Medical apparatus

• US 9,117,012 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2009
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gambro Lundia AB (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Gambro Lundia AB (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Basaglia, Gianni
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiest, Philip R
• Application Number:
  US12/935,868
• Publication Number:
  US 20110028882A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,336 Days
• Field of Search: 604 401- 616, 700/90, 705/3, 715/771
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/16 with membranes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/1601 Control or regulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/3496 Plasmapheresis; Leucopheresis; Lymphopheresis A61M1/3472 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3334 Measuring or controlling the flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3337 Controlling, regulating pressure or flow by means of a valve by-passing a pump
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3553 remote, e.g. between patient's home and doctor's office
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3584 using modem, internet or bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/505 Touch-screens; Virtual keyboard or keypads; Virtual buttons; Soft keys; Mouse touches
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/17 delivered via infusion or injection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A medical apparatus comprises a machine (2) for treatment of fluids provided with means (3) for treating a patient'"'"'s blood which exhibits a control unit (4) for sending command signals and receiving information relating to the treatment under way on the patient. The machine further comprises an internet web server (11) containing a predetermined number of web pages which are remotely accessible and consultable via a common web browser (18). At least a web page reproduces the graphic user interface on the display (6) of the medical machine (2) substantially in real-time. A plurality of further information and data relating to the medical machine is further published in the web pages.

Claims

1. A medical apparatus comprising at least a medical machine for fluid treatment comprising:

means for treating a fluid;

a control unit configured at least for sending command signals and for receiving information from the means for treating a fluid;

a device for entering data to be supplied to the control unit for enabling a user to generate the command signals for the means for treating a fluid;

a display for viewing at least a part of the information received from the control unit relating to the means for treating a fluid, the display of the medical machine visualizing a graphic user interface which shows at least a part of the information received by the control unit of the means for treating a fluid;

a web server operatively cooperating with the control unit, the web server being configured to publish a predetermined number of web pages, at least one of which reproduces the graphic user interface shown on the display of the medical machine, the web pages further publishing a plurality of further data relating to the medical machine, the web pages being remotely accessible via connecting means and being consultable via a web browser, wherein the medical machine further exhibits remote access and control means which operatively cooperate with the control unit such that the remote access and control means are able to control one or more functions of the medical machine during fluid treatment, the remote access and control means being configured for enabling reproduction of the web server of the graphic user interface shown on the display in the web pages, and

wherein the reproduction of the graphic user interface is updated at each predetermined variation of at least a parameter represented in the graphic user interface, wherein the graphic user interface is subdivided into a plurality of regions and the reproduction of each respective region is only updated at each predetermined variation of the parameter shown in the region, without updating regions in which the predetermined variation has not occurred.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the web server is an internet web server consultable remotely by means of a web browser.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote access and control means comprise at least a central control program and at least a client control program, the client control program being configured to interact with the central control software in order to enable an exchange of data between the control unit and the web server such that at least the graphic user interface shown on the display can be reproduced in the web pages.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the central control program is a VNC server and the client control program is a VNC client.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the medical machine comprises at least a memory bank cooperating with the control unit, the central control program being resident in the memory bank.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the web pages of the web server comprise the client control program.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the client control program is not resident in, or downloaded by, a remote control unit for access to the graphic user interface of the web pages of the web server.

8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the client control program resides in the web pages of the web server in a language interpretable by a web browser.

9. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the client control program resides in the web pages of the web server in a form of a scripting language or an interpreted language.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of further data published on the web pages of the web server further comprises data chosen in the group comprising data relating to maintenance of the medical machine and data relating to configuration of the medical machine and data relating to a history of alarms issued by the medical machine and data relating to a history of disinfection operations performed on the medical machine and data relating to a history of functionality checks performed on the medical machine and graphs relating to time and evolution of predetermined parameters of the medical machine.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote access and control means enable a remote unit to take control of a predetermined number of functions of the medical machine for treatment of a fluid.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the control unit of the medical machine is configured to selectively inhibit the remote access and control means from taking and/or maintaining control of at least a part of the predetermined number of functions of the medical machine.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the medical machine can be configured in a plurality of different operating configurations, the control unit having information relating to the operating configuration of the medical machine and selectively inhibiting the remote access and control means from taking and maintaining control of at least a part of the predetermined number of functions of the medical machine according to the operating configuration of the machine.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the control unit inhibits the remote access and control means from taking control of the predetermined number of functions of the medical machine at least in operative configurations which are critical for the patient'"'"'s security, chosen in the group comprising one or more of the following operating configurations:

the configuration of connecting the patient to the machine, the configuration of treating the patient, the configuration of returning blood to the patient after the treatment and the configuration of disconnecting the patient from the machine.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least a remote unit for distance control of the medical machine for fluid treatment, the remote unit exhibiting comprising:

a device for entering at least command data configured to send identical command signals via the device for entering data of the medical machine, in operating configurations in which the control units do not inhibit the remote access and control means from taking and maintaining control of the medical machine; and

a display for viewing at least a part of the data relating to the fluid treatment means.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote access and control means are configured to enable the remote control unit to take complete control of all the functions of the medical machine for fluid treatment in operating configurations in which the control unit does not inhibit the control means from taking and/or maintaining control of the medical machine.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the medical machine is configured to receive in input at least an identification datum coming from the remote unit, in order to selectively enable and/or inhibit access to the web pages of the web server according to an identification datum received.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit of the medical machine is configured to receive in input at least an identification datum coming from the remote unit, in order to selectively enable and/or inhibit access to the web pages of the web server according to an identification datum received.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the web server receives in input at least an identification datum coming from the remote unit, the control unit of the medical machine being configured to selectively enable and/or inhibit access to the web pages of the web server according to an identification datum received.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote access and control means are configured to receive in input at least an identification datum coming from the remote unit, the control unit of the medical machine being configured to selectively enable and/or inhibit the remote access and control means from taking control of at least a part of a predetermined number of functions of the medical machine according to the identification datum received.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the medical machine comprises a list of predefined identification data, each of which identification data being assigned respective access faculties to the medical machine, the control unit comparing the identification datum received with the predefined list of identification data in order to establish a correspondence, and once the correspondence has been established, selectively enabling the remote access and control means to take control of a predetermined number of functions of the medical machine for fluid treatment according to the associated access faculty.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the faculties of access comprise at least a passive faculty of viewing access and an active faculty of control, the remote access and control means taking control of a predetermined number of functions of the medical machine for fluid treatment should the identification datum received correspond to an identification datum in the predefined list which datum is associated to the active faculty of control access, the control unit inhibiting the remote access and control means from taking control of the predetermined number of functions of the medical machine for fluid treatment when the identification datum received corresponds to an identification datum in the predefined list associated to the faculty of passive access of viewing.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising connecting means for enabling remote access to data of the medical machine via a remote unit, the connecting means being chosen in the group comprising a computer network, an internet network and Ethernet network and a wireless network, in order to place the remote control unit in connection with the machine for fluid treatment.

24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for treating a fluid comprises:

a predetermined number of sensors for detecting operating parameters of the medical machine; and

a predetermined number of actuators which intervene in order to modify operating parameters of the medical machine, the control unit sending command signals to the actuators and receiving information from the sensors to set and determine an operating configuration of the machine.