# US 9,517,035 B2 · Distributed healthcare communication system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,517,035 B2 - Document ID: US9517035B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/053,303 - Filed: 2016-02-25 - Published: 2016-06-16 - Granted: 2016-12-13 - Earliest claimed: 2008-02-22 - Assignees: Hill-Rom Services, Inc. - Applicants: Hill-Rom Services, Inc. - Inventors: Richard J. Schuman; Patricia A. Glidewell; Erik E. Roehl - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9517035B2 ## CPC - A61B 5/7465: {Arrangements for interactive communication between patient and care services, e.g. by using a telephone network (telemetry of measured physiological signal A61B5/0002)} - A61B 5/002: {Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building (A61B5/0017 takes precedence)} - A61B 5/0022: {Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet} - A61B 5/746: {Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms} - G06F 3/048: Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] - G08B 5/222: {Personal calling arrangements or devices, i.e. paging systems (selective calling systems and call receivers H04W84/00, H04W68/00)} - G08B 7/06: using electric transmission {, e.g. involving audible and visible signalling through the use of sound and light sources} - G08B 25/00: Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems - G08B 25/016: {Personal emergency signalling and security systems (emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12)} - G16H 40/20: for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms - H04L 67/12: specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks - H04L 67/52: specially adapted for the location of the user terminal - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G08B: SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract A graphical audio station of a nurse call system is operable to permit a user to perform one or more of the following functions: establish a two-way voice communication link with another computer device in another patient and/or with a another computer device located in another staff work area and/or with a wireless communication device carried by caregiver and/or with a telephone of the healthcare facility; broadcast a voice page to a group of other selected computer devices; compose and send a text message to a portable device that is carried by a caregiver and that has wireless communication capability; browse web pages and/or view multimedia content, such as videos, hosted on servers of the healthcare facility and/or that are accessible via the Internet; view and/or acknowledge and/or answer and/or cancel alerts or nurse calls originating in a plurality of patient rooms. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A healthcare communication system for use in a healthcare facility having a plurality of patient rooms, the healthcare communication system comprising: a plurality of graphical audio stations, each of the patients rooms having at least one of the plurality of graphical audio stations located therein, a master station communicatively coupled to each of the graphical audio stations, each of the plurality of graphical audio stations having a graphical display screen and having user inputs that are usable to establish a two-way communication link with a selected one of the other graphical audio stations, and an input/output circuit spaced from the plurality of graphical audio stations, at least some of the plurality of graphical audio stations communicating with the input/output circuit according to a first communication protocol and the input/output circuit communicating with the master station according to a second communication protocol. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein each of the user inputs of the plurality of graphical audio stations are also usable to establish a two-way communication link with the master station. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the user inputs of each of the plurality of graphical audio stations are usable to establish a two-way communication link with a wireless communication device carried by a caregiver. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein each at least one of the user inputs of each of the plurality of graphical audio stations are usable to establish a two-way communication link with a telephone of the healthcare facility or a telephone outside the healthcare facility. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein the user inputs are displayed on the graphical display screen. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein at least one other of the plurality of graphical audio stations being located in a staff work area. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein the graphical audio stations located in the patient rooms are each configured to receive a nurse call signal and to communicate the nurse call signal to the master station. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The healthcare communication system of claim 7, wherein the graphical audio stations located in the patient rooms are each configured to receive the nurse call signal from at least one respective hospital bed. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The healthcare communication system of claim 8, wherein the nurse call signals are generated in response to a patient manipulating a nurse call input located on the associated hospital bed. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The healthcare communication system of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of bed interface units each of which is coupled to a respective graphical audio station and coupled to a respective hospital bed. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The healthcare communication system of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of dome light assemblies, each dome light assembly being located in a hallway near a door of a respective patient room, and the input/output circuit being located in a housing mounted near a respective one of the plurality of dome light assemblies. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of dome light assemblies, each dome light assembly being located in a hallway near a door of a respective patient room, and the input/output circuit located in a housing mounted near a respective one of the plurality of dome light assemblies. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, further comprising a Power over Ethernet switch, the two-way communication link being established via the Power over Ethernet switch. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein each of the graphical audio stations is configured to receive an alert signal from at least one piece of equipment located in a respective one of the patient rooms. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The healthcare communication system of claim 14, wherein the at least one piece of equipment comprises a hospital bed. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The healthcare communication system of claim 14, wherein the alert signal corresponds to an alarm condition of the at least one piece of equipment. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein the user inputs of each of the plurality of graphical audio stations are usable to send a one-way voice page to a subset of the plurality of graphical audio stations. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The healthcare communication system of claim 17, wherein user inputs of the plurality of graphical audio stations are usable to select the subset of graphical audio stations to which the one-way voice page is to be sent. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The healthcare communication system of claim 17, wherein the user inputs of the plurality of graphical audio stations are also usable to send the one-way voice page to the master station. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The healthcare communication system of claim 1, wherein the user inputs of the plurality of graphical audio stations are usable to send a text message to a wireless device carried by a caregiver.