claim 3 , wherein: the first field of view overlaps the second field of view at least or only in the volume.
5 . The monitoring device of claim 4 , wherein the processing unit is configured to: determine the volume where the first field of view overlaps the second field of view; select at least one of: (i) from the spatial data, a portion of the spatial data representing spatially resolved depth information with respect to the volume, and (ii) from the thermal data, a portion of the thermal data representing spatially resolved temperature information with respect to the volume; and determine the scene data based on the at least one selected portion.
6 . The monitoring device of claim 5 , further comprising: at least one of a mask and a lens arranged such that it defines at least one of the first field of view and the second field of view, wherein the processing unit is configured to determine the volume based on information related to the at least one of the mask and the lens.
7 . The monitoring device of claim 4 , wherein: the processing unit is configured to generate the scene data by (i) analyzing the spatial data to detect an object present in the volume, and by (ii) comparing, based on the thermal data, a temperature of one or more surface areas of the detected object with at least one predefined thermal property associated with at least one object class to classify the detected object.
8 . The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein: the processing unit is configured to generate the scene data based upon an analysis of at least one of spatial data acquired at different times and thermal data acquired at different times.
9 . The monitoring device of claim 8 , wherein: the processing unit is configured to generate the scene data by (i) analyzing the spatial data to detect an object present in the volume, and by (ii) comparing, based on the thermal data acquired at different times, a temporal temperature behavior of one or more surface areas of the detected object with at least one predefined thermal property associated with at least one object class to classify the detected object.
10 . The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein: the scene data represents information regarding at least one of a temporal and a spatial relationship between at least two different objects present in the volume.
11 . The monitoring device according to claim 10 , wherein: one of the at least two different objects is an occupied patient bed and another one of the at least two different objects is a person, wherein the scene data represents information that relates to the person bending over the occupied patient bed.
12 . The monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein: the scene data represents information that relates to at least one of presence of at least one patient bed, presence of at least one occupied patient bed, presence of at least one clinical device, presence of at least one patient, and presence of at least one person, in particular clinical personnel, in the volume.
13 . The monitoring device of claim 1 , further comprising an orientation sensor configured to acquire orientation data representing an orientation of the monitoring device, wherein the processing unit is configured to: obtain height information indicating a distance, in particular a minimal distance, between the monitoring device and a floor; and determine, on the basis of the orientation data and the height information, pose data indicative of a position and orientation of the monitoring device relative to the floor.
14 . The monitoring device of claim 13 , wherein: the processing unit is configured to: determine, on the basis of the spatial data and the pose data, an estimated height level of one or more surfaces of an object present within the volume, the estimated height level being determined relative to the floor; and generate the scene data based on the estimated height level.
15 . The monitoring device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a third sensing unit comprising at least one passive sensor configured to generate a sensing signal responsive to an object entering or exiting a third field of view of the third sensing unit, wherein the processing unit is configured to receive the sensing signal from the third sensing unit and generate the scene data further based on the sensing signal, wherein the scene data represents information with respect to a scene in both the volume and the third field of view.
16 . The monitoring device of claim 15 , wherein: the processing unit is configured for generating a wake-up signal for at least one sensor selected from the first sensor and the second sensor, the wake-up signal causing a wake-up operation of the at least one sensor, and the processing unit is configured to generate the wake-up signal responsive to the passive sensor generating the sensing signal.
17 . The monitoring device according to claim 15 , further comprising: a fourth sensing unit comprising at least one luminosity sensor configured to acquire luminosity data representing an average luminosity with respect to a fourth field of view of the fourth sensing unit, wherein the processing unit is configured for generating a primary wake-up signal for the passive sensor, the primary wake-up signal causing a wake-up operation of the passive sensor, wherein processing unit is configured to generate the primary wake-up signal responsive to determining that a luminosity indicated by the luminosity information exceeded a predefined threshold for a predefined time.
18 . The monitoring device of claim 16 , wherein: the wake-up operation of the respective sensor configures the respective sensor with a higher sensor sampling rate compared with a non-zero sensor sampling rate of the respective sensor before the wake-up operation.
19 . A clinical monitoring system, comprising: at least one clinical monitoring device, in particular a patient zone monitoring device, comprising: a first sensing unit comprising at least one first sensor configured to acquire spatial data representing spatially resolved depth information with respect to a first field of view of the first sensing unit; a second sensing unit comprising at least one second sensor configured to acquire thermal data representing spatially resolved temperature information with respect to a second field of view of the second sensing unit; and a processing unit comprising at least one processor, the processing unit being configured to receive the spatial data from the first sensing unit and the thermal data from the second sensing unit and process at least the spatial data and the thermal data to generate scene data representing information with respect to a scene in a volume comprised in at least one of the first field of view and the second field of view; and a monitoring unit comprising at least one processor, the monitoring unit being configured to receive the scene data from the monitoring device and process the scene data.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a U.S. National Stage Application filed under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT/EP2021/072099, filed Aug. 6, 2021, and entitled “CLINICAL MONITORING DEVICE”, which International Application claims priority from International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2020/080040, filed on Oct. 26, 2020. The entire contents of each of the above-identified patent applications are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to clinical monitoring. In particular, the disclosure relates to a clinical monitoring device. Also described are a clinical monitoring system comprising at least one such clinical monitoring device, and methods performed by or using such clinical monitoring device. BACKGROUND Monitoring of patient-related circumstances has become increasingly important in clinical environments. A significant health risk for patients in clinical environments is exposure to infectious material and multi-resistant pathogens. A main cause for this may be incorrect, improper or insufficient use of hand hygiene products when the situation requires. The World Health Organization proposes five essential situations of hand hygiene for clinical personnel, relating to a situation before interaction with a patient, before performing an aseptic activity, after contact with infectious material, after interaction with the patient, and after interaction with a patient environment. To date, specially trained hygiene personnel is responsible for monitoring compliance with hygiene regulations, in many cases using a checklist on paper and a pen. Accordingly, such a compliance observation is not free from human error. Moreover, there is a bias because clinical personnel behaves differently when observed (so called “Hawthorne effect”). Since the checklist based approach is resource-intensive, it is not scalable. Furthermore, it is of importance to monitor other patient-related circumstances such as the availability of free beds, in particular intensive care beds, or the condition of patients. Such a monitoring is commonly done manually or using bed-side patient monitoring equipment. A significant amount of manual effort has to be put into gaining an overview of a hospital-wide general situation. SUMMARY There is a need for clinical monitoring that allows assessing clinically relevant parameters, situations or circumstances in patient-related clinical environments. According to a first aspect, a clinical monitoring device, in particular a patient zone monitoring device, is provided. The device comprises a first sensing unit comprising at least one first sensor configured to acquire spatial data representing spatially resolved depth information with respect to a first field of view (e.g., of at least one of the first sensing unit and the first sensor). The device further comprises a second sensing unit comprising at least one second sensor configured to acquire thermal data representing spatially resolved temperature information with respect to a second field of view (e.g., of at least one of the second sensing unit and the second sensor). The device further comprises a processing unit comprising at least one processor, the processing unit being configured to receive the spatial data from the first sensing unit and the thermal data from the second sensing unit and process at least the spatial data and the thermal data to generate scene data representing information with respect to a scene in a volume comprised in at least one of the first field of view and the second field of view. The first sensor being configured to acquire spatial data representing spatially resolved depth information with respect to the first field of view may be considered as being synonymous to the first sensor being configured to acquire spatial data representing 3-dimensional information with respect to the first field of view. The acquired spatial data may be raw data. The acquired thermal data may be raw data. Generating the scene data may result in a net reduction of data amount. For instance, the rate at which scene data is generated may be smaller than the rate at which at least one of the spatial data and the thermal data is generated (e.g., at least during acquisition of the spatial data). The at least one sensor may be configured to measure a plurality of distances to different points within the field of view. The spatial data may be in the form of distance values. The spatial data may alternatively be in the form of data points, each data point having an associated 3-dimensional position in a 3-dimensional coordinate system. The first field of view may be directed to an area specially adapted for receiving a patient bed, such as a portion of a patient room, a portion of an emergency room or a portion of an operating room. The first field of view may define a volume to which the spatial data corresponds. The first field of view may be substantially conical in shape, wherein a