Portable telepresence apparatus

A portable telepresence apparatus that is adapted to be coupled to a remote station that has a station monitor, a station camera, a station speaker and a station microphone, comprising:

• a housing;
• a camera coupled to said housing;
• a monitor that is coupled to said housing and is adapted to display images captured by the station camera;
• a speaker that is coupled to said housing and is adapted to generate a sound provided through the station microphone;
• a microphone coupled to said housing;
• a battery coupled to said housing;
• a wireless transceiver coupled to said housing;
• and
• a memory device for capturing at least one image prior to establishing communication that is transmitted to the remote station after the remote station establishes a communication with the portable telepresence apparatus.

A portable telepresence apparatus that is adapted to be coupled to a remote station that has a station monitor, a station camera, a station speaker and a station microphone, comprising:

• a housing;
• a first camera coupled to said housing;
• a monitor that is coupled to said housing and is adapted to display images captured by the station camera;
• a speaker that is coupled to said housing and is adapted to generate a sound provided through the station microphone;
• a microphone coupled to said housing;
• a battery coupled to said housing;
• a wireless transceiver coupled to said housing;
• and
• a motion sensing device coupled to said housing.

A portable telepresence apparatus that is adapted to be coupled to a remote station that has a station monitor, a station camera, a station speaker and a station microphone, comprising:

• a housing;
• a first camera coupled to said housing;
• a monitor that is coupled to said housing and is adapted to display images captured by the station camera;
• a speaker that is coupled to said housing and is adapted to generate a sound provided through the station microphone;
• a microphone coupled to said housing;
• a battery coupled to said housing;
• and
• a wireless transceiver coupled to said housing, wherein said wireless transceiver transmits one type of data on a lower bandwidth and transmits a second type of data on a higher bandwidth network.

A method for providing a remote medical consultation, comprising:

• setting up a portable telepresence apparatus to view a patient, the portable telepresence apparatus includes a camera, a monitor, a speaker and a microphone;
• capturing an image of the patient with the portable telepresence apparatus;
• linking the portable telepresence apparatus to a remote station that includes a remote station camera that can capture an image of a healthcare worker operating the remote station, a remote station monitor, a remote station speaker and a remote station microphone;
• transmitting the image of the healthcare worker to the portable telepresence apparatus;
• displaying the healthcare worker image on the monitor;
• transmitting the patient image to the remote station;
• displaying the patient image on the remote station monitor;
• and
• transmitting an audio command from the remote station to the portable telepresence apparatus.

A method for obtaining a remotely captured image, comprising:

• linking a portable telepresence apparatus to a remote station, the portable telepresence apparatus includes a first camera, a monitor, a speaker and a microphone, the remote station includes a remote station camera, a remote station monitor, a remote station speaker and a remote station microphone;
• transmitting an image that is captured by the first camera to the remote station;
• transmitting an audio instruction from the remote station to the portable telepresence apparatus to a user holding the portable telepresence apparatus;
• and
• moving the portable telepresence apparatus by the user holding the portable telepresence apparatus.