Patient video monitoring systems and methods for thermal detection of liquids
Inventors
Johnson, Steven Gail • del Carpio, Derek • Chapman, Kenneth W.
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-11710320-B2
Publication Date
2023-07-25
Expiration Date
Abstract
A system for monitoring a patient in a patient area having one or more detection zones, the system comprising one or more cameras, a user interface, and a computing system configured to receive a chronological series of frames from the one or more cameras, identify liquid candidates by comparing a current frame with a plurality of previous frames of the chronological series, determine locations of the liquid candidates, identify thermal signatures of the liquid candidates, determine types of liquids of the liquid candidates based on the locations and thermal signatures of the liquid candidates, and generate an alert with the user interface corresponding to the determined types of liquids.
Core Innovation
The invention provides a patient monitoring system in a patient area that uses one or more cameras and a computing system to receive a chronological series of frames comprising a plurality of thermal images, including a current frame and a plurality of previous frames. The computing system identifies liquid candidates by identifying given pixels having thermal properties different than from a background and comparing temperature characteristics of the given pixels from the current frame with temperature characteristics of corresponding ones of the given pixels from the plurality of previous frames.
The computing system detects motion of the liquid candidates in relationship to a patient area by identifying changes in temperature of a given zone in the plurality of thermal images between the current frame and the plurality of previous frames. The system determines that the liquid candidates are bodily fluids based on the detected motion of the liquid candidates and the temperature characteristics of the given pixels, or based on the detected motion and the thermal signatures of the given pixels.
The system generates an alert with a user interface, the alert including an event corresponding to the bodily fluids. In refined embodiments, the computing system identifies presence of liquids by identifying given pixels with thermal properties different than from a background, identifies thermal signatures of the given pixels, and uses detected motion and the thermal signatures to determine at least one of the given pixels are bodily fluids, followed by generating the alert event.
Claims Coverage
The independent claims are clm-00001, clm-00010, clm-00018, and clm-00022. Across these independent claims, there are five inventive features covering thermal-frame reception, liquid-candidate/pixel identification via background comparison, motion detection via temperature change in zones, bodily-fluid determination based on detected motion and temperature characteristics or thermal signatures, and alert generation with a user interface including an event corresponding to the bodily fluids.
Chronological thermal frame reception and pixel-based liquid candidate identification
Receiving a chronological series of frames comprising a plurality of thermal images including a current frame and a plurality of previous frames, and identifying liquid candidates by identifying given pixels having thermal properties different than from a background and comparing temperature characteristics of the given pixels from the current frame with temperature characteristics of corresponding ones of the given pixels from the plurality of previous frames.
Motion detection via temperature changes in a patient-area zone
Detecting motion of the liquid candidates in relationship to a patient area by identifying changes in temperature of a given zone in the plurality of thermal images between the current frame and the plurality of previous frames.
Bodily-fluid determination from motion and pixel temperature characteristics or thermal signatures
Determining the liquid candidates are bodily fluids based on the detected motion of the liquid candidates and the temperature characteristics of the given pixels; and determining at least one of the given pixels are bodily fluids based on the detected motion of the at least one of the liquids and the thermal signatures of the given pixels.
User-interface alert generation including an event corresponding to bodily fluids
Generating an alert with a user interface, the alert including an event corresponding to the bodily fluids.
Liquid movement vs detected motion discrimination and bodily-fluid type determination
Detecting motion in the plurality of thermal images by identifying changes in temperature of a given zone between a current frame and a plurality of previous frames; identifying patterns in pixels corresponding to the detected motion; distinguishing liquid movement from the detected motion based on the identified patterns; determining a type of bodily fluid associated with the liquid movement; and generating an alert with a user interface, the alert including an event corresponding to the determined type of bodily fluid.
The claim set covers system and method implementations that process thermal-image frames over time, identify liquid candidates by thermal properties different than background, detect motion by temperature changes in relation to a patient area, determine bodily fluids from detected motion and temperature characteristics or thermal signatures, and generate a user-interface alert including an event corresponding to bodily fluids or a bodily-fluid type.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
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