Device for the direct manual examination of a patient in a non-contiguous location

A device for remotely conducting a direct manual examination of a patient comprising a hand control unit, a patient examination module, and a computer, wherein said patient examination module and said hand control unit are operatively linked to said computer and are each capable of generating a force in response to an input signal and of generating an output signal in response to a detected force, wherein said patient examination module comprises:

• (a) a pad removably attachable to said patient, said pad comprising a plurality of expandable cells attached to a backing, said pad including means for attaching said pad to said patient;
• (b) a plurality of pressure transducers attached to said plurality of expandable cells, said pressure transducers being adapted to generate a signal that is directly related to an interface pressure between said pad and said patient;
• and
• (c) a fluid media that can be selectively directed to some of said plurality of expandable cells to produce a desired pressure within said expandable cells.

A device for simulating tactile interactions with a remote body, the device comprising:

• (a) a hand control unit having at least one sensory modulation subunit;
• (b) an examination subunit disposed remotely from said hand control unit, said examination subunit having a plurality of sensory modulation subunits, said examination subunit being adapted to wrap around at least a portion of the remote body;
• and
• (c) means for operatively connecting at least one sensory modulation subunit of said hand control unit to at least one sensory modulation subunit of said examination unit such that a force applied to one connected sensory modulation subunit will cause a corresponding force to be exerted by the other connected sensory modulation subunit.

A method of tactilely examining a body comprising:

• (a) wrapping a portion of said body in an examination module having a plurality of sensory modulation subunits;
• (b) operatively connecting at least one of said sensory modulation subunits of said examination module to at least one sensory modulation subunit on a remotely disposed hand control unit;
• and
• (c) manually applying a force to said at least one sensory modulation subunit on said hand control unit to produce a corresponding force at said connected sensory modulation unit of said examination module and detecting a feedback force from said examination module.

A method of tactilely examining a body comprising:

• (a) wrapping a portion of the body in an examination module having a plurality of sensory modulation subunits that can generate an output signal in response to an applied force and simultaneously exert a force in response to a received input signal;
• (b) connecting the examination module to a first communications system that can send and receive the input and output signals;
• (c) connecting a hand control unit having at least one sensory modulation subunit that can generate an output signal in response to an applied force and simultaneously exert a force in response to a received input signal to a second communications system that can communicate with the first communications system;
• (d) operatively connecting the first communications system with the second communications system such that the hand control unit output signals are received by the examination module and the examination module output signals are received by the hand control unit;
• and
• (e) applying a series of forces to the hand control unit sensory modulation subunits with a hand such that forces exerted by the hand control unit sensory modulation subunits resulting from the received output signals from the examination unit are detected.

A device for remotely conducting a direct manual examination of at least a portion of a body, the device comprising:

• (a) a hand control unit having a first sensory modulation subunit;
• (b) a patient examination module having a plurality of second sensory modulation subunits that are disposed in a flexible pad;
• and
• (c) a means for selectively operatively connecting the first sensory modulation subunit to one or more of the plurality of second sensory modulation subunits, such that an output signal from the first sensory modulation subunit is received by one or more of the second sensory modulation subunits and an output signal from one or more of the second sensory modulation subunits is received by the first sensory modulation subunit.

A device for remotely conducting a direct manual examination of a patient comprising:

• (a) a hand control unit having at least one first sensory modulation subunit that:
• (i) detects a force applied to the first sensory modulation subunit and generates a first signal in response to the detected force, and
• (ii) exerts a force in response to a received second signal;
• and
• (b) a patient examination module, the patient examination module having a plurality of second sensory modulation subunits that are selectively connectable to the first sensory modulation subunit, such that:
• (i) the second sensory modulation subunits receives the first signal and exerts a force in response to the received first signal, and
• (ii) detects a force resisting the exerted force and generates the second signal based on the detected resisting force, the second signal being received by the first sensory modulation subunit.