Method and system for multi-device communication

• US 8,452,413 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2011
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Roche Diabetes Care Inc. (Roche Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Roche Diagnostics Operations Incorporated (Roche Holding AG)
• Inventors: Young, Morris J., Markisohn, David Bradley, Cummings, Allen B., Scroggin, Adam R.
• Primary Examiner(s): MANUEL, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US13/150,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20110230142A1
• Time in Patent Office: 727 Days
• Field of Search: 607/60
• US Class Current: 607/60
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/70 relating to mental therapies, e.g. psychological therapy or autogenous training
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/753 where the polling of the sub-stations is synchronous
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

A medical data system including a plurality of receivers configured to wirelessly receive medical data via a signal.

Claims

1. A medical data transmission system including:

a first transceiver coupled to a first computing entity at a first port and configured to detect the presence of and wirelessly receive data via a signal generated by a first medical device;

a second transceiver coupled to the first computing entity at a second port and configured to detect the presence of and wirelessly receive data via a signal generated by a second medical device; and

software running on the first computing entity, the software including;

a first module automatically invoked when either of the first and second transceivers has detected one of the first and second medical devices, the module being configured to execute one of automatic downloading of patient related medical data from the detected medical device and prompting a user to authorize downloading of patient related medical data from the detected medical device, and

a second module automatically invoked when patient related medical data is downloaded from the detected medical device to the first computing entity, the second module creating a report containing the downloaded data and presenting the report via the first computing entity.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein multiple instances of the first module are run in response to the first transceiver detecting the first medical device contemporaneously with the second transceiver detecting the second medical device.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first and second dongles includes an emitter that emits a beacon to be detected by the first and second medical devices such that when the beacon is detected by the first medical device, the first medical device attempts to engage in a handshaking operation with the dongle that is emitting the detected beacon.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the software further includes a third module that determines an appropriate communication protocol upon detection of one of the first and second medical devices by one of the first and second transceivers.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein third module includes a prioritization list that defines an order in which differing communication protocols are used in an attempt to communicate with the detected medical device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein invoking the second module also causes activation of an externally perceptible indicator of data transmission on the transceiver receiving the downloaded data.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the indicator of data transmission is activated concurrently with the data transmission.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the software further includes a fourth module that detects a signal strength between transceivers and medical devices, the fourth module requiring a threshold signal strength to exist before permitting invocation of the first module.

9. A medical data transmission system including:

a first transceiver coupled to a first computing entity at a first port and configured to wirelessly receive data via a signal generated by a first medical device;

a second transceiver coupled to the first computing entity at a second port and configured to wirelessly receive data via a signal generated by a second medical device; and

a database into which data from the first medical device and the second medical device are simultaneously written.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the data from the first medical device and the second medical device are written into the database contemporaneously with the receiving of the signals generated by the first and second medical devices.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the transceivers are dongles.

12. A computer readable medium, including operating instructions thereon such that when interpreted by a processor cause the processor to perform the step of:

simultaneously wirelessly downloading medical information from a first and second medical data devices and contemporaneously writing medical information from both of the first and second medical data devices to a common database.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the operating instructions further cause the processor to perform the step of:

wirelessly detecting the presence of a medical device capable of wireless communication.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the operating instructions further cause the emitting of a beacon from a medical device interface.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein, upon downloading of patient related medical data from the first and second medical device, the instructions further automatically cause creation of a report containing the downloaded data and presenting the report.

16. A computer readable medium, including operating instructions thereon such that when interpreted by a processor cause the processor to:

simultaneously scan multiple ports of a computing entity in search of at least one transceiver for downloading medical information from a first medical data device; and

simultaneously download medical information from multiple ports.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein simultaneously scanning includes searching for at least one wireless transceiver.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the processor further emits a first beacon from a first transceiver, and emits a second beacon from a second transceiver.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the processor further simultaneously writes medical data received from multiple ports to a common database.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein, upon downloading of patient related medical data from the first medical device, the instructions further automatically cause creation of a report containing the downloaded data and presenting the report.