APPLICATION PLATFORM

• US 20110209139A1
• Filed: 02/23/2010
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Ukis, Vladyslav, Dorn, Karlheinz, Michel, Armin, DOMINICK, Lutz
• Granted Patent: US 9,251,312 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/172
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0796 Safety measures, i.e. ensuring safe condition in the event of error, e.g. for controlling element
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

An application platform is disclosed in a medical environment with a number of computer systems providing an information technology infrastructure and a plurality of basic information technology services to a number of users in the medical environment. At least one embodiment of the application platform provides a particularly simple and coordinated upgrade and update by independent software manufacturers and further provides a particularly high operational fail-safety during updates and upgrades by preventing damage to the systems caused by third party installer programs. To this end, at least one embodiment of the application platform includes a plurality of platform versioning building blocks and a number of platform data repositories, wherein the plurality of platform versioning building blocks are mutually independently updateable.

Claims

1. An application platform in a medical environment with a number of computer systems providing an information technology infrastructure and a plurality of basic information technology services to a number of users in said medical environment, the application platform comprising:

a plurality of platform versioning building blocks; and

a number of platform data repositories, said plurality of platform versioning building blocks being mutually independently updateable.

2. The application platform of claim 1, wherein said platform versioning building blocks form a cycle-free hierarchy.

3. The application platform of claim 1, wherein a number of said platform versioning building blocks are respectively assigned to a number of said platform data repositories, and wherein said platform data repositories are at least one of hierarchically owned and used by said respective platform versioning building block.

4. The application platform of claim 3, wherein, for each of said assignments of platform versioning building blocks to platform data repositories, a number of allowed actions is predefined, and wherein said number of allowed actions is chosen from the group of creating, reading, updating, deleting and executing.

5. The application platform of claim 4, further comprising a number of application versioning building blocks associated with an application providing a number of information technology services.

6. The application platform of claim 5, wherein a number of said application versioning building blocks extends a number of said platform versioning building blocks.

7. The application platform of claim 6, wherein a number of said application versioning building blocks is respectively assigned to a number of said platform data repositories.

8. The application platform of claim 7, further comprising a platform updater module providing a limited number of predefined update types, each of said predefined update types allowing a specific set of allowed actions, and wherein the platform updater module comprises

means for choosing and assigning one of said predefined update types to an update program applied to the application platform;

and

means for restricting the access of said update program on the application platform to the set of allowed actions of the chosen and assigned update type.

9. The application platform of claim 8, wherein the set of allowed actions in a predefined update type is chosen from the group of creating an application versioning building block, extending an application versioning building block, creating a platform versioning building block, extending a platform versioning building block and changing data in a platform data repository.

10. The application platform of claim 9, wherein the set of allowed actions in a predefined update type is further restricted if said update program is a third party program.

11. The application platform of claim 7, further comprising a platform updater module providing a limited number of predefined update types, each of said predefined update types allowing a specific set of allowed actions, and wherein the platform updater module comprises

a sub-module for choosing and assigning one of said predefined update types to an update program applied to the application platform;

and

a sub-module for restricting the access of said update program on the application platform to the set of allowed actions of the chosen and assigned update type.