US-12626813-B2 - Scheduling diagnostic tests for on-site repair of medical imaging devices

US12626813B2US 12626813 B2US12626813 B2US 12626813B2US-12626813-B2

Abstract

A method ( 100 ) of scheduling diagnostic tests for a medical device ( 2 ) between or during medical imaging examinations includes: receiving a schedule ( 30 ) of medical imaging examinations ( 32 ), the schedule providing start times of the medical imaging examinations, and time intervals between medical imaging examinations; fitting diagnostic tests ( 34 ) of a set (S) of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations in the schedule to generate an updated schedule ( 36 ) of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests; and displaying the schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests on a display device ( 24, 33 ) in operative communication with the electronic processor ( 16 ).

Inventors

Milosh Stolikj
Mauro Barbieri

Assignees

KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20211104

Claims (19)

1 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by at least one electronic processor to perform a method of scheduling and performing diagnostic tests for a medical imaging device between or during medical imaging examinations, the method comprising: receiving a schedule of medical imaging examinations, the schedule providing start times of the medical imaging examinations, and time intervals between medical imaging examinations; fitting diagnostic tests of a set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations in the schedule to generate an updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests by performing a bin packing operation on the schedule of the medical imaging examinations to generate the updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests, wherein bins of the bin packing operation correspond to the time intervals between or during medical examinations into which one or more diagnostic tests are inserted; displaying the updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests on a display device in operative communication with the electronic processor; and controlling the medical imaging device to perform the set of diagnostic tests in accordance with the updated schedule and the status of the imaging system such that the diagnostic tests are scheduled based on available time and system efficiency taking into account at least one of a last examination that was conducted and a configuration of the medical imaging system.
2 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the fitting includes: imposing a time limit on completion of the set of diagnostic tests wherein all diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests are fitted into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations that precede or end with the imposed time limit.
3 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 2 , wherein the instructions executable by at least one electronic processor to perform the method of scheduling diagnostic tests includes instructions to: in a first fitting operation, fit the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations that precede or end with the imposed time limit; and if the first fitting operation fails, then extend the imposed time limit to define an extended time limit and, in a second fitting operation, fit the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations that precede or end with the extended time limit.
4 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein adjustable variables of the bin packing operation include only allocations of the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests to the bins corresponding to the time intervals.
5 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein adjustable variables of the bin packing operation include at least one of: allocations of the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests to the bins corresponding to the time intervals; start times of the medical imaging examinations; and a time limit on completion of the set of diagnostic tests wherein all diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests are fitted by the bin packing operation into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations that precede or end with the time limit on completion of the set of diagnostic tests.
6 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the receiving includes: sending a query via an electronic network to an associated hospital scheduling system requesting the schedule of the medical imaging examinations; and receiving the schedule of the medical imaging examinations from the associated hospital scheduling system via the electronic network responsive to the query.
7 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the receiving includes at least one of: receiving the schedule of medical imaging examinations via an electronic network as a spreadsheet; and receiving, via at least one user input device, inputs comprising the schedule of medical imaging examinations.
8 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the display device in operative communication with the electronic processor comprises a display device of a workstation that includes the electronic processor or is in operative communication with the electronic processor, the workstation being operable by a remote service engineer.
9 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the displaying includes: sending the updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests to an associated hospital scheduling system via an electronic network; wherein the display device in operative communication with the electronic processor comprises a display device of the associated hospital scheduling system.
10 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein fitting diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during medical examinations in the schedule to generate the updated schedule includes: retrieving a maintenance personnel availability schedule; and in the fitting, setting a time limit for completion of the set of diagnostic tests based on the maintenance personnel availability schedule.
11 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the fitting includes: adjusting a time limit for completion of the set of diagnostic tests including weighting the adjustment of the time limit with a cost factor reflecting a late-service contract penalty.
12 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the fitting is repeated iteratively to dynamically update the schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests to account for changes over time in the set of diagnostic tests and/or changes in the schedule of medical imaging examinations.
13 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the fitting further includes: determining a scope of the diagnostic tests; and fitting the diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during medical examinations based on the determined scope.
14 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by at least one electronic processor to perform a method of scheduling diagnostic tests for a medical imaging device between or during medical imaging examinations, the method comprising: receiving a schedule of medical imaging examinations, the schedule providing start times of the medical imaging examinations, and time intervals between medical imaging examinations; fitting diagnostic tests of a set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations in the schedule to generate an updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests; and displaying the updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests on a display device in operative communication with the electronic processor; wherein the instructions executable by at least one electronic processor to perform the method of scheduling diagnostic tests includes instructions to: in a first fitting operation, fit the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations by adjusting only assignments of the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests to the time intervals between the medical imaging examinations; and if the first fitting operation fails, then in a second fitting operation, fit the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations by adjusting both the start times of the medical imaging examinations and the assignments of the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests to the time intervals between the medical imaging examinations; wherein the first fitting operation is calculated by Σ T j ∈f(t) R i ( T j )≤1, for every t∈[ 0,ω), for every i∈[ 1, n] where R i is a given resource, T j is a diagnostic test, ω is defined as the time when all tasks have completed; and wherein the method further comprising: controlling the medical imaging device to perform the set of diagnostic tests in accordance with the updated schedule and the status of the medical imaging device such that the diagnostic tests are scheduled based on available time and system efficiency.
15 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the first fitting operation and the second fitting operation are each performed with a time limit on completion of the set of diagnostic tests wherein all diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests are fitted into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations that precede or end with the imposed time limit, and the instructions executable by at least one electronic processor to perform the method of scheduling diagnostic tests includes further instructions to: if the second fitting fails then in a third fitting operation, fit the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations by adjusting at least the assignments of the diagnostic tests of the set of diagnostic tests to the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations with a longer time limit on the completion of the set of diagnostic tests than the time limit used in the first and second fitting operations.
16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 , wherein: the receiving includes sending a query via an electronic network to an associated hospital scheduling system requesting the schedule of the medical imaging examinations, and receiving the schedule of the medical imaging examinations from the associated hospital scheduling system via the electronic network responsive to the query; and the method further includes automatically modifying the schedule of the medical imaging examinations at the associated hospital scheduling system to include the diagnostic tests fitted into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations only if the first fitting operation does not fail.
17 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by at least one electronic processor to perform a method of scheduling diagnostic tests for a medical imaging device between or during medical imaging examinations, the method comprising: sending a query via an electronic network to an associated hospital scheduling system requesting a schedule of medical imaging examinations; receiving the schedule of the medical imaging examinations from the associated hospital scheduling system via the electronic network responsive to the query, the schedule providing start times of the medical imaging examinations and time intervals between medical imaging examinations; fitting diagnostic tests of a set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations in the schedule to generate an updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests, wherein the fitting is calculated according to F ( T j )=( j− 1)· t ( T j ), j·t ( T j )), j∈{ 1,2, . . . , n} where, T j is a diagnostic test; and automatically modifying the schedule of the medical imaging examinations at the associated hospital scheduling system to include the diagnostic tests fitted into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations based on the status of the medical imaging device.
18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises: displaying the updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests on a display device in operative communication with the electronic processor.
19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the updated schedule is computed according to: f:[ 0,ω)→2 T, f ( t )={ T i ∈T: t∈F ( T i )} where ω is defined as the time when all tasks have completed, and F(T j )=[σ j , σ j +t(T j )), where σ i is the time when the execution of task T j started.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/113,203 filed Nov. 13, 2020. This application is hereby incorporated by reference herein. FIELD The following relates generally to medical device maintenance arts, medical imaging device examination and maintenance arts, maintenance services, diagnostic scheduling arts, and related arts. BACKGROUND Medical devices occasionally exhibit a malfunction, which requires maintenance. Depending on the malfunction, the problem can sometimes be handled remotely by a remote service engineer (RSE). The RSE can perform a remote diagnostic test by analyzing the log data generated from the malfunctioning medical device, or by remotely executing diagnostic tests. In certain situations, the RSE can successfully resolve the issue completely remotely. However, for certain malfunctions, remote resolution is not possible. In such situations, in addition to the remote diagnostic test, a field service engineer (FSE) has to visit the physical location of the medical device and perform on-site maintenance. During these visits, the FSE may need to perform additional diagnostic tests to discover the root cause of the issue, and/or replace parts of the imaging device. Sometimes, due to lack of time, lack of replacement part(s), or incomplete diagnostic, the FSE has to perform multiple visits before the problem is resolved. Certain diagnostic tests are extensive and hence require a lot of time to complete. Running these tests during on-site maintenance has a negative impact on the users of the machine, since the downtime of the machine increases. It also extends the time the FSE has to spend on site, which has a negative financial impact for the maintenance operator. The following discloses certain improvements to overcome these problems and others. SUMMARY In one aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions executable by at least one electronic processor to perform a method of scheduling diagnostic tests for a medical device between or during medical imaging examinations. The method includes: receiving a schedule of medical imaging examinations, the schedule providing start times of the medical imaging examinations, and time intervals between medical imaging examinations; fitting diagnostic tests of a set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations in the schedule to generate an updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests; and displaying the schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests on a display device in operative communication with the electronic processor. In another aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions executable by at least one electronic processor to perform a method of scheduling diagnostic tests for a medical device between or during medical imaging examinations. The method includes: receiving a schedule of medical imaging examinations, the schedule providing start times of the medical imaging examinations, and time intervals between medical imaging examinations; fitting diagnostic tests of a set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations in the schedule to generate an updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests including performing a bin packing operation on the schedule of the medical imaging examinations to generate the schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests, wherein bins of the bin packing operation correspond to the time intervals between or during medical examinations into which one or more diagnostic tests are inserted; and displaying the schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests on a display device in operative communication with the electronic processor. In another aspect, a method of scheduling diagnostic tests for a medical device between medical imaging examinations includes: receiving a schedule of medical imaging examinations, the schedule providing start times of the medical imaging examinations, and time intervals between medical imaging examinations; fitting diagnostic tests of a set of diagnostic tests into the time intervals between or during the medical imaging examinations in the schedule to generate an updated schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests, wherein the fitting includes a bin packing operation; and displaying the schedule of the medical imaging examinations and the set of diagnostic tests on a display device in operative communication with the electronic processor. One aspect resides in reducing down-time of a medical device during an on-site maintenance visit. Another advantage resides in adjusting a schedule of medical examinations to include diagnostic tests of a medical device. Another adv