AUTOMATED ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED BY IN-VIVO DEVICES

• US 20100179820A1
• Filed: 01/09/2009
• Published: 07/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cerner Innovation, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: MINER, TRAVIS, JIMENEZ, TIMOTHY, HAUCK, ARTHUR J., HERNANDEZ, CARLOS, DEVERS, DANIEL P., CROSS, LORI N., HARRISON, KYLE R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,688,467 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/60 for the operation of medical equipment or devices
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

Systems and methods for operably coupling medical device(s) together with an evaluation device such that closed-loop processing may occur are provided. To achieve closed-loop processing, the evaluation device is configured to receive diagnostic information related to physiological attributes of a patient and operational-status information of the medical device(s). Upon receipt of this information, the evaluation device may automatically analyze the data and automatically compose instructions based on the analysis. Analyzing includes comparing the data against content within an electronic medical record (EMR) or applying rules to the data. The rules are built on evidence-based medical procedures consistent with current medical practice. The instructions, when distributed and implemented, invoke actions at the medical device(s), such as dispensing a medication and reprogramming configuration settings, as well as actions at a notification component configured to request a healthcare professional to intervene in a patient'"'"'s treatment and to provide feedback of medical events.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media accommodated by an evaluation device having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for observing and analyzing physiological attributes of a patient, wherein the method comprises:

receiving data from an in-vivo device at the evaluation device, wherein the data includes diagnostic information that characterizes, in part, the physiological attributes attained by monitoring the patient utilizing the in-vivo device;

invoking a clinical process for analyzing the received data with regard to an electronic medical record (EMR), wherein the clinical process comprises;

(a) accessing the EMR that is associated with the patient; and

(b) comparatively evaluating the data against relevant content of the EMR; and

based on the evaluation, inducing one or more actions, wherein the one or more actions comprise, at least temporarily, storing the data in association with the patient.

2. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the relevant content of the EMR comprises predefined values that are derived from expected physical attributes of the patient, and wherein comparatively evaluating the data against relevant content of the EMR comprises:

comparing the diagnostic information against the predefined values;

based on the comparison, ascertaining that the diagnostic information fails to satisfy the predefined values; and

providing a notification of the failure.

3. The computer-readable media of claim 2, wherein inducing the one or more actions further comprises instructing the in-vivo device to administer an amended treatment to the patient.

4. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the data further includes operational-status information that characterizes, in part, a condition of the in-vivo device and the medical-device events occurring therein.

5. The computer-readable media of claim 4, wherein the relevant content of the EMR comprises predefined properties of the in-vivo device, wherein comparatively evaluating the data against relevant content of the EMR comprises:

comparing the operational-status information against the predefined properties;

based on the comparison, ascertaining that the operational-status information fails to satisfy the predefined properties; and

providing a notification of the failure.

6. The computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein inducing one or more actions further comprises:

examining the medical-device events within the operational-status information to identify the failure of the in-vivo device; and

based on the identity of the failure, issuing a command to reprogram the in-vivo device such that the failure thereon is resolved.

7. The computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein reprogramming the in-vivo device comprises causing the in-vivo device to adjust a sampling frequency of the physiological attributes of the patient or to adjust which physiological attributes of the patient to monitor.

8. The computer-readable media of claim 7, the method further comprising determining whether to accept the data from the in-vivo device, wherein the process of determining comprises:

ascertaining that a format of the data received from the in-vivo device is incompatible with an expected format;

temporarily storing the incompatibly formatted data in a memory location; and

attempting to adjust the incompatible format of the data being communicated from the in-vivo device to align with the expected format.

9. The computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the process of determining whether to accept the data from the in-vivo device further comprises performing a quality control process to validate the data is being communicated from the in-vivo device, and wherein the quality control process comprises:

reading configuration settings of the in-vivo device from the operational-status information; and

confirming that the data is accurate based on the configuration settings.

10. The computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the process of determining whether to accept the data from the in-vivo device further comprises performing an authentication process comprising:

verifying the in-vivo device is a source of the data; and

decoding a security measure imposed by the in-vivo device to protect impermissible access of the data.

11. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises primarily establishing a wireless connection between the in-vivo device and the evaluation device for receiving the data.

12. The computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises, upon detecting a disruption in a network carrying the wireless communication, exercising an auxiliary connection between the in-vivo device and the evaluation device, thereby promoting substantially continuous communication of the data.

13. The computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the data is received by the evaluation device according to a communication scheme, wherein the communication scheme instructs the in-vivo device to transmit the data in real time, at regular intervals, or upon the issuance of a request for data.

14. A computerized method for automatically invoking one or more actions based on an analysis of data communicated from a medical device, wherein the method comprises:

inspecting data communicated from a monitoring component, wherein the monitoring component is configured to convey, within the data, diagnostic information of a patient and operational-status information that describes events occurring on the medical device;

automatically analyzing the data by employing a clinical procedure that comprises;

(a) implementing rules that are built on evidence-based medical procedures consistent with current medical practice; and

(b) applying the rules to the data to identify the one or more actions that are responsive to the data; and

instructing the medical device to implement one or more actions without manual intervention, wherein the instructions are based on the analysis of the data.

15. A computer system for enabling analysis of data generated by a monitoring component disposed within a medical device, the computer system comprising a processor coupled to a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of computer software components executable by the processor, the computer software components comprising:

a monitoring component configured to detect physiological attributes of a patient and events occurring within the medical device for treating the patient, and configured to communicate data representing the events and the physiological attributes to a decision component;

the decision component configured to ascertain that the data is communicated in a format that is readable thereby, and configured to initiate a clinical process that compares the data against an electronic medical record (EMR) assigned to the patient and that automatically generates one or more instructions in accordance with an outcome of the comparison; and

an administering component configured to initiate at least one action upon implementing the one or more instructions, wherein the at least one action includes storing, at least temporarily, portions of the data in a memory location.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the monitoring component is further configured to append an identifier of the patient and specifications of the medical device to the data, and wherein the decision component is further configured to discover the EMR assigned to the patient based on the patient identifier and to access an appropriate device-information store based on the medical device specifications.

17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the monitoring component, the decision component, and the administration component are each operably coupled to transmitting components that facilitate bidirectional communication therebetween.

18. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the monitoring component and the administering component are integrated within the medical device, and wherein initiating the at least one action includes causing the medical device to dispense a treatment to the patient according to the one or more instructions.

19. The computer system of claim 18, the computer software components further comprising a notification component configured to implement the one or more instructions by automatically publishing at least one communication that solicits assistance from a healthcare entity.

20. The computer system of claim 19, wherein automatically publishing at least one communication that solicits assistance from a healthcare entity comprises at least one of notifying a physician, displaying a graphical user interface at a computing device, conveying an e-mail, initiating an automated phone call, sending a page, providing feedback to a patient, ordering a drug at a pharmacy, or alerting an insurance company of the treatment required by the one or more instructions.