U.S. patent application number 13/757117 was filed with the patent office on 2014-08-07 for event notification system for alerting the closest appropriate person.
This patent application is currently assigned to GLOBESTAR SYSTEMS, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is GLOBESTAR SYSTEMS, INC.. Invention is credited to RAUL SINIMAE, JASON WILSON.
Application Number | 20140218202 13/757117 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51258790 |
Filed Date | 2014-08-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140218202 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WILSON; JASON ; et
al. |
August 7, 2014 |
EVENT NOTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR ALERTING THE CLOSEST APPROPRIATE
PERSON
Abstract
A healthcare system includes an event notification system, a
real-time location system and a proximity notification function.
The event notification system operates to receive event messages
from an event generation device, the real-time location system
operates to receive tag identity and location information from a
tag detector and the proximity notification system operates to
receive the tag identity and location information and determine
which of a plurality of tags are closest to the source of an event
and to send an event alert message to an individual associated with
this tag.
Inventors: |
WILSON; JASON; (TORONTO,
CA) ; SINIMAE; RAUL; (TORONTO, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GLOBESTAR SYSTEMS, INC. |
Toronto |
|
CA |
|
|
Assignee: |
GLOBESTAR SYSTEMS, INC.
TORONTO
CA
|
Family ID: |
51258790 |
Appl. No.: |
13/757117 |
Filed: |
February 1, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
340/686.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G16H 40/67 20180101;
A61B 5/747 20130101; A61B 5/002 20130101; G16H 80/00 20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
340/686.6 |
International
Class: |
G08B 21/18 20060101
G08B021/18 |
Claims
1. An event notification method, comprising: detecting, at one or
more of a network device, information associated with a tag and an
event generated by an event source; determining, using the
information detected at the one or more of a network device, a
current physical location associated with each one of the tag and
the event source, and mapping the current physical location of the
tag to a first logical location and the current physical location
of the event source to a second logical location; calculating a
logical distance between the first and the second logical
locations; and generating and sending a message to an object
associated with the tag notifying the object of the event provided
that the calculated logical distance between the first and second
logical locations meets a specified logical distance threshold
rule.
2. The event notification and detection network of claim 1, wherein
the object associated with the tag is an individual or an item of
mobile equipment.
3. The event notification and detection network of claim 1, wherein
the current physical location of each one of the tags and the event
source is comprised of a set of physical coordinates.
4. The event notification and detection network of claim 3, wherein
the set of physical coordinates defines a position of a physical
location object within a three dimensional space.
5. The event notification and detection network of claim 4, wherein
the physical location object is any one of a building, a building
wing, a building floor, a hallway and a particular room.
6. The event notification and detection network of claim 4, wherein
the physical location object corresponds to a logical location
object.
7. The event notification and detection network of claim 1, wherein
the first and second logical locations is comprised of a separate
set of logical coordinates.
8. The event notification and detection network of claim 7, wherein
the set of logical coordinates defines a position of a logical
location object within the three dimensional space.
9. The event notification and detection network of claim 8, wherein
the logical location object is any one of a building, a building
wing, a building floor, a hallway and a particular room.
10. The event notification and detection network of claim 1,
wherein the calculated logical distance comprises a linear distance
measurement or a distance not related to a linear distance
measurement.
11. The event notification and detection network of claim 1,
wherein the specified logical distance threshold rule is comprised
of a logical distance threshold value and one or more logical
operators used to define the relationship between the calculated
logical distance and the logical threshold value in order to
determine whether or not to generate and send a message to the
object.
12. An event detection and notification network, comprising: a
real-time location system connected to the network having one or
more tag detectors for detecting a physical location and an
identity of a tag associated with an object; an event notification
system connected to the network having one or more of an event
source for detecting a physical location and an identity of an
event; a proximity notification system connected to the network for
receiving the physical location of the tag and the event, the
proximity notification system operating to separately map each of
the physical locations of the tag and the event to a logical
location and to calculate a logical distance between the tag and
the event source, and the event notification system generating and
sending a message over the network to an object associated with the
tag notifying the object of the event provided the calculated
logical distance between the event source and the tag meets a
specified logical distance threshold rule.
13. The event notification and detection network of claim 12,
wherein the object associated with the tag is an individual or an
item of mobile equipment.
14. The event notification and detection network of claim 12,
wherein the current physical location of each one of the tags and
the event source is comprised of a set of physical coordinates.
15. The event notification and detection network of claim 14,
wherein the set of physical coordinates defines a position of a
physical location object within a three dimensional space.
16. The event notification and detection network of claim 15,
wherein the physical location object is any one of a building, a
building wing, a building floor, a hallway and a particular
room.
17. The event notification and detection network of claim 15,
wherein the physical location object corresponds to a logical
location object.
18. The event notification and detection network of claim 12,
wherein the logical location of each one of the tags and the event
source is comprised of a set of logical coordinates.
19. The event notification and detection network of claim 18,
wherein the set of logical coordinates defines a position of a
logical location object within the three dimensional space.
20. The event notification and detection network of claim 19,
wherein the logical location object is any one of a building, a
building wing, a building floor, a hallway and a particular
room.
21. The event notification and detection network of claim 12,
wherein the calculated logical distance comprises a linear distance
measurement or a distance not related to a linear distance
measurement.
22. The event notification and detection network of claim 12,
wherein the specified logical distance threshold rule is comprised
of a logical distance threshold value and one or more logical
operators used to define the relationship between the calculated
logical distance and the logical threshold value in order to
determine whether or not to generate and send a message to the
object.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present disclosure relates to an event notification
system that is able to identify and send an alert to an appropriate
individual that is also closest to an event.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In certain settings, it is necessary to be able to initiate
a request for assistance that is automatically distributed to an
appropriate individual. Systems are in use that receive event
messages from one or more event generation devices, process the
event message to identify which of one or more individuals should
receive a message alerting them to the event occurrence, and to
transmit an alert message to the identified individual(s). These
systems are typically referred to as Event Notification Systems
(ENS) and they can be useful in healthcare settings, emergency
management settings, retail or commercial settings, and in many
other settings. For the purposes of this description, an ENS will
be described in the context of a healthcare setting.
[0003] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a healthcare network 100 that
includes an Event Generation Device (EGD) 110, an Event
Notification System 120 (ENS), and an Alert Message Recipient (AMR)
130. The EGD 110 can be in communication via a wired or wireless
network link with the ENS 120, and the ENS 120 can be in
communication with the AMR 130 over a wired or wireless link. In a
hospital setting the AMR can be any member of a hospital staff,
such as a doctor or a nurse. In a hospital setting, the EGD 110 can
be, among other things, a piece of equipment such as a heart or
respiration monitor, it can be a communication device located in an
emergency room or intensive care unit operated by staff for the
purpose of requesting supplies or other staff, or it can be a nurse
station. Each EGD 110 can transmit event messages that comprise the
identity of the originating device, the time the message is
transmitted and information particular to the purpose of the alert
message, such as a request for supplies, a request for a staff
member, or an indication that a particular patient's heart has
stopped all of which collectively can be referred to as an event
identity. The ENS 120 generally operates to, among other things,
receive event messages, examine their contents and determine to
which recipient or recipients an alert message comprising
information in the event message should be forwarded. In a
healthcare and other settings, it is often important to identify
and alert the staff member or members closest to the origin of an
event of the event occurrence. FIG. 2 is a diagram of a healthcare
system 200 having functionality that operates to identify and to
track the locations of mobile objects for the purpose of
identifying and notifying the closest staff member to an event of
the events occurrence.
[0004] The healthcare system 200 of FIG. 2 can in implemented in
one or more servers (not shown) which are connected to a network
(local or wide-area network) and be configured to include all of
the same functionality as the healthcare system 100 described
earlier with reference to FIG. 1, with the exception that it also
comprises a real-time location (RTL) system 210 having a plurality
of wireless RTLS tags 230 and a plurality of tag detection devices
220 that operate to receive information relating to any one of the
plurality of the RTL system tags 230. The tag detectors 220 can
transmit information received from a tag over a network link to the
RTL system 210. The tag location detection device 220, or simply
detector 220, can be strategically positioned to detect the
presence of a tag 230 within range of the detector in some or all
of a plurality of specified facility locations. These locations can
correspond to particular buildings, floors, hallways, rooms or
other specified locations in a particular facility. The RTL system
210 is also comprised of a listing of tag identities 215 and a
listing of tag detector locations 225, wherein the tag identity 215
can be any unique coded information specified by a system
administrator and each tag detector location 225 can correspond to
an actual, physical location such as a building, a floor, a
hallway, a room, etc. and both the tag identities 215 and the tag
detector locations 225 can be stored in non-volatile memory
comprising the healthcare system 200. The RTL system 210 can be
designed to operate with either active or passive location tags. In
the case where the system is operating with passive tags, the
system includes a transceiver that periodically sends out a signal
that activates circuitry in the passive tag causing it to transmit
tag information (typically a tag ID) back to the system 210. In the
case of active tags, each tag includes a battery to power
transmitter circuitry that operates to periodically transmit a
signal that includes, among other things, the identity of that tag.
In operation, a tag worn by a staff member or attached to a piece
of mobile medical equipment comes into range of a tag detector 220
which detects the presence and identity of the tag and transmits
the tag ID and detector location ID to the RTL system 210, which
then stores the then current tag location in non-volatile memory
associated with the healthcare system 200 for later use.
[0005] In addition to the RTL system 210 described with reference
to FIG. 2, the system 200 also comprises an event notification
system (ENS) 240 similar to the system 120 described earlier with
reference to FIG. 1. In addition to the functionality comprising
the ENS 120, ENS 240 has proximity notification functionality 250
that operates to detect one or more appropriate staff members
closest to the source of an event, to notify the one or more
identified staff members of the event and then direct them to the
source of the event.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The present invention can be best understood by reading the
specification with reference to the following figures, in
which:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a healthcare system 100.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a healthcare system 200 having
location detection and proximity notification functionality.
[0009] FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a
healthcare system 300
[0010] FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the functional elements
comprising a proximity notification function 330.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a physical location object to
logical location object map 332.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a facility floor plan of a main building.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a logic flow diagram of an embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] In some cases the staff member who is closest to the source
of an event is not the most appropriate individual to be notified
of the event. For instance, if a staff member who is identified as
being closest to the source of an event is on break, then this
individual may not be the most appropriate person or should not be
notified of the event's occurrence. Further, in the case that a tag
detector located on one floor detects a tag located on a different
floor, an appropriate staff member located on the different (lower
or higher) floor than the floor on which the event is generated may
actually be closer to the source of an event than a staff member on
the same floor as the source of the event, but take much longer to
respond to the event than the staff member on the same floor as the
event. Or, in the case that the closest staff member to an event
has previously responded to and is currently servicing a higher
priority event, then this staff member may not be the appropriate
person to send an alert to.
[0015] One way to resolve this problem is to track the activities
and/or schedules of each staff member so that it is known they are
on break, or they are involved with a higher priority event, in
which case an RTL system may or may not notify that staff member of
an event. Another way to resolve this problem is to use
line-of-sight location technology such as infrared technology for
example. However, sometimes staff members neglect to notify the RTL
system that they are on break, or they fail to notify the system
that they are currently attending to an event, or because of the
application it is not desirable to employ infrared or other
technology. In lieu of the limitations of the prior art proximity
based event notification methods, it was discovered that a
plurality of logical location objects, each one
relating/corresponding to at least one of a different physical
location object, can be created and assigned logical location
coordinates that places each logical location object into a three
dimensional logical space relative to each other logical location
object. A logical location object corresponding to a physical
location object may or may not be assigned coordinates that are
substantially the same as coordinates assigned to the corresponding
physical location object. The logical location coordinates can
correspond to a physical, linear distance or correspond to a
logical distance which has no relationship to a physical, linear
distance. In one embodiment, a logical location object is assigned
coordinates according to the type of a physical location object
that it corresponds to. In another embodiment, a logical distance
threshold is employed to determine whether to send an alarm message
or not. In another embodiment, a staff member whose current
position is detected to be within the boundary of a logical
location object, and this location object is logically distant from
an event by greater than a logical distance threshold value, is not
notified of an event unless the event is escalated to a selected
level or escalated some number of times.
[0016] FIG. 3A is a diagram of an Event Detection and Notification
network 300, such as a healthcare system, showing functional
elements comprising the network. This network has an event
notification system (ENS) 310, an RTL system 320, and a proximity
notification (PN) function or system 330. Each of the ENS 310, RTL
320 and PN 330 can be implemented in computer program code stored
in a non-volatile memory device associated with the same or
different computational devices. The computational device(s) can be
a network server or any other device that is suitable for running
the computer program code and for communicating over a network with
other devices and functionality comprising the network. The ENS 310
is connected over a network to one or more event generation devices
(EGD) 340, such as a nurse call station or hospital bed patient
monitoring equipment, an emergency room or operating room
communication device, or any other device that operates to generate
an EGD message that that can include the identity of the EGD
(EGD.ID) and the type of event. The EGD message can be transmitted
to the ENS 310 where event processing logic 311comprising the ENS
310 can examine the EGD message for the EGD.ID, map the EGD.ID to a
physical location within the hospital using a EGD.ID to physical
location map 311A, and send an event message to the proximity
notification function 330 that includes the physical location of
the source of the event and the event source (nurse call, hospital
bed, etc.).
[0017] Continuing to refer to FIG. 3A, the RTL system 320 can be
connected over a network to one or more tag detectors 350, each of
which operates to detect the presence of one or more tags 360. Each
tag 360 can be worn by a staff member or it can be attached to a
piece of mobile medical equipment. Generally, a tag is considered
to be attached to an object, whether the object is a staff member
or whether the object is an item of mobile equipment. When a tag
360 comes into range of a tag detector 350, the tag detector
operates to request unique tag ID information stored on the tag,
and to send a message to the RTL system 320 that comprises the
unique tag ID information, the identity of the tag detector and the
time that the tag is detected. The RTL system 320 can include
detection logic 321, a tag.id to physical location map 322, and a
tag detection time store 323. The detection logic 321 operates to
receive the detector message (DET.MSG.) and to examine the message
for a unique tag detector ID, information corresponding to an
identity of the tag (tag.id), and possibly the detection time, and
uses the map 322 to associate the tag detector ID with a physical
location within the hospital in order to determine the current
physical location of the tag. The physical location identified as
being the current location of the tag and the unique tag ID can be
sent to the proximity notification function 330 in a Tag
Message.
[0018] Continuing to refer to FIG. 3A, the proximity notification
(PN) function 330 comprises notification logic 331 and a map
structure 332 that serves to relate each of a plurality of physical
location objects comprising a listing 334 to a particular one of a
plurality of logical location objects comprising a listing 333.
Each of the physical location objects comprising the listing 334 is
associated with a particular physical location within the hospital
facility that is identifiable on a facility floor plan, such as the
floor plan(s) represented in FIG. 5. The listings 333 and 334 are
organized in a logical hierarchy of nested location objects, and
each logical location object comprising the list 333 is assigned a
set of logical location coordinates that positions each logical
location object within a logical three dimensional space relative
to and offset from an immediate parent node with respect to that
object. The structure of the lists 333 and 334 and the methodology
employed to assign the logical location coordinates is described
later with reference to FIG. 4. Generally, the notification logic
331 operates to receive an event message, and uses information in
this message to calculate a logical distance between a logical
location of the event source and a logical location of each tag
that is detected by the RTL system 320.
[0019] More specifically as shown in FIG. 3B, a tag location
processing function comprising the notification logic 331 receives
tag messages from the RTL system 320 that includes information
relating to the current physical location of a detected tag and the
tag identity (Tag ID), and stores this information in a tag
location store. An event location processing function comprising
the notification logic 331 receives an event message from the ENS
310 that includes information relating to the physical location of
an event source and the identity of the event source and stores
this information in an event location store. The tag location and
the event location processing functions use the physical location
information in the tag message and the event message to identify
physical location objects in the listing 334 corresponding to the
tag location and to the event location, and then use the map
structure 332 in FIG. 3A to associate each identified physical
location object comprising list 334 with a logical location object
comprising list 333. As will be described with reference to FIG. 4,
each logical location object comprising list 333 is assigned a set
of logical location coordinates, and these logical location
coordinates are employed by a logical distance calculation
function, comprising the notification logic 331in FIG. 3B, to
calculate a logical distance between the logical location of an
event source and a current logical tag location in comprising the
store 325. Subsequent to calculating a logical distance between two
objects, the notification logic 331 can send a distance message to
the notification logic that includes the identities of one or more
tags and the logical distance between each tag and an event source
for storage in a Tag ID store 324 comprising the notification logic
312. The notification logic 312 also includes a value 336, that can
be configured by a system administrator, which represents a logical
distance threshold from an event source to a tag. The store of tag
identities (available tags) 324 can be examined by the notification
logic 312 in the ENS 310 in order to determine which staff should
receive an alert message in respond to an event.
[0020] The notification logic 312 comprising the ENS 310 has, among
other things, functionality that is specifically designed to make
decisions regarding which staff are to be notified as the result of
the ENS 310 receiving particular event messages. This logic can be
designed to notify staff according to their logical distance from
an event source or disregard the logical or physical distance and
notify staff that is physically proximate to an event source. The
logic 312 can employ information in store 324 (logical distance)
and a threshold value in the store 336 to determine whether an
individual associated with the tag is within a logical threshold
distance from an event source and should be notified of the event.
Alternatively, this determination can be made according to an event
priority (Hi, Medium, Low) for instance. In one embodiment, a
notification message is sent to a staff member or object associated
with a tag if the logical distance between the object and the tag
meets a selected logical distance threshold rule. The threshold
rule can be implemented in computer logic comprising the
notification logic 312 running in association with the EMS 310, and
the rule can control, among other things, the generation and
sending of a message to a staff member notifying them of an event
if a logical distance between the staff member and the event is
less than or equal to a logical distance threshold value.
[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates the structure of map 332 which shows the
correspondence between the physical location objects comprising the
list 334 and logical location objects comprising the list 333. It
can be seen in this map that the physical location objects are
organized in a hierarchical, parent/child arrangement. In one
embodiment, the locations are hierarchically organized in a campus,
building, floor, wing, ward, room, bed arrangement, but the
invention is not limited to this arrangement. Each parent node has
one or more related child nodes and each child node has a related
parent node (i.e., 2nd Floor is a parent node to Hallway), and each
of the physical location nodes in the listing 334 correspond with
or map to a logical location object comprising the listing 333.
Each logical location object comprises a set of logical offset
coordinates, a set of logical absolute coordinates and an object
identity (ID). The logical location offset coordinates can be
specified using an X, Y, Z Cartesian coordinate system, or any
other three dimensional space coordinate methodology. According to
one embodiment of the invention, a logical location object
corresponding to a home or reference physical location object, such
as a hospital complex, is assigned root node logical offset
coordinates (0, 0, 0), and the hierarchy of objects is arranged
such that logical location objects populating progressively lower
levels in the hierarchy are assigned logical location coordinates
that are offset from the coordinates assigned to a parent node
immediately above it in the hierarchy of map 332. So, for instance,
the logical location object labeled Wing A is a child node with
respect to the logical location object labeled Main Building, and
it is a parent node with respect to the object labeled 1st Floor,
and the object labeled 1st Floor is a child node with respect to
the object Wing A and is a parent object with respect to the
logical location object labeled Hallway, and so forth. According to
FIG. 4, the logical object labeled main building is assigned offset
coordinates (10,10,10). The main building object is the parent
object to an object labeled Wing B, and Wing B is assigned logical
location coordinates (-5,10,10) that position it within a logical
three dimensional space that is offset with respect to the Main
Building object, which in this case is the parent to the object
Wing B.
[0022] Continuing to refer to FIG. 4, each set of absolute logical
location coordinates comprising a logical location object is
calculated as the sum of all offset logical location coordinates
that are assigned to immediate parent nodes going back to the root
parent node, which in this case is the object labeled Hospital.
Accordingly, the absolute logical location coordinates for Wing B
are calculated by summing the offset coordinates assigned to the
Hospital object, the Main Building object and the Wing B object,
the result of which is (5,20,20). According to this logical
location coordinate assignment methodology, the three logical
location coordinates assigned to each logical location object
correspond to logical distance values (or vector values) in each of
three orthogonal directions (X,Y,Z) of the Cartesian coordinate
system, but each of the three logical location coordinates can
represent any unit value and need not represent a distance unit
value.
[0023] Using this absolute coordinate value calculation method, the
distance between any two logical location objects (i.e., the source
of an event and an appropriate staff member) in a facility or
within a three dimensional space can be easily calculated according
to the following equation.
Distance=|
[(X.sub.1-X.sub.0).sup.2+(Y.sub.1-Y.sub.0).sup.2+(Z.sub.1-Z.sub.2).sup.2]-
| Equation 1:
[0024] According to Equation 1, the distance between any two
logical location objects can be easily calculated by taking the
absolute value of the square root of each of the squares of the
differences between all three absolute coordinates associated with
each logical location object. For example, if the source of an
event is located in room 201 and an appropriate staff member to be
notified of the event is located at the nurse call station, then
using the absolute coordinates of the event source, or (-7, 55, 25)
which correspond to (X.sub.1, Y.sub.1, Z.sub.1), and of the staff
member's location, or (-7, 53, 25) which correspond to (X.sub.0,
Y.sub.0, Z.sub.0), the distance is calculated to be approximately
2.0 distance units. While most of the absolute coordinate values of
each of the logical location objects shown in FIG. 4 generally
minors the physical location of physical location objects to which
they map, this does not necessary have to be the case. According to
an embodiment of the invention, the set of absolute coordinate
values associated with any logical location object can correspond
to a physical, linear distance or correspond to a logical distance
which has no relationship to a physical, linear distance. This
logical distance correspondence is illustrated in FIG. 4 in
relation to the coordinates assigned to the break room (BR).
[0025] The offset logical location coordinates assigned to the
logical location object identified as the Break Room (BR) are
(1000, 1000, 1500), and these coordinates are assigned with the
intent of logically distancing the Break Room from physical
locations proximate to it, such as physical locations on the same
floor, or the same wing, or the same building. According to an
embodiment of the invention, the notification logic 312 comprising
the ENS 310 can operate to notify only those staff members who are
currently located or positioned in a facility within a specified,
threshold logical distance from the location of a source of an
event. If the value of the logical distance between the current
location/position of a staff member and the location of an event
source is determined by the notification logic 331 comprising the
notification function 330 to be greater than the logical distance
threshold, then, depending upon the configuration of the
notification logic 312, the staff member may not be notified of the
event at all, or may not be notified of the event until after it
has escalated a specified number of times.
[0026] The term "appropriate" means herein that a staff member is
available to respond to an event or not based upon whether or not
they have appropriate medical training (doctor, nurse, other) to
handle a medical event and whether the logical distance between a
staff member and the event source places that staff member within a
logical threshold distance from the event source or whether it
places the staff member outside a logical distance threshold (in
which case the staff member is not notified of the event or they
are not notified of the event unless no other closer staff member
responds).
[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates a 1st and 2nd floor plan, located in a
Wing B of a Main Building of the Hospital facility 401 described
with reference to FIG. 4. The floor plan associated with the 2nd
Floor is comprised of two patient rooms, RM201 and RM202, a Break
Room, a Hallway, and a Nurse Call Station. Each of these areas
represented in the floor plan corresponds to a physical location
object in the listing 334 described with reference to FIG. 4, and
each area has at least one tag detector 350 that operates to detect
the presence of a tag 360 when a tag comes within range of the
detector, and to send a message to a RTL system, such as the RTL
system 210 described with reference to FIG. 2, comprising
information that places the tag in the area at the time the tag is
detected. As described earlier with reference to FIG. 4, each
physical location object corresponds to at least one logical
location object, and as previously described with reference to FIG.
3A, each logical location object can be assigned offset coordinates
that place it at some specified/predetermined logical distance from
a root node object and all other logical objects. Depending upon
the notification strategy, the logical location coordinates
assigned to each logical location object can substantially minor
each corresponding physical location object's proximity to each
other physical location object or not.
[0028] In one embodiment, the health care system 300 of FIG. 3
generally operates in the environment of the second floor, Wing B
of FIG. 5 as follows. Assuming that a logical distance threshold
336 stored in the proximity notification function 330 is set to a
logical distance of value "X", that a first staff member is
detected to be within range of the tag detector 510 positioned at
the far end of the Hallway 207 from Room 201, and that a second
staff member is detected to be within range of the tag detector 520
position in the break room 530. Further, if an event generator
associated with the hospital bed 535 in room 201 generates an event
message, the message is transmitted over the hospital network to
the RTL system 320 which detects the identity of the event
generator in the message and is able to place the source of the
event in room 201 (by comparing the event generator identity
information in the event message to the store 322 to find a
matching ID and mapping this ID to a facility map using the map
321). The location of the source event, which in this case is room
201, and the locations of the two staff members are sent to the
proximity notification function 330 which correlates/maps the
physical location objects (Hallway det. 510, break room 530, and
room 201) to their corresponding logical location objects, and then
calculates the logical distance between room 201 and the first
staff member to be X+n (n being some integer value) and the
distance between room 201 and the second staff member to be X-n,
and then sends a message to the ENS 310 to send an alert message to
the closest appropriate staff member to the event, which in this
case is the first staff member. Despite the second staff member
being physically closer (in the break room) to the source of the
event (room 201) than the first staff member, the second staff
member is not notified that an event message was generated in room
201, because the proximity notification module 330 determines that
the logical distance between the second staff member and room 201
is greater than the value of the stored logical distance threshold
336 which in this case is "X". Alternatively, if the system 300
determines that more than one staff member is within the logical
threshold X, it can be configured to notify the closest "N" staff
members, with "N" being an integer value.
[0029] In other embodiments, the notification logic 312 can be
designed such that the logical distance between any two or more
objects is only one criteria employed in determining whether to
notify a particular staff member of an event. Other criteria can
include, but not be limited to, whether staff is busy tending to
another event, the priority of the event, the occupational
specialty associated with a staff member, to name only a few.
[0030] The forgoing description, for purposes of explanation, used
specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the
invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art
that specific details are not required in order to practice the
invention. Thus, the forgoing descriptions of specific embodiments
of the invention are presented for purposes of illustration and
description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the
invention to the precise forms disclosed; obviously, many
modifications and variations are possible in view of the above
teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to
best explain the principles of the invention and its practical
applications, they thereby enable others skilled in the art to best
utilize the invention and various embodiments with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It
is intended that the following claims and their equivalents define
the scope of the invention.
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