MODULAR PATIENT COMMUNICATOR FOR USE IN LIFE CRITICAL NETWORK

• US 20140111353A1
• Filed: 12/23/2013
• Published: 04/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cardiac Pacemakers Incorporated (Boston Scientific Corporation)
• Inventors: Sievert, Jim, Mass, William R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,552,722 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/870.01
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse, heart rate, blood pressure or blood flow; Combined pulse/heart-rate/blood pressure determination; Evaluating a cardiovascular condition not otherwise provided for, e.g. using combinations of techniques provided for in this group with electrocardiography or electroauscultation; Heart catheters for measuring blood pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37282 characterised by communication with experts in remote locations using a network
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234

Abstract

A modular patient communicator provides for communications with a patient implantable medical device (PIMD) and connectivity with a central authority (CA) via an unsecured network. Medical firmware and a radio facilitate wireless interrogation of the PIMD and acquisition of PIMD data. A universal communications port facilitates mechanical and signal connectivity with one or a multiplicity of disparate detachable modules, some of which provide the communicator with an external communications facility and have disparate communication protocols. The communicator is devoid of an external communications facility other than the radio and universal communications port. Life critical network software is executed in cooperation with an attached module to cause the communicator to transmit a request to a network access facility for a connection to the unsecured network, authenticate the communicator to the CA, and facilitate secured communication between the communicator and CA upon successful communicator authentication.

Claims

1. A modular communicator for communicating with physiological sensors comprising:

a housing;

a processor disposed in the housing;

a user interface in communication with the processor;

a universal communications port supported by the housing and in communication with the processor, the communications port comprising a connector configured to mechanically detachably engage with each of a plurality of disparate modules, wherein the processor is configured to establish connectivity with one or more particular physiological sensors through each mechanically engaged module;

memory disposed in the housing and coupled to the processor, the memory configured to store program instructions for communication with each of the one or more particular physiological sensors.

2. The modular communicator of claim 22, the processor is configured to communicatively couple to the network access facility through short range wireless communication by executing program instructions from at least one mechanically engaged module of the plurality of disparate modules.

3. The modular communicator of claim 22, wherein the processor is configured to communicatively couple to the network access facility through long range wireless communication by executing program instructions from at least one mechanically engaged module of the plurality of disparate modules.

4. The modular communicator of claim 22, wherein the processor is configured to execute at least two different communication protocols to communicatively couple to at least two different network access facilities through at least one mechanically engaged module of the plurality of disparate modules.

5. The modular communicator of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to effect communications with a communications hub by executing program instructions in at least one mechanically engaged module.

6. The modular communicator of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to effect communication with a programmer by executing program instructions in at least one mechanically engaged module of the plurality of disparate modules.

7. The modular communicator of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to communicatively couple to a network communication hub by executing program instructions stored on at least one mechanically engaged module of the plurality of disparate modules.

8. The modular communicator of claim 1, wherein the communicator is operable only in a host-only mode.

9. The modular communicator of claim 1, wherein the communicator is operable in a host mode and a device mode.

10. The modular communicator of claim 22, wherein the communicator is configured to couple to a host system via the universal communications port and is configured to cooperate with the host system to effect connectivity to a life critical network and a central authority via a communications facility of the host system.

11. The modular communicator of claim 1, wherein the connector of the universal communications port comprises a power line arrangement that provides power to a mechanically engaged module when connected to the connector.

13. The modular communicator of claim 22, wherein at least one of the plurality of modules is configured to include memory for storing communicator data at least for times during which communicator and central authority connectivity is not present or possible.

14. The modular communicator of claim 1, wherein the connector is further configured to mechanically detachably engage with a physiological sensor and memory configured to store data produced by the sensor.

15. The modular communicator of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to implement program instructions of each mechanically engaged module of the plurality of disparate modules.

16. A modular communicator of claim 1, comprising:

a dongle having a connector, circuitry, and memory, the connector configured to detachably engage and establish signal connectivity with a communications port of a computer physically separate from the modular communicator;

wherein the processor is configured to execute program instructions of a mechanically engaged module to effect communications with the circuitry of the dongle.

17. The modular communicator of claim 16, wherein the memory of the dongle stores a unique code that uniquely identifies the dongle as an authorized communicator device, the memory of the dongle further storing program instructions which, when executed by the computer, enable predetermined modes of the communicator.

18. The modular communicator of claim 16, wherein the memory of the dongle stores a unique code that uniquely identifies the dongle as an authorized communicator device, the memory of the dongle further storing program instructions which, when executed by the computer, enable the computer to effect programming of the communicator.

22. The communicator of claim 1, wherein the memory is further configured to store program instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to transmit a request to a network access facility for a connection to an unsecured network, authenticate the communicator to a central authority, and facilitate secured communication between the communicator and the central authority upon successful communicator authentication.

12. (canceled)

19. A method for communicating with a physiological sensor comprising:

mechanically engaging one or more detachable modules of a plurality of disparate detachable modules by a universal communications port of a communicator, wherein each of the plurality of detachable modules has at least one disparate communication protocol that is configured to provide the communicator with an external communications facility, and wherein at least one of the one or more detachable modules effects communications with the physiological sensor;

establishing signal connectivity between the communicator and the one or more detachable modules;

executing program instructions, by the communicator, to acquire data from the physiological sensor;

acquiring data, by the communicator, from the physiological sensor using the one or more detachable modules based on the executed program instructions.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

executing program instructions, by the communicator, to transmit a request to a network access facility for a connection to an unsecured network;

authenticating the communicator to a central authority; and

facilitating secured communication between the communicator and the central authority upon successful communicator authentication over the unsecured network.

20. (canceled)