METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR AUTHENTICATING A PHYSIOLOGICAL SENSOR, A SENSOR SYSTEM, A PATIENT MONITOR, AND A PHYSIOLOGICAL SENSOR

• US 20110125000A1
• Filed: 11/24/2009
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Rantala, Börje
• Granted Patent: US 8,652,126 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/372
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/0803 Counting the number of times an instrument is used
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/08 Sensors provided with means for identification, e.g. barcodes or memory chips
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0245 by using sensing means generating electric signals, i.e. ECG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/24 Detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A mechanism for authenticating a physiological sensor is disclosed. When a sensor is connected to a monitor, the monitor examines whether a first sensor-specific usage identifier of the connected sensor is consistent with a second sensor-specific usage identifier thereof. The first and second sensor-specific usage identifiers are indicative of the cumulative usage of the connected sensor, but may nevertheless be unequal. The first sensor-specific usage identifier is maintained in the sensor and the second sensor-specific usage identifier in a host memory external to the sensor. The use of the connected sensor is allowed when the examining indicates that the said two identifiers of the connected sensor are consistent, and rejected when the identifiers are inconsistent. The two identifiers are further updated in response to the use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor, thereby to keep the said identifiers consistent and updated for a subsequent use attempt of the sensor.

Claims

1. A method for authenticating a physiological sensor, the method comprising:

examining, in response to a sensor being connected to a patient monitor, whether a first sensor-specific usage identifier of the connected sensor is consistent with a second sensor-specific usage identifier of the connected sensor, wherein the first and second sensor-specific usage identifiers are indicative of cumulative usage of the connected sensor and wherein the first sensor-specific usage identifier is stored in the connected sensor and the second sensor-specific usage identifier is stored in a host memory external to the connected sensor;

allowing use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor when the examining indicates that the first and second sensor-specific usage identifiers of the connected sensor are consistent;

rejecting the use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor when the examining indicates that the first and second sensor-specific usage identifiers of the connected sensor are inconsistent; and

updating the first and second usage identifiers of the connected sensor in response to the use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor, thereby to keep the first and second sensor-specific usage identifiers of the connected sensor consistent and updated for a subsequent use attempt of the connected sensor.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the updating includes updating the first usage identifier stored in the connected sensor, in which the first usage identifier is stored in a generic memory of one of EEPROM and EPROM memory types.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing a fixed sensor-specific identifier in a plurality of sensors, wherein the storing is performed prior to use of the plurality of sensors and wherein the connected sensor is any of the plurality of sensors.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising

encrypting the fixed sensor-specific identifier and the first sensor-specific usage identifier prior to the storing;

and

encrypting the first sensor-specific usage identifier prior to the updating.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the examining includes retrieving the second sensor-specific usage identifier through a network.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the examining includes retrieving the second sensor-specific usage identifier from the host memory, wherein the host memory is in the patient monitor.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the updating includes incrementing a first usage count representing the first sensor-specific usage identifier and a second usage count representing the second sensor-specific usage identifier, wherein the first usage count is indicative of total number of times the connected sensor is used and the second usage count is indicative of total number of times the sensor is used in the patient monitor.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the rejecting includes rejecting the use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor when the first usage count is smaller than the second usage count.

9. A sensor system comprising:

a plurality of physiological sensors, each sensor comprising a memory storing a first sensor-specific usage identifier indicative of cumulative usage of the sensor;

at least one patient monitor; and

at least one host memory external to the plurality of physiological sensors, each host memory being accessible to at least one of the at least one patient monitor,

wherein each of the at least one patient monitor is configured to

examine whether the first sensor-specific usage identifier of a sensor connected to the patient monitor is consistent with a second sensor-specific usage identifier of said sensor, wherein the second sensor-specific usage identifier is stored in at least one of the at least one host memory;

allow use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor when the first and second sensor-specific usage identifiers are consistent;

reject use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor when the first and second sensor-specific usage identifiers are inconsistent; and

update the first and second usage identifiers of the connected sensor in response to the use of the connected sensor, thereby to keep the first and second sensor-specific usage identifiers of the connected sensor consistent and updated for a subsequent use attempt of the connected sensor in any of the at least one patient monitor.

10. The sensor system according to claim 9, wherein each of the at least one patient monitor is configured to update the second sensor-specific usage identifier in a predetermined memory, in which the predetermined memory is one of the at least one host memory.

11. The sensor system according to claim 9, wherein each sensor further comprises a fixed sensor-specific identifier.

12. The sensor system according to claim 9, wherein the first sensor-specific usage identifier is a usage count indicative of total number of times the sensor is used with the at least one patient monitor and the second sensor-specific usage identifier is a usage count indicative of total number of times the sensor is used with at least one of the at least one patient monitor.

13. A patient monitor comprising:

a first interface for connecting a physiological sensor to the patient monitor;

a retrieval unit configured to retrieve, upon connection of the physiological sensor to the patient monitor, a first usage identifier of the connected sensor from said sensor and a second usage identifier of the connected sensor from a host memory external to the connected sensor, wherein the first and second usage identifiers are indicative of cumulative usage of the connected sensor;

a comparison unit configured to examine whether the retrieved first and second usage identifiers of the connected sensor are consistent;

a decision-making unit configured to allow use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor when the first and second usage identifiers are consistent and to reject the use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor when the first and second usage identifiers are inconsistent; and

an update unit configured to update the first and second usage identifiers of the connected sensor in response to the use of the connected sensor, thereby to keep the first and second usage identifiers of the connected sensor consistent and updated for a subsequent use attempt of the sensor.

14. The patient monitor of claim 13, wherein the patient monitor comprises the host memory.

15. The patient monitor of claim 14, wherein the host memory holds the second usage identifier for all sensors that have been used in the patient monitor.

16. The patient monitor of claim 14, wherein

the first sensor-specific usage identifier is a first usage count indicative of total number of times the sensor is used and the second sensor-specific usage identifier is a second usage count indicative of total number of times the sensor is used with the patient monitor;

and

the decision-making unit is configured to reject the use of the connected sensor in the patient monitor when the first usage count is smaller than the second usage count.

17. A physiological sensor attachable to a subject for acquiring a physiological measurement signal from the subject, the sensor comprising:

a sensor element unit configured to output an electrophysiological signal;

a sensor memory storing a first sensor-specific usage identifier indicative of cumulative usage of the sensor; and

a memory access interface for enabling a patient monitor operably connected to the sensor to compare the first sensor-specific usage identifier with a second sensor-specific usage identifier maintained outside the sensor, thereby to enable authentication of the sensor through the comparison, wherein the second sensor-specific usage identifier is also indicative of cumulative usage of the sensor.

18. The physiological sensor of claim 17, wherein the sensor memory is a generic memory of one of EEPROM and EPROM memory types.

19. The physiological sensor of claim 17, wherein the sensor comprises an array of electrodes and a terminal serving as a mounting platform for the sensor memory.

20. A computer program product for authenticating a physiological sensor connected to a patient monitor, the computer program product comprising:

a first program product portion configured retrieve, upon connection of a sensor to a patient monitor, a first usage identifier of the connected sensor from said sensor and a second usage identifier of the connected sensor from a host memory external to the connected sensor, wherein the first and second usage identifiers are indicative of cumulative usage of the connected sensor;

a second program product portion configured to examine whether the retrieved first and second usage identifiers of the connected sensor are consistent;

a third program product portion configured to allow use of the connected sensor when the first and second usage identifiers are consistent and to reject the use of the connected sensor when the first and second usage identifiers are inconsistent; and

a fourth program product portion configured to update the first and second usage identifiers of the connected sensor in response to the use of the connected sensor, thereby to keep the first and second usage identifiers of the connected sensor consistent and updated for a subsequent use attempt of the sensor.