Methods and articles of manufacture for hosting a safety critical application on an uncontrolled data processing device

• US 9,524,016 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2015
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Abbott Diabetes Care Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Abbott Diabetes Care Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Bernstein, Daniel M., Nekoomaram, Saeed, Sloan, Mark K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatri, Anil
• Application Number:
  US14/745,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20150286518A1
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 717170-177, 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/004 Error avoidance G06F11/07 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0721 within a central processing unit [CPU]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0736 in functional embedded systems, i.e. in a data processing system designed as a combination of hardware and software dedicated to performing a certain function testing or monitoring of automated control systems G05B23/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0751 Error or fault detection not based on redundancy power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3668 Software testing software testing in telephone exchanges H04M3/242, testing of hardware G06F11/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3688 for test execution, e.g. scheduling of test suites
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3692 for test results analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/656 while running
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5011 the resources being hardware resources other than CPUs, Servers and Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Methods and articles of manufacture for hosting a safety critical application on an uncontrolled data processing device are provided. Various combinations of installation, functional, host integrity, coexistence, interoperability, power management, and environment checks are performed at various times to determine if the safety critical application operates properly on the device. The operation of the SCA on the UDPD may be controlled accordingly.

Claims

1. A method for executing instructions with an uncontrolled data processing device (UDPD) to determine whether a safety critical application (SCA) is functioning properly on the UDPD, the method comprising:

executing instructions with the UDPD to establish a communication link between the UDPD and an external device;

retrieving a reference communication data stored in memory of the UDPD;

comparing, with the UDPD, a result of the communication link with the retrieved reference communication data; and

determining, with the UDPD, whether the communication link is properly established.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the external device is a remote server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the external device is a subcutaneously implanted sensor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the result of the communication link is the amount of time required to establish the communication link between the UDPD and the external device, and the reference communication data is a predetermined amount of time to establish the communication link between the UDPD and the external device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the result of the communication link is the amount of time required to retrieve a data request from the external device by the UDPD, and the reference communication data is a predetermined amount of time to retrieve a data request from the external device by the UDPD.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the SCA is functioning properly on the UDPD and permitting the SCA to operate freely on the UDPD, if a match of the result of the communication link with reference communication data is determined.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the SCA is not functioning properly on the UDPD, thereby preventing the SCA to operate freely on the UDPD, if a mismatch of the result of the communication link with reference communication data is determined.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the SCA is not functioning properly on the UDPD, thereby disabling safety critical features of the SCA from being executed on the UDPD and enabling non-safety critical features of the SCA to be executed on the UDPD, is a mismatch of the result of the communication link with reference communication data is determined.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the safety critical features of the SCA comprises communication of the SCA with a remote device external to the UPDP.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the safety critical features of the SCA comprises determining an analyte concentration from a bodily fluid executed on the UDPD.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the SCA is an analyte monitoring application.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the analyte is glucose or ketone.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the UDPD is a hand-help data processing device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the hand-help data processing device is a mobile phone.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the hand-help data processing device is a personal digital assistant (PDA).

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the safety critical features of the SCA comprises receiving data from a sensor subcutaneously implanted in a subject.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions are comprised in a test harness application installed on the UDPD.