1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a device for communication between a control module that is associated with a local operator of a medical modality, an examination module that is associated with the medical modality and an administration module that is associated with an administration facility that is remote from the medical modality, with communication units that can be connected among one another being respectively associated with each module.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Given incorrect or problematic procedures in the framework of an examination workflow at a medical modality (such as, for example, a computed tomography apparatus), the necessity regularly occurs to incorporate an administration facility (for example a remote third party) into the examination workflow in addition to the local operator.
The remote third person can be a physician, for example, who has special knowledge with regard to the examination workflow or the disease of the person to be examined. If the problem is a technical problem with the medical modality, the remote third person can be a maintenance (service) or development engineer of the manufacturer.
Conventionally, the operator (for example a physician or a nurse) informs the remote third person about the examination workflow by telephone. The remote third person is therewith disadvantageously provided with only a very limited amount of information, which can severely limit the quality of the remote diagnosis or remote administration. Moreover, conventionally only a very limited possibility, or even no possibility at all, exists to incorporate the modality or the person to be examined into the procedure. This can be necessary, however, in certain cases. Particularly in the examinations of patients who are being infused or must be specially supported, it is of the utmost importance for the control of the scan procedure that these environment parameters are taken into account, for example in order to prevent the apparatus from tearing away the infusion tube due to its movements or that patient is harmed. In the context of neurosurgery it is also of particular importance that the environmental parameters be taken into account in the control of the respective modality. The environment or context parameters are all data relevant for the examination or treatment that can be imaged by acoustic or optical or other signals and concern the context of the examination (for example questions: How is the patient supported? Is there an infusion, etc?).
Such context data are conventionally not automatically available to the maintenance engineer, who must to ask about them by telephone. This represents a significant disadvantage and risk of error.
DE 10 2004 049 402 discloses a conventional system for remote administration. Here a medical imaging system is administered by a remote operation via an operation workstation. The remote operation can be disabled in order to be able to satisfy security aspects.
One solution to circumvent the problem of telephone interrogation is taught in DE 10 2006 033 064. Here a bidirectional communication between a stationary communication unit and a mobile communication unit is supported via audio and video.