MXPA00002618A - A packet-based telemedicine system for communicating information between central monitoring stations and remote patient monitoring stations - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a packet-based telemedicine system for communicating video, voice and medical data between a central monitoring station and a patient monitoring station which is remotely-located with respect to the central monitoring station. The patient monitoring station obtains digital video, voice and medical measurement data from a patient and encapsulates the data in packets and sends the packets over a network to the central monitoring station. Since the information is encapsulated in packets, the information can be sent over multiple types or combinations of network architectures, including a Community access Television (CATV) network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), over a wireless communications network, or over an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network. Thus, a separate transmission protocol is not required for each different type of transmission media. Rather, a single transport/network layer protocol is used for encapsulating the information in packets at the sending end and for de-encapsulating the information at the receiving end. Furthermore, by sending the information in packets, the video, voice and measurement data can be integrated and sent over a single network.

Description

TELEMEDICINE SYSTEM BASED ON PACKAGES TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION BETWEEN CENTRAL VERIFICATION STATIONS AND STATIONS OF VERIFICATION OF PATIENTS AT DISTANCE TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention is concerned generally with the field of telemedicine and more particularly with a telemedicine system that communicates information between central verification stations and remote patient verification stations by encapsulating the data in packages that can be sent in multiple types or combinations of network architectures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In general, telemedicine is a term used to describe a type of patient care that involves the verification of the patient's condition by a health care worker located in a health care facility that is remote from medical care. regarding the location of the patient. Telemedicine, if used properly, is capable of providing enormous benefits to society. One such benefit is that patients can be examined without having to travel to a health care facility. This feature is particularly important for patients who live in remote areas who may not have the ability to travel REF .: 32908 easily to the nearest health care facility or that need to be examined by a health care worker located away from the patient, in another state, for example. Another benefit of telemedicine is that it is apt to allow a patient to be examined more frequently than would be possible if the patient were required to travel to a health care facility because of the ease with which it can be administered. For example, if the patient's condition requires that measures be taken several times a day, it would not be practical for the patient to travel to and from a health care facility each time a measurement needs to be taken. It would probably be necessary for the patient to be admitted to a health care facility. The use of telemedicine could allow these measurements to be taken at the patient's home as long as the health care worker observes the patient or the measurement data from the health care facility. Another benefit of telemedicine is that it allows the patient to be examined in a more timely manner than if the patient were required to travel to the health care facility. This is important in urgent situations, such as' when a patient's condition becomes critical and immediate emergency procedures must be undertaken. Several types of telemedicine system are known. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,441,047 to David et al, issued August 15, 1995, which discloses an ambulatory patient health verification system for verifying a health care patient located remotely. of a central station. The system includes instruments at the remote site to measure the patient's medical condition. The medical condition may correspond to health parameters such as heart rate, respiratory rate, pulse oximetry and blood pressure. The system includes a first audiovisual camera arranged in the location of the patient and a second audiovisual camera located at the central station. Audio and video information is transmitted between the remote location of the patient and the central station via a communications network such as an interactive cable television network. The data of the The patient is transmitted between the remote location of the patient and the central station by means of a separate communication network, such as via satellite, radio transmission or telephone lines. A screen is located in the remote location of the patient and the central station to allow the patient and the health care worker to observe each other simultaneously. One of the disadvantages of the system revealed in the David et al patent is that, although they refer to the sending of information between the health care worker and the patient via various types of networks, the information sent from the patient's home will have to have a format according to a different communications protocol for each of them. these different networks. Therefore, although the David et al patent refers to the ability to use different types of networks, the system disclosed in the David et al patent is not "network independent" because the data must have a format of According to a particular protocol at the sending end and the process of formatting will have to be inverted at the receiving end in a different way for each type of network. At least, this will require different programming elements and / or physical elements at each end for each different transmission medium used. Another disadvantage of the system disclosed in the David et al patent is that the audio and video data is sent in a communication network and the patient data is sent in another communication network. Another example of a telemedicine system is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,434,611 to Tamura, issued July 18, 1995. This patent discloses ** YES. * »V '* ¡! Í a telemedicine system that has a bidirectional cable television network to transmit images, voice and data between equipment located in the patient's home and the equipment located in a medical office. The cameras are located in the patient's home and the medical office to provide response images between the doctor and the patient. In order for the physician's terminal to communicate with the patient's terminal, the physician's terminal sends a signal on a control line to the patient's terminal. Then a line controller selects a communication channel for the session by selecting a channel not used in a multiple channel access system (MCA). Then the terminals are automatically tuned to the assigned communications channel and the information is communicated in the assigned channel between the patient and the doctor. A disadvantage of the system described in the Tamura patent is that any communication between the doctor and the patient must be established by sending a signal that the line controller detects. Then the line controller selects a channel not used for communication. It is also appreciated that the signal must be initiated by the doctor because the patient's text only describes the situation where the doctor sends the signal to start the session. In any case, the system requires a direct connection between the patient's terminal and the physician's terminal. Provision is not made to allow medical measurement data to be sent to the physician's terminal without a direct connection between the patient's terminal and the physician's terminal. Accordingly, according to the system described in the Tamura patent, it would be possible that information concerning the patient's condition is sent by the patient's terminal to the doctor's terminal in the absence of a direct connection between the terminals, which requires the doctor to be present for the session. It would be advantageous to provide a telemedicine system that would allow a patient or health care worker to initiate a diagnostic session to cause diagnostic measurements to be taken and sent to a location, such as a health care facility, in where medical records could be updated automatically by the data. One advantage of such a system is that a health care worker would not have to administer a diagnostic session and therefore would not have to participate in the session. Another advantage of such a system is that medical records could be updated automatically without requiring action by the health care worker. Also, since medical records are updated automatically, the patient's condition could be • Rs-sa-e- automatically verified in such a way that, in case the patient's condition falls below a predetermined level, remedial measures can be taken. It would also be advantageous to provide a telemedicine system that allows video, voice and medical data to be integrated and sent in a single network. Thus, there is a need for a telemedicine system that is independent of the network and that is capable of allowing video, voice and data data concerning the patient's condition to be integrated and sent from a terminal of the patient located at a distance to a patient. health care institution without the need to establish a direct connection between the patient and the health care worker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a packet-based telemedicine system for communicating video, voice and medical data between a central verification station and a patient verification station that is remotely located with respect to the radio station. central verification. The patient verification station obtains digital video, voice and medical data from a patient and encapsulates the data in packets and sends the packets in a network to the central verification station.

Since the information is encapsulated in packets, the information can be sent in multiple types or combinations of network architectures, which include a community access television network (CATV), the telephone switching network. public (PSTN), integrated services digital network (ISDN), Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless communications network or an asynchronous transfer mode network or asynchronous (ATM). Thus, a separate transmission protocol is not required for each different type of transmission medium. Rather, a single transport layer protocol is used to encapsulate the packet information at the sending end and to de-encapsulate the information at the receiving end. In addition, when sending information in packages, the video, voice and measurement data can be integrated and sent in a single network. When the information has been de-encapsulated in the central verification station, the information is processed and analyzed by means of programming elements and / or physical elements to determine which patient caused the information to be sent, the type of diagnostic measurement included in the information and the diagnostic measurement represented by the information.

The patient verification station of the telemedicine system of the present invention comprises a plurality of medical devices that are connected to a control unit via an interface of the medical device that controls the transmission of data from the medical devices to the control unit. The patient verification station is configured in such a way that the control unit and the medical devices can communicate with each other through the interface of the medical device. The interface of the medical device preferably uses a single interruption to request the transfer of data to the control unit. When the control unit has data to send to one of the medical instruments, it transmits the data to the interface of the medical device together with the address of the medical device that will receive the data. Then the interface of the medical device decodes the address and transmits the data to the appropriate medical device. When a medical device has data to send to the control unit, it transmits the data to the interface of the medical device. Then the interface of the medical device sends an interruption request to the control unit. The control unit processes the interruption request and the data is transmitted from the interface of the medical device to the control unit.

Then the control unit formats the data and sends them to a communication device, preferably a LAN card that encapsulates the data according to the transport layer protocol and broadcasts them on the network to be sent to the station of central verification. The control unit of the patient verification station also comprises a videoconferencing interface device that formats the voice and video data received by the videoconferencing interface device of a camera and microphone located at the patient verification station. . Then the control unit supplies the formatted video and voice data to the communications device that encapsulates the data according to the communication protocol and broadcasts it on the network to be sent to the central verification station. The central verification station also comprises a control unit which is preferably identical to the "control unit of the patient verification station." The control unit of the central verification station communicates with a videoconferencing interface device. the central verification station that formats the voice and video data received by the videoconferencing interface device of a camera and microphone located at the central verification station, then the control unit supplies the video and voice data in a format to the communications device, preferably a LAN card, which encapsulates the video and voice data according to the transport layer protocol and outputs them in the network to be sent to the patient verification station. When the control unit of the patient verification station receives data packets sent to it from the central verification station, the communication device of the patient verification station de-encapsulates the information packets and determines whether the information is going to be sent via the interface of the medical device to one of the medical devices or if the information is going to be sent to an indicator screen and loudspeaker via the videoconference interface device. Once the determination is made, the information is sent to the appropriate interface device. When the control unit of the central verification station receives data packets sent to it from the patient verification station, the communication device of the central verification station de-encapsulates the information packets and determines whether the information consists of data. diagnosis of one of the medical devices or if the information is videoconferencing information. If the information is videoconference information, the information is sent to the videoconfidence interface device. The videoconference interface device decodes the information and outputs it to an indicator and loudspeaker screen located at the central verification station. If the information consists of diagnostic data, the control unit interprets the data. Once the diagnostic data has been interpreted, the control unit can further process the data and / or store it in a storage device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a block diagram of the telemedicine system of the present invention comprising a plurality of pat verification stations and a plurality of central verification stations. Figure 2 is a block diagram of one of the pat verification stations shown in Figure 1 comprising N medical devices connected via an interface of the device to a control unit. Fig. 3 is a flow chart demonstrating the processing of data received by the control unit shown in Fig. 2 from one of the central verification stations shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a flow diagram showing the transmission of data from one of the medical devices shown in Figure 2 to the control unit shown in Figure 2 and then to the central verification station shown in Figure 1. > "" Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the processing and packaging of video and audio data in the control unit of the pat verification station shown in Figure 2 before the packets are sent to the monitoring station. central verification shown in figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Figure 1 illustrates the telemedicine system 10 of the present invention comprising a plurality of central verification stations 11 that are in communication via a network 16 with a plurality of pat verification stations 18. As shown in FIG. illustrated, a central verification station 11 may be provided for example in the doctor's house 12, the doctor's office 13 or in a hospital 14, each of which is in communication with the network 16. In accordance with the present invention , data of various types are sent to and from one or more of the central verification stations 11 and from one or more of the pat verification stations 18 in the form of digital packets, as discussed in more detail later herein with respect to to figures 2-5. It should be noted that the pat verification stations 18"" - the central office stations 11 can be located at any location capable of accessing the communication network 16. It should also be noted that a plurality of stations 18 of pat verification can be communicated with a single central verification station 11 and that a plurality of central verification stations 11 can communicate with a single pat verification station 18. Network 16 may consist of multiple types or combinations of network architectures that include PSTN, ISDN, a cellular or wireless network, a LAN, WAN, a community-access television network (CATV), the Internet, an ATM network, or a combination of one or more of these networks. All information transmitted between a pat verification station 18 and a central verification station 11 is encapsulated in packets using a preselected communications protocol. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, TCP / IP is used (Transmission Control Protocol: transmission control / Internet Protocol: Internet Protocol) as the transport layer / network layer protocol to encapsulate the data in packets. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other types of communication protocols are appropriate for use with the present invention. The TCP / IP protocol (Protocol llf "1" r "transmission control / internet protocol" is preferred due to its high acceptance and use Figure 2 is a block diagram showing one of the pat verification stations 18 shown in figure 1 Each pat verification station 18 comprises a control unit 22, an address / data distribution bar 27, a videoconferencing interface device 26, video conferencing equipment 23, an interface 24 of the medical device and one or more medical devices 18-30. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the interface 24 of the medical device comprises a serial card having multiple serial ports and uses only one interruption line (not shown) to communicate with the control unit 22. The interface 24 of the The medical device is connected to a plurality of medical devices 28-30 and to the control unit 22 via the address / data distribution bar 17. The control unit 22 comprises telemedicine application programming elements 25 which control the flow of data to and from the medical devices 28-30 via the interface 24 of the medical device. The videoconferencing interface device 26 comprises physical elements and / or programming elements that control the processing of data received by the control unit 22 from the videoconferencing equipment 23 to convert the data to a form that is suitable for transmission in the network 26. The videoconference interface device 26 is also responsible for processing videoconference data received from the central verification station to convert the data to a form that is suitable for display on an indicator screen comprised of the video conferencing equipment 23. When the data are to be sent from the control unit 22 to one of the medical devices 28-30, the control unit 22 sends data to the interface 24 of the medical device via the address / data distribution bar 27. Then the interface 24 of the medical device transmits the data to the appropriate medical device 18-30 when decoding the information address number placed in the address / data distribution bar 27. When the data is to be sent to the control unit 22 from one of the medical devices, the medical device transmits the data to the interface 24 of the medical device. Then the interface 24 of the medical device stores the temporary requests or buffer and queues the requests and then uses a single interruption line to indicate that it has data to transmit to the control unit 22. Once the control unit 22 is ready to receive the data, the interface 24 of the medical device sends the data to the control unit 22 via the address / data distribution bar 27. Medical devices 28-30 may include, but are not limited to, blood pressure measuring devices, thermometers, pulse oximetry devices, electrocardiograms (EKG), scales and stethoscopes. Additionally, medical devices can be freely exchanged with each other simply by unplugging a medical device from the interface and plugging in another. This "plug and play" compatibility is made possible by the configuration of the system and the use of a single interrupt interface and provides maximum flexibility in configuring the telemedicine system to meet particular needs. Numerous combinations of different medical devices can be used in a telemedicine system via the interface of the device. The interface of the device itself can be implemented in numerous ways, including, but not limited to, an RS-232 infernase, a single serial communications card, a busbar such as the Firewire (IEEE 1394) or universal serial distribution bar (Universal Serial Bus: USB) or any other interface that uses a single interruption in the data transfer process. The control unit can also be implemented in numerous ways which include, but are not limited to, a personal computer or any other type of processing unit. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate in general the steps involved in a data transfer between a medical device and a control unit 22. With reference to Figure 3, when the patient verification station 18 receives data from the central verification station 11 , the control unit 22 determines whether the data is directed to one of the medical devices 28-30 / to the videoconference equipment 23 or to application-level data, as indicated by block 34. The information received is encapsulated in packets of digital data. The communications device (not shown) of the control unit 22 de-encapsulates the packets and the data is analyzed to determine whether the data is videoconference data, medical instrument command data or application-level data, as indicated by the blocks 35 and 36 respectively. If the data is directed to video conferencing equipment 23, the data is processed by the videoconferencing interface device 26 and output to video conferencing equipment 23, as indicated by blocks 41 and 42 respectively. This data can be commands and control data to control the operation of the video conferencing equipment 23 (for example, controlling the horizon or inclination of the camera) or it can be image and voice data captured by the video conferencing device located in the videoconference station. central verification 11, as discussed in more detail later in this. If it is determined in block 36 that the data is data at the application level, the data is processed in the control unit 22 by the telemedicine application, as indicated by block 37. The data at the application level can be example a message to the patient, status information, etc. If it is determined in block 36 that the data received is command data from the medical device, interface 24 of the medical device decodes the address and enables the selected serial port corresponding to the required medical device, as indicated by block 38. The port The selected serial receives the data from the address / data distribution bar 27, as indicated by block 39. Then the proposed medical device receives the data from the interface 24 of the medical device at the selected serial port (not shown). Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the transfer of data from one of the medical devices 28-30 to the control unit 22. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the interface 24 of the medical device comprises a card of serial interface with a serial port connected to each medical device 28-30. As before, the telemedicine application programming elements 25 are executed in the control unit 22 during the transmission process. In step 43, one or more of the medical devices 28-30 sends data to the infer 24 of the medical device. The interface 24 of the medical device stores in temporary memory or buffer and queues the data and then invokes an interrupt using the single interruption line (not shown), as indicated by block 44. Then, the control unit 22 invokes an interrupt service routine to manipulate the interrupt request, as indicated by block 45. As stated above, numerous routines for processing the resulting data may be included in the telemedicine application programming elements 25 for acquiring data. of the various types of medical devices and to convert the data to an appropriate form for transmission to the central verification station 11. It will be understood by those skilled in the art which types of routine will be necessary and the ways in which these routines should be built to carry out these tasks. Once the interrupt service routine has been invoked, processes the interruption and notifies the telemedicine application programming elements 25 of the availability of the data, as indicated by the blocks 46 of telemedicine application programming 25 n the data sent by the medical device, as indicated by block 48. Then the medical device data is sent by the control unit 22 to the communication device, which is preferably a LAN card (not shown) that encapsulates the data in packets, as indicated, by block 51. Then the packets are issued by the LAN card over the network 16 as indicated by the block 52. The medical device interface 24 may include numerous serial ports to manipulate the data sent by the multiple medical devices 28-30. In essence, the medical device interface 24 manipulates by itself manipulates the data transfer, temporary memory storage or buffer and priority functions associated with the use of a single interruption. Accordingly, since numerous combinations of medical devices 28-30 can be connected to the device interface 24, the interface 24 of the device in conjunction with the telemedicine application programming elements 25 provides a type of "plug and play" compatibility. "between the control unit 22 and the medical devices 28-30. Accordingly, medical devices 28-30 can be connected and disconnected from interface 24 of the device - ^^ "3íÉj ^ * s- ^ a eisf" "Any combinac ^ fei. This feature of the single interface 24 and telemedicine application programming elements 25 provides maximum flexibility for configuring the telemedicine system 10. Additionally, the telemedicine application programming elements 25 in conjunction with the interface 24 can perform any necessary conversion function. The telemedicine application programming elements 25 may include routines for converting the data to a form understandable by one or more medical devices 28-30, by the control unit 22 or by the interface 24 of the medical device. This interpretation function facilitates communication between different devices and allows effective use of the single interface 24 of the interruption device. However, it should be noted that although the single-interruption architecture of the present invention is preferred, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this is not necessary and that any means by which one or more medical devices 28-30 can transferring data to and from medical devices 28-30 to and from control unit 22 are suitable for use with the present invention. The telemedicine application programming elements 25 in conjunction with the interface 24 of the medical device can also perform the function of making the medical devices use different protocols to communicate. For example, the protocol used by a medical device 28-30 may be different from any other medical device. The telemedicine application programming elements 25 may contain routines to allow these different protocols to communicate via the common device interface 24. Fig. 5 is a flow chart functionally illustrating the videoconference data processing received by the control unit 22 of the video conferencing equipment 23 via the videoconferencing interface device 26. The videoconference equipment 23 includes a camera and microphone for obtaining video images and audio data of the patient. The videoconferencing programming elements comprised by the videoconferencing interface device 26 process the video and audio input to an appropriate format for the communications device to pack, as indicated by block 54. Then the data is provided to the device. communications, as indicated by block 55. As stated above, preferably the communications protocol used with the present invention is TCP / IP. It will be understood by those skilled in the art the manner in which the data gets its format before being sent to the communications device to be packaged. In general, the data is provided to the communication device in a stream of serial bits. The identity of the patient and the identity of the central verification station to which the data is to be sent are also provided to the communications device. In the case where diagnostic measurement data of one or more of the medical devices are sent with the videoconference data, an indication of the type of measurement that is sent and a representation of the measurement itself is also provided to the communication device. Optionally, other types of information may also be provided to the communication device, such as the date and time of the measurement, the type of medical device that took the measurement and the location or identity of the patient's verification station. Then, TCP / IP divides the data into packets, each packet includes a field that indicates the destination to which the packet is sent. Then the packets are issued by the communications device in the network, as indicated by block 56. Therefore, at least, the packets sent corresponding to a particular measurement will include an indication of the identity of the patient, the type of measurement that is transmitted and a representation of the measurement itself. The plurality of packet data fields define the identity of the patient, an indication of the type of measurement and a representation of the measurement itself. The central verification stations 11 are essentially the same as the patient verification station, with the exception that the central verification stations do not comprise a medical device interface or medical devices. The data processing in the central verification stations 11 is essentially the same as that illustrated in Figures 3 and 5 for the patient verification stations 18, with the exception that no data to control medical devices are received by the monitoring stations. central verification 11. Also, the telemedicine programming elements in the central verification stations 11 are different from the telemedicine programming elements in the patient verification station. The telemedicine programming elements in the central verification station include one or more routines for analyzing the measurement data to determine the type of measurement data received, for example, if the data consist of blood pressure data, temperature data, pulse oximetry data, etc. The telemedicine programming elements in the central verification station also include a functionality to determine the identity of the patient to whom the data corresponds. This can be done by dividing the de-encapsulated data by using the order of the data in the de-encapsulated data stream and preselected indications contained in the data stream to determine the type of measurement, the measurement itself and the identity of the patient. A medical file maintained for the patient at the central verification station can then be updated to reflect the measurement received. Alternatively, the medical records may be maintained on a server located outside of the central verification stations 11 which is capable of being accessed by the central verification stations and / or by the patient verification stations 18. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art the manner in which such analyzes are carried out. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications can be made to the present invention without deviating from the spirit and scope thereof. It is proposed that such variations and verifications are within the scope of the present invention, as summarized in the following claims. It is noted that, with regard to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims (13)

1. CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property: 1. A telemedicine system for transmitting voice, video and medical data between a central verification station and a patient verification station in a network , the telemedicine system is characterized in that it comprises: a first control unit located in the patient verification station, the control unit receives medical data from one or more medical instruments in communication with the control unit and also receives at least one of video and voice data of conference equipment also in communication with the control unit, the first control unit feeds the medical data and the at least one of video and voice data to a first communication device in communication with the control unit, the communication device encapsulates the medical data and the at least one data of video and voice in packets according to a preselected communication protocol and outputs the packets in the network and a second control unit located in the central verification station, the second control unit is in communication with a second communication device, of communication receives the first communication device packets in the network, the second communication device de-encapsulates the packets to reconstruct the medical data and the at least one of the video and voice data, the reconstructed data is provided to the second unit of communication. control.
2. 2. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the telemedicine system is for transmitting voice, video and medical data between a plurality of central verification stations and a plurality of patient verification stations, each radio station. Patient verification comprises the first control unit and each of the central verification stations comprising the second control unit.
3. 3. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the network is a television network accessed by the community. .
4. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the network is an asynchronous transfer mode network.
5. 5. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the network is Internet.
6. 6. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the network is a public switched telephony network.
7. 7. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the network is a digital network of integrated services.
8. 8. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the network is a local area network.
9. 9. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the network is a wide area network. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the network is a hybrid network consisting of a combination of one or more networks selected from the group consisting of: a community-access television network (CATV) , an asynchronous transfer mode network (ATM, Internet, a public communication telephone network (PSTN), an integrated services digital network (ISDN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) 11. The telemedicine system according to claim 1, characterized in that the first control unit receives video and voice data from the videoconferencing equipment in communication with the control unit and delivers the video and voice data to the first videoconference device. communication, the communication device encapsulates the video and voice data in packets according to the preselected communication protocol and broadcasts the packets in the network, where the second device receives the packets that encapsulate the video and voice data and de-encapsulates the packets to reconstruct the video and voice data, the second communication device provides the video and voice data to the second control unit. The telemedicine system according to claim 3, characterized in that the communication protocol is the transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP). The telemedicine system according to claim 4, characterized in that the communication protocol is the transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP) 14. The telemedicine system according to claim 5, characterized in that the communication protocol is the transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP) 15. The telemedicine system according to claim 6, characterized in that the communication protocol is the transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP) communications is the transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP) 17. The telemedicine system according to claim 8, characterized in that the communication protocol is the transmission control protocol / protocol Internet (TCP / IP) 18. The telemedicine system according to claim 9, characterized in that the communication protocol nications is the transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP) 19. The telemedicine system according to claim 10, characterized in that the communication protocol is the transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP) 20. A method for acquiring and transporting data in a telemedicine system, the method is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: obtaining measurement data of at least one medical device and at least one of video and voice data of at least one conference device located in a patient verification station, the measurement data represents a measurement of a patient's physical condition, the measurement data and at least one video and voice data are represented by one or more bits; encapsulating the data in packets according to a preselected communications protocol, each packet comprising a designation of a central verification station to which the packet is sent; broadcast the data in a network; receive the packages at the central verification station designated by the designation included in the packages; de-encapsulate the packets to reconstruct the data representing the physical condition of the patient and provide the reconstructed measurement data representing the physical condition and the at least one video and voice data to a control unit located at the central verification station . The method according to claim 20, characterized in that it further comprises the steps of: obtaining video and voice data from the videoconference equipment located at a patient verification station; encapsulating the video and voice data in packets according to the preselected communications protocol, each packet comprising a designation of the central verification station; broadcast the network; receive the packages at the central verification station; de-encapsulate the packets to reconstruct the video and voice data and provide the reconstructed video and voice data to the control unit located at the central verification station. 22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that the packets issued in the network comprise a medical record and wherein the medical record undertakes an indication of the identity of the patient and the type of measurement data included in the medical record. 23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that the packets comprising the measurement data emitted in the network comprise a medical record and wherein the medical record comprises an indication of the identity of the patient and the type of measurement data. included in the medical record. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that the medical record further comprises an indication of the type of medical device from which the measurement data were obtained and an indication of a network address of the patient's verification station. . 25. A method for acquiring and transporting data in a telemedicine system, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: generating command data of the medical device and data at the application level in a control unit located in a central verification station, the data they are represented by one or more bits; obtaining at least one of the video and voice data of the conference equipment located at the central verification station, encapsulating the data in packets according to a preselected communications protocol, each packet comprising a designation of a patient verification station to which the package is sent; issue the packets in a network; receive the packages at the patient's verification station designated by the designation included in the packages; de-encapsulate the packets to reconstruct the data and provide the reconstructed data to a control unit located at the patient's verification station. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that it further comprises the steps of: obtaining video and voice data from the video conferencing equipment located at the central verification station; And encapsulating the video and voice data in packets according to the preselected communication protocol, each packet comprises the designation of the patient verification station; issue packets on the network; receive the packages at the patient's verification station; de-encapsulate the packets to reconstruct the video and voice data and provide the reconstructed video and voice data to the control unit located at the patient verification station. 27. A data signal for use in a telemedicine system, the data signal is concerned with a measurement obtained from the medical equipment located in a patient verification station, the measurement is corresponding to a physical condition of the patient, wherein the data signal is provided to a communication device that generates data packets to be sent in a network, the data signal provided in the communication device comprises: a plurality of bits that represent the measurement; a plurality of bits representing at least one of video and voice data of the patient; a plurality of bits representing the identity of the patient and a plurality of bits representing the type of measurement obtained from the medical equipment. INFORMATION BETWEEN CENTRAL VERIFICATION STATIONS AND STATIONS OF VERIFICATION OF PATIENTS AT DISTANCE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a packet-based telemedicine system for communicating video, voice and medical data between a central verification station and a patient verification station that is remotely located with respect to the verification station. central. The patient verification station obtains digital voice data, video and medical measurements of a patient and encapsulates the data in packets and sends the packets in a network to the central verification station. Since the information is encapsulated in packets, the information can be sent in multiple types or combinations of network architectures, which include a community access television network (CATV), the public communication telephone network (PSTN). ), the integrated services digital network (ISDN), the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless telecommunications network or an asynchronous transfer mode network (ATN) . Thus, a separate transmission protocol is not required for each different type of transmission medium. Rather, a single layer transport / network protocol is used to encapsulate the information in packet at the sending end and to de-encapsulate the information at the receiving end. In addition, when sending the information in packages, the video, voice and measurement data can be integrated and sent in a sol @ L gú,