Medical device created through resource leverage of a host processing system and method

• US 8,195,848 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2008
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Black Mountain Ventures
• Original Assignee: Economedics, Inc.
• Inventors: Jones, Zach
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Henry
• Assistant Examiner(s): OBERLY, ERIC T
• Application Number:
  US12/062,541
• Publication Number:
  US 20090254681A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,523 Days
• Field of Search: 710/38
• US Class Current: 710/38
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A method, system, and apparatus of medical device created through resource leverage of a host processing system are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of a medical component includes automatically communicating a medical operating system to a host processing system from a memory location of the medical component when it is determined that the host processing system does not include a medical operating system optimized to operate with the medical component, processing a confirmation from the host processing system that the medial operating system has repurposed the host processing system of the host processor and that the medical operating system is now active on the host processing system, capturing a patient reading through the medical component, and leveraging at least one of a processing resource and an input-output (I/O) resource of the host processing system in providing a measurement of the patient reading to a user.

Claims

1. A method of using a medical component for diagnosing a patient, the method comprising:

automatically communicating a medical operating system to a host processing system from a memory location of the medical component when it is determined that the host processing system does not include a medical operating system optimized to operate with the medical component, the medical operating system taking precedence over a host operating system of the host processing system in a boot process of the host processor when the medical component is coupled to the host processor;

processing a confirmation from the host processing system that the medical operating system has repurposed the host processing system and that the medical operating system is now active on the host processing system;

automatically communicating an application to the host processing system from a different memory location of the medical component when the host processing system confirms that the medical operating system has repurposed the host processing system;

capturing a patient reading through the medical component, wherein the patient reading comprises a photoplethysmograph of a pulse oximeter that indirectly measures oxygen saturation of blood of a patient and changes in blood volume in a skin of the patient; and

leveraging a power supply of the host processing system to power the medical component and at least one of a processing resource and an input-output (I/O) resource of the host processing system to run the application in providing a measurement of the patient reading to a user.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that the host processing system already includes a certain medical operating system optimized to operate with another medical component; and

communicating only application and operating system data that updates the certain operating system to be equivalent to the medical operating system.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the patient reading is an electrocardiogram that records an electrical activity of a heart of a patient over time.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the medical operating system is common to the medical component and other medical components, such that when other medical components are coupled with the host processing system, the medical operating system of the host processing system does not need to be reinstalled.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the medical component is coupled with the host processing system through a standard interface.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the standard interface is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the processing resource is a microprocessor of the host processing system and wherein the I/O resource of the host processing system is at least one of a printing device, a display device, an input device, and a network communication resource.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising using a signal processor of the medical component to process a complex data when the patient reading through the medical component requires processing capability that cannot be supplied from the host processing system.

9. The method of claim 1 in a form of a machine-readable medium embodying a set of instructions that, when executed by a machine, causes the machine to perform the method of claim 1.

10. A method of using a host processing system for diagnosing a patient, the method comprising:

automatically repurposing the host processing system with a medical operating system communicated from a memory location of a medical component when it is determined that the medical operating system is optimized to operate with the host processing system and the medical component;

activating the medical operating system on the host processing system such that the medical operating system takes precedence over the original operating system in a boot process of the host processing system when the medical component is coupled with the host processing system;

automatically receiving an application of the medical operating system from a different memory location of the medical component when the host processing system confirms that the medical operating system has repurposed the host processing system to operate with the medical component;

processing a patient reading captured through the medical component using a processor module of the host processing system; and

generating a measurement of the patient reading using the processor module of the host processing system and the application of the medical operating system.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

determining that another medical component is coupled with the host processing system; and

applying an update code received from the another medical component that updates the medical operating system to be compatible with the another medical component; and

executing another application of the another medical component using the host processor from at least one of the another medical component and the host processing system.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the medical operating system of the host processing system does not need to be reinstalled even when other medical components are coupled with the host processing system.

13. A system comprising:

a medical component to capture a patient reading and to provide a medical operating system optimized for the medical component; and

a host processing system to couple with the medical component through a standard interface of the host processing system, and to replace an original operating system of the host processing system with that of the medical operating system when the medical component is coupled with the host processing system;

the medical component being configured to automatically communicate the medical operating system to the host processing system when the host processing system is coupled with the medical component so that the medical operating system takes precedence over the original operating system in a boot process of the host processing system, and so that the host processing system transmits a confirmation to the medical component that the medical operating system has repurposed the host processing system and that the medical operating system is now active on the host processing system, wherein the medical component automatically communicates an application to the host processing system when the host processing system confirms that the medical operating system has repurposed the host processing system;

the medical component configured to capture patient data and to leverage at least one of a processing resource and an input-output (I/O) resource of the host processing system so as to provide a measurement of the patient reading to a user using the application.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the medical operating system is shared among a plurality of medical components each providing a different patient reading to the host processing system.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the standard interface is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the medical component is a self-powered medical component that has independent imaging, I/O, and processing capability that preprocesses a data associated with a patient prior to communicating the data to the host processing system.