Respiration system and respiration apparatus and method

• US 10,293,124 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2015
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Loewenstein Medical Technology S.A.
• Original Assignee: Loewenstein Medical Technology S.A.
• Inventors: Bychkov, Igor, Stockwald, Florian
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Joshua
• Application Number:
  US14/834,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20160058962A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/00 Devices for influencing the respiratory system of patients by gas treatment, e.g. mouth-to-mouth respiration; Tracheal tubes stimulating the respiratory movement by mechanical, pneumatic or electrical means, iron lungs combined with gas breathing means A61H31/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/024 including calculation means, e.g. using a processor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/50 with microprocessors or computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/58 Means for facilitating use, e.g. by people with impaired vision
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods for operating a respiration apparatus and a respiration system, and also a respiration apparatus and a respiration system. The respiration system comprises a respiration apparatus and a computer software program for an external computer to operate the respiration apparatus. The respiration apparatus comprises a processor device and an apparatus software program and an apparatus configuration. The validities of the computer software, the apparatus software and the apparatus configuration are in each case characterized by a version. The versions are compared with one another to detect a version conflict. If invalid versions are present, the computer software is provided with a program component with a limit value and a plausibility rule, or the setting parameters are sorted into a first group and a second group. The setting parameters of the first group are retained.

Claims

1. A method for operating at least one respiration apparatus with at least one processor device to control a plurality of apparatus functions comprising at least one apparatus software program and at least one apparatus configuration with setting parameters, wherein a validity of the apparatus software and a validity of the apparatus configuration are characterized in each case by at least one version and wherein the versions are compared with one another in order to detect a version conflict between the apparatus software and the apparatus configuration, wherein, if an invalid version of the apparatus configuration and a valid version of the apparatus software are present, the setting parameters of the apparatus configuration are read and sorted into at least a first group with setting parameters that are unaffected by the version conflict and at least a second group with setting parameters that are affected by the version conflict, and wherein the setting parameters of the first group are retained and the setting parameters of the second group are sorted into at least a first class with setting parameters that are uncritical for an envisaged operation of the respiration apparatus and at least a second class with setting parameters that are critical for an envisaged operation of the respiration apparatus.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one setting parameter of the first class is recalculated on the basis of at least one calculation rule stored in the apparatus software.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the calculation rule provides a taking into account of at least one other setting parameter of the first group and/or the second group.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one setting parameter of the first class is set using at least one user input.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one setting parameter of the first class is replaced with at least one default setting stored in a storage device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, if at least one setting parameter of the second class is present, at least one indication of the version conflict is output to the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, if at least one setting parameter of the second class is present, a preceding and valid version of the apparatus software is restored following a request for at least one user input.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, if at least one setting parameter of the second class is present, at least one user input is requested for an operation with the invalid version of the apparatus software and apparatus configuration and, following the user input, the operation is continued with the invalid version in an at least partially restricted mode.

9. The method of claim 1 for operating at least one respiration system with at least one respiration apparatus and with at least one computer software program for an external computer for operating the respiration apparatus via at least one interface, wherein the respiration apparatus comprises at least one processor device to control a plurality of apparatus functions and wherein the processor device comprises at least one apparatus software program and at least one apparatus configuration with setting parameters, wherein a validity of the computer software and a validity of the apparatus software and a validity of the apparatus configuration are characterized in each case by at least one version and wherein the versions are compared at least partially with one another in order to detect a version conflict, and wherein, if a valid version of the apparatus software and an invalid version of the computer software are present, at least one program component for the computer software is provided by the apparatus software, the program component defining at least one limit value and at least one plausibility rule for the computer software, by which at least one setting parameter can be set in the apparatus configuration from the computer software.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one interdependency between at least two setting parameters is defined by the program component.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one program code is provided by the program component in at least one program library jointly used by the apparatus software and the computer software.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the program code is provided by at least one executable file.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the program code is provided by at least one DLL file.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the computer software is designed as at least partially backward-compatible, so that an operation is possible with at least one version of an apparatus software program recognized as invalid.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein a parallel setting of a multiplicity of apparatus configurations is undertaken by at least one master program and wherein the master program is executable with valid versions only.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one auxiliary program is used to set the apparatus configuration, by which at least one rule is defined for setting at least one setting parameter.

17. A respiration apparatus with at least one processor device to control a plurality of apparatus functions comprising at least one apparatus software program and at least one apparatus configuration with setting parameters, wherein a validity of the apparatus software and a validity of the apparatus configuration are characterized in each case by at least one version and wherein the processor device is suitable and designed to compare the versions at least partially with one another in order to detect a version conflict between the apparatus software and the apparatus configuration, and wherein the processor device is suitable and designed to register at least one invalid version of the apparatus configuration and at least one valid version of the apparatus software and to read the setting parameters of the apparatus configuration and sort them into at least a first group with setting parameters unaffected by the version conflict and at least a second group with setting parameters affected by the version conflict and to retain the setting parameters of the first group and to sort the setting parameters of the second group into at least a first class with setting parameters that are uncritical for an envisaged operation of the respiration apparatus and at least a second class with setting parameters that are critical for an envisaged operation of the respiration apparatus.

18. A respiration system with at least one respiration apparatus according to claim 17 and with at least one computer software program for an external computer to operate the respiration apparatus via at least one interface, wherein the respiration apparatus comprises at least one processor device to control a plurality of apparatus functions and wherein the processor device has at least one apparatus software program and at least one apparatus configuration with setting parameters, wherein a validity of the computer software, a validity of the apparatus software and a validity of the apparatus configuration are characterized in each case by at least one version and wherein the processor device is suitable and designed to compare the versions at least partially with one another in order to detect a version conflict, is suitable and designed to register a valid version of the apparatus software and an invalid version of the computer software and to provide at least one program component stored in the apparatus software for the computer software, the program component comprising at least one limit value and at least one plausibility rule for the computer software, by which at least one setting parameter is settable in the apparatus configuration from the computer software.