Distributed Medical Sensing System and Method

Abstract

A distributed medical sensing system including a first body sensing device configured to sense medical characteristics, the first body sensing device being located in a first sterile field and a second body sensing device configured to sense medical characteristics, the second body sensing device being located in a second sterile field, the second sterile field being spaced from the first sterile field. The system also includes a computing device outside of the first and second sterile fields and communicatively coupled to the first and second body sensing devices, the computing device configured to respectively receive first and second medical characteristic data from the first and second body sensing devices, process the first and second medical characteristic data, and transmit the processed first and second medical characteristic data to respective first and second user interface devices.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A distributed medical sensing system, comprising:
 a first hub configured to be communicatively coupled to a first intravascular sensing device disposed in a first sterile field, the first hub receiving first intravascular data from the first intravascular sensing device;   a bedside controller communicatively coupled to the first hub and disposed in the first sterile field, the bedside controller configured to provide user control of the first intravascular sensing device;   a control room controller communicatively coupled to the first hub and disposed outside of the first sterile field, wherein the bedside controller and the control room controller are configured to simultaneously control different aspects of a medical workflow associated with the first intravascular sensing device in the first sterile field; and   a computing device remote from the bedside controller and the control room controller, the computing device communicatively coupled to the first hub and a second hub remote from the first hub and associated with a second sterile field, wherein computing device is configured to:
 process the first intravascular data received from the first hub; 
 process second intravascular data associated with a second intravascular sensing device received from the second hub; 
 transmit the processed first intravascular data to the first hub for display on the bedside controller and the control room controller; and 
 transmit the processed second intravascular data to the second hub. 
   
     
     
         2 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device includes at least one of:
 a scalable array of compute engines such that the number of compute engines in the array is increased or decreased according to processing needs associated with the first and second intravascular data; or   a scalable array of data stores such that the number of data stores in the array is increased or decreased according to storage needs associated with the first and second intravascular data.   
     
     
         3 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 1 , wherein the bedside controller is configured to display the processed first intravascular data in a different manner than the processed first intravascular data is displayed by the control room controller. 
     
     
         4 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 1 , wherein the bedside controller includes a touch-sensitive display configured to automatically display a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with the medical workflow when communication between the first intravascular sensing device and the first hub is established. 
     
     
         5 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 1 , wherein the intravascular sensing device is associated with at least one of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging, intravascular photoacoustic (IVPA) imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT), forward looking IVUS (FL-IVUS), fractional flow reserve (FFR), coronary flow reserve (CFR), or angiography. 
     
     
         6 . A distributed medical sensing system, comprising:
 a first body sensing device located in a first sterile field and configured to collect first medical characteristic data;   a first hub located in the first sterile field and communicatively coupled to the first body sensing device, the first hub configured to receive the first medical characteristic data from the first body sensing device;   a first user interface device associated with the first sterile field and communicatively coupled to the first hub, the first user interface device configured provide user control of the first body sensing device;   a second body sensing device located in a second sterile field spaced from the first sterile field and configured to collect second medical characteristic data;   a second hub located in the second sterile field and communicatively coupled to the second body sensing device, the second hub configured to receive the second medical characteristic data from the second body sensing device;   a second user interface device associated with the second sterile field and communicatively coupled to the second hub, the second user interface device configured to provide user control of the second body sensing device; and   a computing device outside of the first and second sterile fields and communicatively coupled to the first and second hubs, the computing device configured to receive the first and second medical characteristic data from the respective first and second hubs, process the first and second medical characteristic data, and transmit the processed first and second medical characteristic data to the respective first and second hubs for display on the respective first and second user interface devices.   
     
     
         7 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 6 , wherein the first and second hubs and the computing device are communicatively coupled to a computer communication network. 
     
     
         8 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 6 , wherein the first body sensing device includes a catheter configured to enter into a vessel of a body. 
     
     
         9 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 8 , wherein the catheter includes a sensor configured for one of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT), or pressure measurement. 
     
     
         10 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 6 , wherein the computing device is disposed within a different room than either of first and second sterile fields. 
     
     
         11 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 6 , wherein the first and second hubs are further operable to compress the respective first and second medical characteristic data before transmitting the first and second medical characteristic data to the computing device. 
     
     
         12 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second hubs are further operable to associate identifying information with the respective first and second medical characteristic data before transmitting the first and second medical characteristic data to the computing device. 
     
     
         13 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 12 , wherein the identifying information includes at least one of patient information, timestamp information, or sensing modality information. 
     
     
         14 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 6 , wherein the first and second user interface devices comprise first and second bedside controllers located in the first and second sterile fields respectively. 
     
     
         15 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 14 , wherein the first and second bedside controllers each include a respective touchscreen interface configured to receive user input, the first and second bedside controllers being configured to provide user control of the first and second body sensing devices respectively based on the user input. 
     
     
         16 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a first control room controller communicatively coupled to the first hub and disposed outside of the first sterile field, the first control room controller controlling a first workflow aspect associated with the first body sensing device, the first bedside controller controlling a second workflow aspect associated with the first body sensing device; and   a second control room controller communicatively coupled to the second hub and disposed outside of the second sterile field, the second control room controller controlling a first workflow aspect associated with the second body sensing device in the second sterile field, the second bedside controller controlling a second workflow aspect associated with the second body sensing device in the second sterile field.   
     
     
         17 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 6 , wherein the computing device includes a scalable array of compute engines, such that the number of compute engines in the array is increased or decreased according to processing needs. 
     
     
         18 . The distributed medical sensing system of  claim 17 , wherein the array of compute engines are configured to be automatically allocated based on the processing needs associated with the first medical characteristic data and the second medical characteristic data. 
     
     
         19 . A method of using a distributed medical sensing system, comprising:
 receiving, at a computing device, first medical characteristic data from a first hub disposed in a first sterile field, the first medical characteristic data obtained by a first body sensing device disposed in the first sterile field and communicatively coupled to the first hub;   receiving, at the computing device, second medical characteristic data from a second hub disposed in a second sterile field, the second medical characteristic data obtained by a second body sensing device disposed in the second sterile field and communicatively coupled to the first hub, wherein the computing device is remote from the first and second hubs, and wherein the first sterile field is remote from the second sterile field;   processing the first and second medical characteristic data at the computing device, the computing device including a scalable array of compute engines, such that the number of compute engines in the array is increased or decreased according to processing needs associated with the first and second medical characteristic data;   transmitting the processed first and second medical characteristic data to the respective first and second hubs for display on a respective first and second user interface devices communicatively coupled to the first and second hubs, the first and second user interface devices being configured to control respective first and second medical workflows associated with the first and second body sensing devices.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the first and second body sensing devices are each associated with at least one of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging, intravascular photoacoustic (IVPA) imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT), forward looking IVUS (FL-IVUS), fractional flow reserve (FFR), coronary flow reserve (CFR), or angiography.