SCALABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20120239824A1
• Filed: 03/15/2012
• Published: 09/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carefusion 303 Incorporated (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Original Assignee: Carefusion 303 Incorporated (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Inventors: NGUYEN, Ryan, NGUYEN, Nick Trung, MASSEY, Richard Warren
• Granted Patent: US 10,353,856 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/184 with heterogeneous receivers, e.g. layered multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]

Abstract

A centralized communication system (CCS) is disclosed that provides a modular, extendible, and scalable communication system that can exchange information between any information systems or networked devices. Information from a single source device or system can be selectively broadcast to one or more predetermined destination devices and systems rather than broadcast to every device on the network. Information may be filtered and processed at one or more selectable points in the communication flow between systems. In certain embodiments, an incoming message is received from the source device in the native message format using the native protocol of the source device and converted to an internal messaging format for internal handling within the CCS, then converted to the native message format of a receiving system and sent to the receiving system using its native protocol. In certain embodiments, a graphical representation of the topology of the CCS may be provided.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising an interface module configured to:

accept a first message from an external data system in a native message format of the external data system;

convert at least a portion of the first message into a message in an internal messaging format; and

provide the internal messaging format message.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the interface module is further configured to:

accept a second message in the internal messaging format;

convert the accepted second message into the native message format of the external data system; and

provide the second message to the external data system.

3. The communication system of claim 2, wherein:

the communication system comprises a plurality of interface modules; and

the communication system further comprises a core coupled to the plurality of interface modules, the core configured to accept the first message in the internal messaging format from a first interface module and provide the accepted internal messaging format message to a second interface module as the second message.

4. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the interface module comprises:

a conversion arrangement that converts the accepted first message in the native message format to the internal messaging format message in a flow path, wherein the accepted first message comprises information; and

at least one point in the flow path where at least a portion of the information is intercepted.

5. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the interface module comprises:

a conversion arrangement that converts the accepted first message in the native message format to the internal messaging format message in a flow path, wherein the accepted first message comprises information; and

at least one point in the flow path where at least a portion of the information is processed prior to continuing through the conversion process flow.

6. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the interface module comprises:

a conversion arrangement that converts the accepted first message in the native message format to the internal messaging format message in a flow path, wherein the accepted first message comprises information; and

at least one point in the flow path where at least a portion of the information is filtered out and is not included in the internal messaging format message.

7. The communication system of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of interface modules comprising:

a first adapter coupled to a first external system and configured to convert the first message from a native message format of the first external system to the internal messaging format message; and

a second adapter coupled to a second external system and configured to convert the internal messaging format message to a native message format of the second external system.

8. The communication system of claim 7, wherein the native message format of the first external system is different from the native message format of the second external system.

9. The communication system of claim 7, wherein the native message format of the first external system is the same as the native message format of the second external system.

10. A communication system comprising:

an interface module that is configured to be coupled to a first external system, the interface module comprising;

an input queue;

a message queue; and

an output queue;

wherein the interface module is configured to;

accept a first message from the first external system in a first native message format;

store the accepted first message in the first native message format in the input queue;

retrieve the first message from the input queue;

convert the retrieved first message into an internal messaging format;

provide the first message in the internal messaging format to another interface module;

accept a second message in the internal messaging format from another interface module;

store the accepted second message in the internal messaging format in the message queue;

retrieve the second message from the message queue and convert the retrieved second message into the first native message format;

store the converted second message in the first native message format in the output queue; and

retrieve the second message from the output queue and provide the second message in the first native message format to the first external system.

11. The communication system of claim 10, wherein the first native message format of the first external system is different from a second native message format of a second external system.

12. The communication system of claim 10, wherein the first native message format of the first external system is the same as the second native message format of a second external system.

13. The communication system of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of the interface modules, each interface module comprising a first message mapping component configured to convert the first message received in a native message format of a respective external device to the internal messaging format.

14. The communication system of claim 13, wherein each interface module further comprises a second message mapping component configured to convert the second message received in the internal messaging format to the native message format of the respective external device.

15. The communication system of claim 10, further comprising at least one plug-in point at which at least one of the first and second messages are accessible by at least one of an interceptor and a custom processing module (CPM).

16. The communication system of claim 15, wherein the plug-in point provides access to the first message in the native message format of the first external system prior to being stored in the input queue.

17. The communication system of claim 15, wherein the plug-in point provides access to the first message in the native message format of the first external system after being retrieved from the input queue.

18. The communication system of claim 15, wherein the plug-in point provides access to the first message after the first message has been converted into the internal messaging format.

19. The communication system of claim 15, wherein the plug-in point provides access to the second message in the internal messaging format.

20. The communication system of claim 15, wherein one of the plug-in points provides access to the second message after the second message has been converted into the native message format of the first external device.

21. The communication system of claim 15, wherein:

a first CPM is configured for a first type of external data system;

a second CPM is configured for a second type of external data system; and

the configuration of the first CPM is different from the configuration of the second CPM.

22. An adapter configured to adapt message communications between a first external data system and other different external systems, at least some of the different external data systems having different native message formats from the first external data system, the adapter comprising:

a transport component configured to send a message to and receive a message from the first external data system, wherein the messages comprise information;

a protocol component coupled to the transport component, the protocol component configured to interpret the received message and extract at least a portion of the information in the received message; and

a mapping component configured to transform at least a portion of the extracted information into a message comprising an internal messaging format.

23. A centralized communication system, comprising:

a plurality of adapters configured to communicate with a respective plurality of external systems in a plurality of native message formats of the respective plurality of external systems and provide and accept internal messages in an internal messaging format; and

a core coupled to the plurality of adapters, the core configured to receive an internal message in the internal messaging format from a first adapter and provide the internal message in the internal messaging format to at least one second adapter.

24. The centralized communication system of claim 23, wherein the external data systems comprise at least one medical device.

25. The centralized communication system of claim 23, wherein the external data systems comprise at least one Hospital Information System (HIS).

26. The centralized communication system of claim 23, wherein the plurality of adapters each comprise:

a common adapter framework; and

at least one custom processing module (CPM) that processes messages to and from the respective external data systems, the processing being specifically configured for the respective external systems with which the adapters are communicating.

27. The centralized communication system of claim 23, wherein the core further comprises an interceptor configured to process messages in the internal message format irrespective of which of the plurality of external systems provided the messages.

28. A method of interfacing a plurality of external systems, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving from a first external data system a message in a first native message format of the first external data system;

mapping at least as portion of the received message into an internal messaging format;

mapping at least a portion of the internal messaging format message into a second message in a second native message format of a second external data system; and

providing the second message to the second external data system.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the internal messaging format is distinct from the first native message format and the second native message format.

30. A system for managing a communication system, the system comprising:

a memory configured to store message routing information related to internal messages transmitted between a plurality of adapters of a centralized communication system, the internal messages corresponding to external messages received from one of a plurality of external systems, wherein the internal messages are formatted in accordance with an internal messaging format, and the external messages are formatted in accordance with a plurality of external messaging formats native to the plurality of external systems; and

a processor configured to determine a topology of the centralized communication system based on the message routing information related to the internal messages transmitted between the plurality of adapters and to provide a graphical representation of the determined topology of the centralized communication system.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the graphical representation comprises graphical elements that are indicative of statuses of the plurality of adapters of the centralized communication system.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein a color of each graphical element is indicative of the status of each of the plurality of adapters of the centralized communication system.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the processor is further configured to modify the status of one of the plurality of adapters in response to a selection of the graphical element indicative of the status of the one of the plurality of adapters.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the processor is further configured to modify the topology of the centralized communication system, in response to a user interaction with the graphical representation of the topology.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the processor is further configured to modify the topology of the centralized communication system by adding an adapter to the centralized communication system.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the processor is further configured to modify the topology of the centralized communication system by removing one of the plurality of adapters from the centralized communication system.

37. The system of claim 30, wherein the processor is further configured to inject a message into the centralized communication system at a location determined from a user interaction with the graphical representation of the topology of the centralized communication system.

38. The system of claim 30, wherein the internal messaging format is distinct from each of the plurality of external messaging formats.

39. The system of claim 30, wherein the processor is configured to determine a first user interaction with the graphical representation of the determined topology and, in response thereto, modify the graphical representation of the determined topology of the centralized communication system.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the determined first user interaction comprises a selection of one of the plurality of adapters, and the processor is further configured to filter the graphical representation of the determined topology to only display message routing information related to the internal messages transmitted to or from the selected one of the plurality of adapters.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein processor is configured to present the message routing information related to the internal messages transmitted to the selected one of the plurality of adapters in a first color and the message routing information related to the internal messages transmitted from the selected one of the plurality of adapters in a second color.

42. The system of claim 40, wherein the processor is configured to determine a second user interaction with the graphical representation of the determined topology and, in response thereto, provide additional information associated with the user interaction and the selected one of the plurality of adapters.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein the second user interaction comprises a selection of selector corresponding to adapter configuration information and the additional information comprises adapter configuration information corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of adapters.

44. The system of claim 42, wherein the second user interaction comprises a selection of a selector corresponding to host information and the additional information comprises host information for a device communicating with the selected one of the plurality of adapters.

45. The system of claim 42, wherein the user interaction comprises a selection of a selector corresponding to inbound messages and the additional information comprises inbound messages information corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of adapters.

46. The system of claim 42, wherein the user interaction comprises a selection of a selector corresponding to outbound messages and the additional information comprises outbound messages information corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of adapters.

47. The system of claim 30, wherein the message routing information related to the internal messages transmitted between the plurality of adapters is determined from connections between the plurality of adapters and irrespective of whether any internal messages have been transmitted over the connections.

48. A method for managing a communication system, the method comprising:

presenting a graphical representation of a topology of a centralized communication system comprising a plurality of adapters;

identifying a user interaction with the graphical representation of the topology of the centralized communication system; and

modifying the topology of the centralized communication system based on the user interaction with the graphical representation.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein each of the plurality of adapters receives external messages in external messaging formats and transmits internal messages corresponding to the external messages in an internal messaging format.

50. The method of claim 49, further comprising determining the topology of the centralized communication system based on connections between the plurality of adapters over which the internal messages are transmitted.

51. The method of claim 49, wherein the external messaging formats are distinct from the internal messaging format.

52. The method of claim 48, wherein the graphical representation comprises graphical elements that are indicative of statuses of the plurality of adapters of the centralized communication system.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein a color of each of the graphical elements is indicative of the status of each of the plurality of adapters of the centralized communication system.

54. The method of claim 53, further comprising modifying the status of one of the plurality of adapters in response to a selection of the graphical element indicative of the status of the one of the plurality of adapters.

55. The method of claim 48, wherein the modifying the topology of the centralized communication system based on the user interaction with the graphical representation further comprises adding an adapter to the centralized communication system.

56. The method of claim 48, wherein the modifying the topology of the centralized communication system based on the user interaction with the graphical representation further comprises removing an adapter from the centralized communication system.