System and method for controlling a data transmission to and/or from a plurality of medical devices

• US 10,026,504 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2011
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: B Braun Melsungen AG (B. Braun Holding GmbH & Co. KG)
• Original Assignee: B Braun Melsungen AG (B. Braun Holding GmbH & Co. KG)
• Inventors: Schmoll, Horst, Paetzold, Matthias
• Primary Examiner(s): Kanaan, Maroun P
• Application Number:
  US13/574,206
• Publication Number:
  US 20130030830A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,700 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2, 705 3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/22 Social work or social welfare, e.g. community support activities or counselling services
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for controlling a data transmission to and/or from a plurality of medical devices, said plurality of medical devices being divided into individual groups, each of which comprises at least one medical device. Each group of medical devices on a first data transmission level is directly connected via a respective first network to a communication device for transmitting, storing, and controlling data, said communication device being on a second transmission level, and a plurality of said communication devices exchange data with a common central server device for storing, controlling, and data transmission, said server device being on a third data transmission level.

Claims

1. A system for controlling a data transmission to and/or from a plurality of medical appliances, comprising:

a plurality of appliance groups within a first data transmission stage, each of the plurality of appliance groups including at least one of the plurality of medical appliances;

a plurality of communication devices within a second data transmission stage, each of the plurality of communication devices being connected to one of the plurality of groups by a first network, the second data transmission stage configured for the transmission, storage and control of data between the plurality of communication devices and the plurality of appliance groups; and

a common central server device within a third data transmission stage, the central server device being connected to the plurality of communication devices by a second network, the third transmission stage being configured for the storage, control and transmission of data between the central server device and the plurality of communication devices;

wherein each communication device is configured to;

determine, with a processor, an operating state of each medical appliance in the one of the plurality of appliance groups connected to the communication device; and

update a data bank associated with each medical appliance when the determined operating state indicates the medical appliance allows updating.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second network directly connects the communication devices to the common central server device within the third data transmission stage.

3. The system according to claims 1, wherein the central server device comprises an application server unit and a memory server unit, wherein the application server unit is connected to application operation units on a fourth data transmission stage by a third network.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of communication devices has at least one first memory unit and one first control unit in order to store temporarily data arriving and received from the medical appliances of the group and to pass the data on in a bundled manner to the memory server unit.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the data comprise appliance-specific and patient-specific data on patients who are connected to the medical appliances.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the data comprise medicine-specific data.

7. The system according to claim 5, wherein the first memory unit and the first control unit of the communication device are suitable for storing temporarily data arriving and received from the memory server unit or the application server unit and to pass the data on to selected medical appliances upon demand or if required.

8. The system according to claim 3, wherein the third network connects the application operation units to the application server unit by means of a web interface and a web browser.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the medical appliances are insulin pumps.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein each communication device is further configured to:

receive status data from the data bank associated with each medical appliance;

compare the received status data is to current data stored in each communication device;

determine whether the received status data matches to the current data; and

transmit the current data to each medical appliance for updating the data bank of each medical appliance when the communication device determines the received status data does not match the current data stored in the communication device.

11. A method for controlling the transmission of data to and/or from a plurality of medical appliances, comprising:

subdividing the plurality of medical appliances into a plurality of appliance groups including at least one medical appliance in each group,

wherein each of the plurality of medical appliance groups on a first data transmission stage transmits data from or to one of a plurality of communication devices connected to one of the plurality of medical appliance groups and arranged on a second data transmission stage by way of a first network, each of the plurality of communication devices configured to control the one of the plurality of medical appliance groups to which the communication device is connected, and

wherein each of the plurality of communication devices transmit—

by way of a second network—

data from or to a common central server device arranged on a third data transmission stage, the common central server configured to control each of the plurality of communication devices;

determining, with one of the plurality of communication devices, whether the at least one medical appliance in the appliance group connected to the one of the plurality of communication devices is in an operative state that allows updating of a medical data bank of the at least one medical appliance; and

updating status data in the medical data bank of the at least one medical appliance when the one of the plurality of communication devices determines the at least one medical appliance is in an operative state that allows updating.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the central server device is provided with an application server unit and a memory server unit, wherein the application server unit is connected to application operation units on a fourth data transmission stage by way of a third network and is operated, controlled and regulated with respect to writing and reading data by the application operation units.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein data which are received in at least one first memory unit and by means of a first control unit and which are transmitted by the at least one medical appliances of the plurality of medical appliance groups are stored temporarily in each communication device and are passed on in a bundled manner to the memory server unit.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first memory unit and the first control unit of the communication device receive and temporarily store data, from the memory server unit or the application server unit in order to pass the data on to selected medical appliances upon demand or if required.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first network is selected from the CAN type and the second and third networks are selected from the WLAN and/or LAN type.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the data comprise appliance-specific and patient-specific data of patients who are connected to the medical appliances.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the data comprise medicine-specific data.

18. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, at one of the plurality of communication devices, status data from the data bank of the at least one medical appliance in the appliance group connected to the one of the plurality of communication devices; and

determining, with the one of the plurality of communication devices, whether the received status data matches current data stored in the one of the plurality of communication devices;

wherein the updating step is performed when the one of the plurality of communication devices determines that the received status data does not match the current data stored in the one of the plurality of communication devices.