Medical Device with Wireless Communication Bus

• US 20130144536A1
• Filed: 12/06/2011
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Welch Allyn Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Welch Allyn Incorporated
• Inventors: Baker, Steven D., Kahlke, Robert J., Hendricks, Karen S.
• Application Number:
  US13/312,674
• Publication Number:
  US 20130144536A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/19
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0024 for multiple sensor units attached to the patient, e.g. using a body or personal area network
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/352 Detecting R peaks, e.g. for synchronising diagnostic apparatus; Estimating R-R interval
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7203 for noise prevention, reduction or removal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7246 using correlation, e.g. template matching or determination of similarity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7285 for synchronising or triggering a physiological measurement or image acquisition with a physiological event or waveform, e.g. an ECG signal A61B6/5205, A61B6/541, A61B8/5207, A61B8/543 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

A medical device includes an internal wireless communication bus. The medical device comprises a first physiological sensor device comprising a first radio. The medical device further comprises a patient monitor device comprising a second radio. The medical device is configured to establish an internal wireless communication between the first radio and the second radio using the internal wireless communication bus.

Claims

1. A medical device that includes an internal wireless communication bus, the medical device comprising:

a first physiological sensor device comprising a first radio; and

a patient monitor device comprising a second radio,

wherein, the medical device is configured to establish an internal wireless communication between the first radio and the second radio using the internal wireless communication bus.

2. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the first radio further comprises a plurality of communication channels, at least one communication channel on the first radio being a low latency communication channel, wherein the second radio further comprises a plurality of communication channels, at least one communication channel on the second radio being a low latency communication channel and wherein the internal wireless communication is established on a low latency communication channel of the first radio and the second radio.

3. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the first and second radios each are configured to provide proximity detection.

4. The medical device of claim 3, wherein the internal wireless communication is established when the first radio is within a proximity of the patient monitor device.

5. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the first physiological sensor device is removed from the medical device and functions as a wireless physiological sensor device.

6. The medical device of claim 5, wherein the medical device is further configured to establish an external wireless communication between the first physiological sensor device and the patient monitor device.

7. The medical device of claim 6, wherein the first physiological sensor device and the patient monitor device each include a proximity detection device, the external wireless communication being established when the first physiological sensor device is within a proximity of the patient monitor device.

8. A medical device that includes an internal wireless communication bus, the medical device comprising:

a first physiological sensor device comprising a first radio; and

a second physiological sensor device comprising a second radio,

wherein, the medical device is configured to establish a first internal wireless communication between the first radio and the second radio using the internal wireless communication bus.

9. The medical device of claim 8, wherein the first radio further comprises a plurality of communication channels, at least one communication channel on the first radio being a low latency communication channel, wherein the second radio further comprises a plurality of communication channels, at least one communication channel on the second radio being a low latency communication channel and wherein the first internal wireless communication is established on a low latency communication channel of the first radio and the second radio.

10. The medical device of claim 8, further comprising a patient monitor device and a third radio, wherein the medical device is further configured to establish a second internal wireless communication between the first physiological sensor device and the patient monitor device.

11. The medical device of claim 10, wherein the medical device establishes the second internal wireless communication after receiving a message from the patient monitor device.

12. The medical device of claim 8, wherein a measurement of physiological data from the second physiological sensor device is analyzed in combination with information obtained from the first physiological sensor device via the internal wireless communication bus.

13. The medical device of claim 8, wherein the first physiological sensor device is removed from the medical device and functions as a wireless physiological sensor device.

14. The medical device of claim 13, further comprising a patient monitor device and a third radio, wherein the medical device is further configured to establish an external wireless communication between the first physiological sensor device and the patient monitor device.

15. A method of implementing a wireless communication interface for a medical device, the method comprising:

establishing a first wireless communication between a first radio in the medical device and a patient monitor device;

establishing a second wireless communication between a second radio in the medical device and the patient monitor device;

establishing a third wireless communication between the first radio and the second radio using a low latency communication channel; and

transferring first physiological data from the first radio to the second radio using the low latency communication channel.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

measuring second physiological data at the medical device, the measurement of the second physiological data being correlated with a measurement of the first physiological data at the second radio.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

improving performance of the measurement of the second physiological data by correlation of the measurement of the second physiological data with the first physiological data.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein establishing the first wireless communication further comprises determining that a proximity between the medical device and the patient monitor device is within a predetermined threshold and wherein establishing the second wireless communication further comprises determining that the proximity between the medical device and the patient monitor device is within the predetermined threshold.

19. A method for improving performance for one or more physiological sensors in a medical device, the method comprising:

establishing a wireless communication between a first radio in a first physiological sensor and a second radio in a second physiological sensor in the medical device;

obtaining first physiological data at the first physiological sensor;

transmitting the first physiological data from the first radio to the second radio via the wireless communication;

receiving the first physiological data at the second radio;

obtaining second physiological data at the second physiological sensor; and

analyzing the second physiological data along with the first physiological data using multi-sensor signal processing to improve performance of the second physiological sensor.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

sending a message from the first radio to the second radio, the message including the first physiological data and a time stamp indicating when the first physiological data is obtained.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the wireless communication between the first radio and the second radio is a low latency communication.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the wireless communication has a maximum latency of about 10 milliseconds.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the wireless communication between the first radio and the second radio is a low jitter communication.