SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic method for the pre-processing of device malfunctions and a corresponding system for the implementation of such a method that enable a fast and effective pre-processing of reported device malfunctions and thus reduce the overall time for eliminating malfunctions.
[0006] This object is achieved in a control method according to the invention wherein first data about a malfunction of a device are communicated to a central, automatic control device by terminal equipment, the first data, for example, are a matter of device data, data about the type of malfunction, the frequency of occurrence, error logs, etc. The first terminal equipment can be, for example, a computer connected to the device to be serviced and having a connection to a public communication network such as a telephone network or the Internet, so that that data are sent from the computer to the central, automatic control device via this communication network. Accordingly, this central control device has a suitable connection to the communication network.
[0007] Within the control device, a specific set of second terminal equipment is then selected by means of predefined selection rules on the basis of the received, first data and on the basis of stored, second data. These second terminal equipment are allocated to respectively different service technicians. The second data are, for example, data about the individual service technician such as, for example, responsibility for a specific device or a device operator, degree of training or competency, current availability, etc. The data also can be a matter of additional device data, so that a specific device name, an operator name, an identifier of the operator, etc., can be communicated, and information about the device type, the year built, hardware and software status of the device to be serviced, etc., can then be determined from the stored, second data.
[0008] In a third step, a malfunction incident signal and at least a part of the first data and/or a part of the second data and/or third data determined therefrom are then sent to the set of selected second terminal equipment. This data communication preferably ensues via a public communication network such as the Internet or a telephone network. To this end, for example, the central control device can operate a telephone system such that only the second terminal equipment of the selected group are selected and the desired malfunction dependent signal and the data are sent to the respective terminal equipment via the telephone network. The malfunction dependent signal, for example, is a dataset that, when emitted as an output by the second terminal equipment, informs the respective service technician that a malfunction to be attended to exists, and the further data that are transmitted belong to this malfunction of the appertaining device. Additionally, the dataset can contain a unique identification identifier for the malfunction. The third data can be, for example, additional information about the device malfunction such as a machine-generated, preliminary diagnosis that was already automatically communicated from the central control device on the basis of the first data and/or the second data.
[0009] In the next step, the output of the communicated malfunction dependent signal and the data ensues by means of the second terminal equipment. To this end, the second terminal equipment includes a display and/or an acoustic output device as well as an input device. Preliminary diagnosis data relating to the malfunction of the device and/or availability data from the service technician are electronically acquired via this user interface. The preliminary diagnosis data can contain, for example, a prioritization and assessment of the malfunction, an error analysis (with an indication of a faulty component), particularly the estimated repair time required, etc., by the service technician. The availability data can contain, for example, the workload level of the service technician, the distance from the device or the estimated travel time or the anticipated arrival time at the device to be serviced, etc.
[0010] The electronic acquisition of the data preferably occurs with the assistance of an automatic dialogue system in a dialogue between the respective, second terminal equipment or the automatic dialogue system and the allocated service technician. The type of dialogue or the structure of the automatic dialogue system is dependent on the available user interface of the second terminal equipment. First a dialogue by means of text output or graphic output on a display is possible. A voice dialogue system also can be used. A mixture of the two methods is likewise possible.
[0011] Dependent on the complexity of the dialogue system, the interrogation of the service technician can ensue at any level of detail and in a user-friendly manner. When, for example, the service technician answers specific questions of the dialogue system in a specific way, correspondingly more detailed information about this point can be subsequently queried, so that a true, multi-stage dialogue is implemented between the dialogue system and the service technician. Basically, however, a very simple dialogue system is used wherein a type of form that is to be appropriately filled out is generated for the service technician on the user interface. The term “dialogue system” is comprehensively used herein interpreted in this sense.
[0012] The dialogue system preferably is constructed such that the system asks the service technician about the critical data in a relatively short time and the data thus can be registered or recorded. The form of a simple query catalogue can be used, including an estimate or prioritization of the malfunction, the arrival time at the malfunctioning device or an estimated time for eliminating the malfunction, for example. It is compulsory for the service technician to provide answers thereto.
[0013] In a further step, the preliminary diagnosis data and/or availability data are automatically transmitted back to the central control device. There, the preliminary diagnosis data and/or availability data returned by all second terminal devices are automatically evaluated according to predefined evaluation rules. On the basis of the evaluation results, the central control device selects specific second terminal equipment from the set of second terminal equipment by means of predetermined selection rules.
[0014] The central control device then generates an assignment signal and communicates this to the selected second terminal device, the assignment signal being output there by the appertaining second terminal equipment. With this assignment signal, the order for further processing of the malfunction is communicated to the service technician to whom the appertaining second terminal equipment is allocated. For example, the assignment signal can be a dataset that contains the unique identification identifier of the malfunction incident as well as a work order. The pre-processing of the malfunction thus is ended.
[0015] In order to enhance the security, the selected second terminal equipment can communicate an acknowledgment signal to the central control device for acknowledging the assignment signal. However, it is also possible for the assignment signal to be considered as accepted after the lapse of a specific waiting time insofar as a corresponding signal with a refusal is not received from the second terminal equipment. After the allocation signal has been directly or indirectly acknowledged, the central control unit automatically schedules the appertaining service technician for the malfunction incident.
[0016] If it is not possible or not meaningful to assign a service technician to eliminate the malfunction because, for example, a suitable service technician is not available at the moment, all required data can be handed over to a dispatcher, who manually further-processes the case and attempts to find an individual solution.
[0017] An inventive system for the automatic pre-processing of device malfunctions operating according to the above-described method requires at least one first terminal equipment that is allocated to a device to be serviced and that includes a unit for determining of first data about the malfunction of the device and a transmission device for communicating the first data to a central control device.
[0018] Such a system usually will be constructed not only for the pre-processing of malfunctions at a single device, but a number of devices usually will be connected in the system. Accordingly, a number of first terminal devices are usually present. This discussion below proceeds on the basis of a specific malfunctioning device only for simplicity.
[0019] The inventive system also includes a number of second terminal devices that are respectively allocated to different service technicians and each of which includes:
[0020] a reception device for receiving a malfunction incident signal and the various data, i.e. the first data, the second data and, if present, the third data as well as for receiving an assignment signal from the central control device;
[0021] a user interface for emitting preliminary diagnosis data and/or availability data from the allocated service technician;
[0022] a transmission device for communicating the preliminary diagnosis data and/or the availability data to the central control device.
[0023] The second terminal equipment preferably is mobile communication terminal device that the service technicians always carry. A combination of a laptop or PDA (personal digital assistant) and a mobile radiotelephone device can be used for this purpose. Fundamentally, the mobile communication device can be two separate units connected to one another via a corresponding interface—for example, a PDA and a mobile radiotelephone device. In the context of this invention, however, such a device combination is considered as the second terminal equipment. UMTS mobile radiotelephone devices that enable a combination via the Internet or an Intranet and that have an easy-to-use graphic user interface also would be suitable as second terminal devices.
[0024] The system always includes an automatic central control device that includes:
[0025] a reception device for receiving the first data from the first terminal equipment and for receiving the preliminary diagnosis data and/or the availability data from the second terminal equipment. This can be a common reception device or a number of separate reception devices or reception device components;
[0026] a memory with second data stored therein;
[0027] a first selection unit for the selection of a group of second terminal equipment by means of predefined selection rules on the basis of the received first data and the stored second data;
[0028] a transmission device, which can be an individual transmission device or of a number of transmission devices or transmission device components for the communication with the various equipment;
[0029] a unit for the transmission of at least a part of the first data and/or a part of the second data and/or of third data determined therefrom to the group of second terminal equipment via a transmission device;
[0030] a second selection device for the evaluation of the first data, the second data, the preliminary diagnosis data and/or the availability data according to predefined evaluation rules and for the selection of a specific second terminal equipment from the group of second terminal equipment on the basis of the evaluation result;
[0031] a unit for the generation and communication of an assignment signal to the selected second terminal equipment via a transmission device.
[0032] In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the first terminal equipment has a user interface and an automatic dialogue system in order to electronically acquire first data relating to the device to be serviced from an operator of the device to be serviced within a dialogue. This, too, can again be a matter of a complex, multistage or a very simple dialogue system wherein only a type of form to be appropriately filled out is generated on the user interface for the operator.
[0033] In another preferred exemplary embodiment, the first data encompass operating data and/or error data of the device to be serviced such as, for example, test images or faulty images acquired during the most recent hours of operation, error logs, event logs, etc., that were all registered by a logging device connected to the device to be serviced. This logging device can be situated within the device controller or it can be an external logging device or a logging device integrated in the first terminal equipment.
[0034] The malfunction message automatically ensues by means of the device itself or by the connected, first terminal equipment or by means of an external logging device that monitors the appertaining device without requiring any intervention on the part of the answerable operating personnel. All error data and device data are automatically logged, and an error message or malfunction message is automatically sent to the central control device in the event of a malfunction. The operating personnel responsible for the device on site are informed about the malfunction by means of a suitable alarm signal or the like. There is then the possibility for the operating personnel also communicate additional data to the central control device via the first terminal equipment.
[0035] The central control device preferably automatically communicates at least a part of the preliminary diagnosis data received by the group of second terminal equipment to the ultimately selected, second terminal equipment together with the assignment signal. Alternatively, this can occur only when a corresponding request signal was received from the appertaining second terminal equipment. The communication of the preliminary diagnosis data received from the remaining second terminal equipment has the advantage that the responsible service technician is automatically informed of the malfunction estimates of his colleagues. These information can be of great assistance to the responsible service technician in the correction of the malfunction.
[0036] In another preferred exemplary embodiment, the central control device automatically initiates the establishment of a data connection, for example as a remote service connection, between the device to be serviced and/or the allocated first terminal equipment and the selected second terminal equipment upon or after communication of an assignment signal to a specific second terminal equipment. The central control device has appropriate switching equipment for this purpose. The method can proceed faster by means of the automatic switching by the central control device, so that no time is lost because the service technician must first set up an online connection him/herself.
[0037] Moreover, the central control device preferably automatically sends processing signals to the first terminal equipment at specific points in time, this terminal equipment, or the operator of this device thereby being informed that the malfunction is being processed. Such processing signals can be sent after receiving the first data from the first terminal equipment, after receiving preliminary diagnosis data or availability data from the first of the selected second terminal equipment and, for example, after sending an assignment signal to a second terminal equipment or, possibly after receiving an acknowledgment signal from the second terminal equipment. With this third processing signal, further data, for example about the arrival of a technician or whether a malfunction correction is planned first via an online connection with a remote service, etc., then also can be communicated to the first terminal equipment.
[0038] Preferably the central control unit includes a fault analysis unit in order to be able to automatically prepare preliminary diagnosis data on the basis of received first data relating to a current malfunction of the device and on the basis of stored device data and/or data about the type of fault. These devices can store fault type data that contains, for example, information about the probability of a particular fault dependent on the device in question and the error combination. Moreover, such fault type data can contain information about the frequency of occurrence of certain faults. Like an expert (trainable neural network) system, such a fault analysis system preferably employs data stored in a memory in an expert data bank.
[0039] Preferably, malfunction correction data are electronically acquired and communicated to the central control device with the second terminal equipment during and/or after a correction of the malfunction within a dialogue between the second terminal equipment and the assigned service technician. With such data, the responsible service technician indicates the fault that was actually involved and how the technician corrected this fault. The malfunction correction data then can be employed within the expert system, i.e. new fault type data preferably are determined on the basis of such malfunction correction data and stored in the expert data bank for later malfunction incidents.
[0040] The device to be serviced can be any device or a complex system—which is also considered as a device herein. The method has particular utility in the context of large-scale medical devices such magnetic resonance tomography systems or computed tomography systems.
[0041] Particularly given a utilization of the method with medical devices, any person-related data (patient data) contained in the first data should be eliminated and/or made anonymous, preferably before a communication from the first terminal equipment to the central control device. Additionally, all access to the person-related data should be logged. Insofar as a public network such as, for example, the Internet is employed for communication of the data, all data preferably are only transmitted in encrypted form. Moreover, it is especially important in this case for the entire system to be protected from outside access with, for example, suitable passwords in order to prevent confidential patient data from being located and to prevent the introduction of viruses, particularly into the medical device itself. For this reason, a point-to-point connection between the appertaining devices of the system via telephone lines or mobile radiotelephone channels is preferred.
[0042] In another preferred exemplary embodiment, the central control device sends an additional alarm signal to the appertaining second terminal equipment via a second communication channel if a connection to a specific second terminal equipment is not possible via a first communication channel that is normally employed, for example via a mobile radiotelephone channel, and via which the communication of the malfunction incident signal as well as the appertaining data and/or an assignment signal to the second terminal equipment should ensue. The second communication channel, for example, can be a paging channel. The service technician thus can be alerted if the second terminal equipment cannot be reached, for example because of a non-accessible region in the mobile radiotelephone network or because of a prohibition against mobile radiotelephony in a hospital where the service technician is located at the moment.
[0043] To this end, the central control unit must include a unit to generate the additional alarm signal in such a case. Moreover, it must include a transmitter in order to send the alarm signal to the appertaining second terminal equipment. The second terminal equipment must include a second reception device for receiving the alarm signal via the second communication channel and an output for emitting the alarm signal.
[0044] In general, it is meaningful for the malfunction to be reported given ongoing device operation—insofar as it is only a minor malfunction that does not cause the device to become unusable. It must be assured, that the safety features of the device, for example the dose monitoring or SAR monitoring given medical devices, function faultlessly for a transmission of logged datafiles in interactions with the central control device and with the second terminal equipment of the respective service technician during a remote service. Moreover, the functionability or performance of the device—for example in the case of nuclear magnetic resonance tomography systems and X-ray tomography systems—, the possibility of performing diagnoses, as well as the image quality, the patient data, the consistency, etc., are preserved insofar as possible.
[0045] In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the operator of the serviced device has the capability to track the service process by means of an event log and to monitor the access to the appertaining device by the central control device or by a terminal equipment of a service technician. The on-site operating personnel thus can decide whether, for example, a service call by means of a remote service is feasible. In another exemplary embodiment, the access mode to the device can be controlled. A selection can be made whether to allow limited access, wherein operation of a patient treatment or patient examination mode is still possible, or whether to allow full access, wherein the device is no longer used and is completely available to a remote service. Insofar as remote service occurs during ongoing operation of the device, the performance of the device must not be significantly reduced due to the remote service. Moreover, the operating personnel preferably can abort the service activities at any time, the device being configured to automatically return to the original status insofar as this is not precluded the malfunction.
[0046] The inventive method and the inventive system allow a decidedly fast and effective pre-processing of the information relating to a malfunction and thus helps to reduce the pre-processing time to a minimum. By means of a suitable, fully automatic operation of a telephone system in the central control device, for example, all data or telephone connections can be set up in order to fully automatically inform all appropriate service technicians nearly simultaneously about the malfunction. Service technicians who would not be appropriate for servicing the particular malfunction, in contrast, are not unnecessarily bothered. In the shortest possible time, estimates of the malfunction in question are collected from all notified malfunction technicians, and this information is used to assign the optimum service technician for the particular malfunction, with competency, training and fastest availability being taken into consideration in the selection.
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