Patient information apparatus
AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorsCarl B. Arnold, William S. Page
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to an electronic assembly, apparatus and process for scanning input information from patient information cards, processing the information and imaging the processed information on films and, in particular, on X-ray films in automatic daylight film handling systems.
Claims8
In an automatic daylight film handling apparatus comprising an initial transport mechanism for transporting a closed cassette containing a sheet of film to an initial station, a cassette opening-closing assembly for opening and closing the cassette once positioned at the initial station, a vacuum-operated lifting and transporting assembly for lifting film from the opened cassette and transporting the film to a patient identification station and then to a subsequent station, a patient information imaging assembly for imaging patient information on a previously unexposed area of the film at the patient identification station, and a substantially light tight housing enclosing the initial transport mechanism, the cassette opening-closing assembly, the vacuum-operated lifting and transporting assembly, and the patient identification station, wherein the improvement comprises the patient information imaging assembly being an electronic patient information imaging assembly comprising:
- a scanner apparatus for scanning input information from a patient information card;
- an electronic control system connected to the scanner apparatus and capable of processing the scanned input information to output information;
- and
- a camera apparatus connected to the electronic control system and for imaging the output information onto the previously unexposed area of the film.
An apparatus for handling a cassette and a first sheet of X-ray film contained in the cassette, the sheet having an unexposed area, the apparatus comprising:
- a light tight housing having a housing slot for receiving the cassette;
- a cassette opening-closing assembly in the housing for opening the cassette for removal of the first sheet and reloading with a second sheet of unexposed X-ray film and thereafter for closing the cassette;
- an initial transport mechanism in the housing for transporting the cassette from the slot to the cassette opening-closing assembly and from the cassette opening-closing assembly out the slot after removal of the sheet and reloading the cassette with the second sheet;
- a vacuum-operated lifting and transporting assembly in the housing for removing the first sheet from the cassette and transporting the first sheet to a patient identification station and then to a subsequent station;
- a film reloading apparatus in the housing for reloading the cassette with the second sheet after the first sheet is removed from the cassette;
- and
- an electronic patient information imaging assembly for receiving a patient information card from outside the housing, scanning input information in the housing from the patient information card, electronically processing the input information in the housing, and imaging patient information in the housing on the unexposed area of the first sheet while the first sheet is at the patient identification station.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.