A method and apparatus for retrieving, accessing, and storing medical data relating to a patient during a medical procedure. The invention provides a single interface to many disparate forms of medical data, which is accessible over a local area network; wide area network, direct connection, or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, an operating room control system for use during a medical procedure on a patient includes an input device, a display device, and a controller that is coupled to the input device and the display device. The controller receives one or more user inputs, transmits a command to a server located outside of the operating room to retrieve medical data, receives the medical data from the server, and displays the medical data on the display device. Medical data can be captured by the controller using, for example, a camera and a video/image capture board, keyboard, and microphone during surgery or examination of the patient. The captured medical data can be stored on one or more remote servers as part of the patient records.

Method and apparatus for accessing medical data over a network

A remote controlled robot system that includes a robot and a remote control station. The robot includes a binaural microphone system that is coupled to a speaker system of the remote control station. The binaural microphone system may include a pair of microphones located at opposite sides of a robot head. the location of the microphones roughly coincides with the location of ears on a human body. Such microphone location creates a mobile robot that more effectively simulates the tele-presence of an operator of the system. The robot may include two different microphone systems and the ability to switch between systems. For example, the robot may also include a zoom camera system and a directional microphone. The directional microphone may be utilized to capture sound from a direction that corresponds to an object zoomed upon by the camera system.

Mobile tele-presence system with a microphone system

A remote controlled robot with a head that supports a monitor and is coupled to a mobile platform. The mobile robot also includes an auxiliary camera coupled to the mobile platform by a boom. The mobile robot is controlled by a remote control station. By way of example, the robot can be remotely moved about an operating room. The auxiliary camera extends from the boom so that it provides a relatively close view of a patient or other item in the room. An assistant in the operating room may move the boom and the camera. The boom may be connected to a robot head that can be remotely moved by the remote control station.

Telepresence robot with a camera boom

A speech recognition system receives and analyzes speech input from a user in order to recognize and accept a response from the user. Under certain conditions, information about the response expected from the user may be available. In these situations, the available information about the expected response is used to modify the behavior of the speech recognition system by taking this information into account. The modified behavior of the speech recognition system comprises adjusting the rejection threshold when speech input matches the predetermined expected response.

Method and system for considering information about an expected response when performing speech recognition

A system (10) for controlling a device and for controlling access to broadcast information (14(1)-14(n)) is disclosed. The system includes a first receiver for receiving utterances of a speaker, a second receiver for receiving vocabulary data defining a vocabulary of utterances, and a processor for executing a speech recognition algorithm using the received vocabulary data to recognize the utterances of the speaker and for controlling the device and the access to the broadcast information in accordance with the recognized utterances of the speaker.

Information system having a speech interface

In a method for controlling an external machine by a voice command, a voice pattern which is extracted from a voice supplied through a microphone is compared with reference voice patterns to pick up one of them which corresponds to a certain voice command to control an external machine, and a similarity between the voice pattern and the reference voice pattern is calculated. Then, a control signal is supplied to the external machine after a waiting time passes. The waiting time is determined dependent on the similarity such that the waiting time is relatively long when the similarity is low and is determined relatively short when the similarity is high, so that an operator has a sufficient time to judge whether the voice command is the desired one.

Method and system for controlling an external machine by a voice command

A semiconductor integrated circuit device is provided which includes a plurality of circuit sections respectively using a plurality of power supply systems. A static electricity protection circuit section is provided on the same chip as the plurality of circuit sections and connected to the plurality of power supply systems. The protection circuit section includes one or more common potential lines to enable current generated as a result of static electricity to flow between the plurality of power supply systems. The protection circuit section includes a plurality of protection elements, each of which is a diode having an orientation determined based upon potentials of two lines to which the diode is to be connected. When the protection circuit includes one common potential line, the common potential line is set to a potential equal to or higher than the highest potential of the power supply systems, or a potential equal to or lower than the lowest potential of the power supply systems.

Protection structure of semiconductor integrated circuit

A level shifter has a preliminary level shifting circuit and a final level shifting circuit for stepwise changing a voltage range from complementary input signals to complementary output signals, and the preliminary level shifting circuit comprises two complementary inverters coupled between a constant voltage source and a pair of input nodes and controlled by the complementary input signals so that the number of component transistors is decreased.

High-speed level shifter with simple circuit arrangement

A clock synchronizing apparatus for use in a digital automobile telephone apparatus has a receiver, a clock synchronizing circuit, a timing control circuit, a multiplexer/demultiplexer, and a level comparator. The receiver detects the level of an electric field of a received radio wave. The clock synchronizing circuit selectively outputs a phase-corrected clock signal reproduced from the received wave or a free-running clock signal. The level comparator compares the detected level of the electric field with a predetermined threshold and controls the clock synchronizing circuit to select one of the phase-corrected and free-running clock signals in response to the result of comparison. Specifically, the level comparator controls the clock synchronizing circuit to output the phase-corrected clock signal if the detected level of the electric field is in excess of the predetermined threshold, and to output the free-running clock signal if the detected level of the electric field is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold.

Method and apparatus for clock synchronization.

PURPOSE:To eliminate malfunction due to voice misrecognition by informing a speaker of the decrease in the similar it between a voice pattern and a standard pattern when the similarity decreases, and extending the time for recognition result confirmation and the sending time of an interruption instruction CONSTITUTION:A matching part 3 compares the voice signal of a microphone 1 with standard patterns in a standard pattern memory 4 A DP(Dynamic Program) matching method is used for the matching, then a similarity calculation part 52 calculates the similarity between the voice pattern and standard pattern as a distance, and decides the similarity according to whether the distance is smaller or larger than a constant reference value The decision result is outputted to a similarity confirmation part 53 and the speaker is informed of the recognition result and similarity The speaker who is informed that the similarity is low stops calling with a margin, and thus preclude malfunction

Fumio Nakano

Papers

Method and system for controlling an external machine by a voice command

Protection structure of semiconductor integrated circuit

High-speed level shifter with simple circuit arrangement

Method and apparatus for clock synchronization.

Voice control system