Software for Remote Medical Monitoring, Data Management and Teleconferencing

Dr. Fatima Merchant & Dr. Deniz Gurkan, College of Technology Dr. Frank Chapman & Dr. Paul McKneely, MediCAN Systems, Inc.

Description:

The goal is to develop a software application to support an enabled mobile triage unit. The application will integrate, telecommunication and computing equipment, and medical electronics (such as digital stethoscope, blood pressure monitor, pulse-oximeter, temperature monitor, otoscope, dermascope, and electrocardiogram (ECG) machine). A high-speed network connection (wireless or land-line) will be used to provide full interactive live video and audio capacity for teleconferencing. An interface with an electronic medical records (EMR) system with allow storage and management of medical records.

The software should be developed using the Java API. An open source electronic medical record (openEMR) system supporting a MySQL database will be utilized and interfaced with the software. The database will be housed on a and programmed to enable high security and flexibility. High-speed internet (land-line or wireless) will be used to facilitate high quality videoconferencing between two sites. For video conferencing, the system will be integrated to NetMeeting software or Apple iChat, depending on .

Software Development Tasks:

Task 1: Develop the GUI for the nurse and the physician interface A simple yet powerful user interface is necessary to control the hardware and to configure it to perform the desired data acquisition operations in the desired sequence. It is also necessary for the reporting, and for enhanced visualization of movies and images. The software should be developed using Java, including the JFC/Swing Application Program Interface's (API) for dialogs, menus, and other basic user interface components. XML configuration files should be used for registration of functional code modules, which can be dynamically loaded by a custom class loader, yielding a very flexible plug-in capability. For visualization, image representation and processing use the Java Advanced Imaging (JAI) API. The GUI for the data acquisition module (nurse interface) is illustrated in Fig 1). A representation of the GUI for the physician interface is presented in Fig 2. All the features are similar, except for the lower leftmost panel, wherein the teleconference mode is selected, showing the video interface. Additional features for the physician will include, the ability to (1) write a prescription, (2) recall archived data, (3) compare medical records using the split screen mode, (4) initiate and establish a conference session with a specialist for an expert opinion, and (5) enter patient care instructions for the nurse. The application will also allow handling and processing of medical images in a variety of formats.

Task 2: Database and Electronic Medical Record software interface The application should integrate an open source EMR software; OpenEMR which is a modular, HIPAA compliant, open source, practice management, medical billing, electronic medical record and prescription writing application. OpenEMR uses Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP. OpenEMR incorporates the work of several open source projects such as PostCalendar from PostNuke for calendaring, and phpMyAdmin for database reporting and manipulation. It also has excellent developer support (http://www.openemr.net). All data collected by the data acquisition module at the patient/nurse end of the system will be archived on a dedicated database (DBMS). The database (MySQL) should be designed to work with the open source EMR environment (openEMRTM), and interfaced to the graphical user interface.

Task 3: Audio-Video Conferencing Integrate teleconferencing capabilities using the readily available iChat or NetMeeting , or , based on the H.323 videoconferencing protocol, and the ITU T.120 data communication protocol.

Figure 1: Representative GUI for the Health Profile Data Acquisition Module

Figure 2: Representative GUI for the Health Profile Station (Physician Interface)