System for enabling test data from a clinical analytic device to be communicated to an electronic patient information management system

• US 9,665,692 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2011
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zafena AB
• Original Assignee: Zafena AB
• Inventors: Rnby, Mats, Rnby, Xerxes
• Primary Examiner(s): Barakat, Mohamed
• Application Number:
  US13/818,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20130241707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,105 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0026 characterised by the transmission medium
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

A system for enabling test data resulting from an analytic determination carried out on a clinical analytic device (20-1) to be communicated to an electronic patient information management system (80), the system comprising: a computer module (120-1) communicatively connectable to the clinical analytic device (20-1), a user operable control unit (140) communicatively connectable to the computer module (120-1), and an instrument tag (22-1) readable by the user operable control unit (140) and associated with the clinical analytic device (20-1).

Claims

1. A system for enabling test data resulting from an analytic determination carried out on a clinical analytic device to be delivered to an electronic patient information management system, the system comprising:

a computer module communicatively connectable to the clinical analytic device,

a user operable control unit communicatively connectable to the computer module, and

an instrument tag readable by the user operable control unit and associated with the clinical analytic device,

wherein the user operable control unit comprises a tag reader for selecting the clinical analytic device by reading the instrument tag and is arranged to, in response to a reading of the instrument tag, cause a mode selecting signal to be transmitted to the computer module,

wherein the mode selecting signal comprises information connected to output data protocol of the clinical analytic device, and

wherein the computer module comprises a processor unit arranged to;

receive the mode selecting signal;

in response to the mode selecting signal, select an operative mode of the computer module from multiple predetermined operative modes, each of the multiple predetermined operative modes being associated with a respective clinical analytic device output data protocol; and

identify test data in received data from the clinical analytic device, wherein the identification of the test data is carried out according to the selected operative mode of the computer module, the selected operative mode being associated with the clinical analytic device output data protocol.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user operable control unit further is arranged to, in response to a reading of the instrument tag, cause a module activating signal to be transmitted to the computer module, wherein the module activating signal comprises information connected to an identity of the computer module.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mode selecting signal comprises information connected to the type and/or identity of the clinical analytic device.

4. The system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the module activating signal and the mode selecting signal are one and the same signal.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer module is arranged to be paired with one clinical analytic device at a time, so that the computer module can be used to indirectly address the clinical analytic device.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer module further comprises a computer module tag for enabling the computer module to be individually selected by use of the control unit, in a system of multiple computer modules communicatively connected to the control unit.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the computer module tag is attached to the computer module, and which is readable by the control unit and comprises information on identity of the computer module.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user operable control unit is arranged to be handheld.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit further comprises a tag reader for reading supplementary data associated with the test data, the supplementary data comprising information on one or more of the following:

identity of the selected clinical analytic device, test identity data, patient identity data or sample identity data.

10. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the tag reader is an optical code reader, arranged to read a supplementary data tag.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a supplementary data tag comprising information on one or more of the following:

identity of the selected clinical analytic device, test identity data, patient identity data or sample identity data.

12. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer module and the control unit are separate entities or integrated as one entity.

13. A computer module for enabling test data resulting from an analytic determination carried out on a clinical analytic device to be delivered to an electronic patient information management system, the computer module being communicatively connectable to the clinical analytic device and to a user operable control unit, wherein the computer module comprises a processor unit arranged to:

receive a mode selecting signal transmitted to the computer module by use of the control unit which reads an instrument tag associated with the clinical analytic device to select the clinical analytic device, the mode selecting signal comprising information connected to the output data protocol of the clinical analytical device;

in response to the mode selecting signal, select an operative mode for the computer module from multiple predetermined operative modes, each of the multiple predetermined operative modes being associated with a respective clinical analytic device output data protocol; and

identify test data in received data from the clinical analytic device, wherein the identification of the test data is carried out according to the selected operative mode of the computer module, the selected operative mode being associated with the clinical analytic device output data protocol.

14. A computer module as claimed in claim 13, further comprising an instrument tag associated with a clinical analytic device to which the computer module is communicatively connectable to and for which the computer module comprises a compatible operative mode, the instrument tag being attachable to the clinical analytic device, wherein the instrument tag is readable by a user operable control unit, and is comprising or linking to information connected to one or more of the following:

output data protocol of the clinical analytic device, identity of the clinical analytical device, type of the instrument tag.

15. A computer module as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a hub unit to which multiple computer modules and a control unit are connectable to and through which hub unit the control unit is communicatively connectable to each one of the multiple computer modules.

16. The computer module as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:

a processor unit arranged to connect and arrange supplementary data with test data according to a data protocol of the electronic patient information management system.

17. The computer module as claimed in claim 16, wherein the processor unit is arranged to receive a second mode selecting signal transmitted to the processor unit by use of the control unit, and to select the data protocol of the electronic patient information management system in response to the second mode selecting signal, wherein the second mode selecting signal comprises information connected to the data protocol of the electronic patient information management system.

18. The computer module according to claim 17, further comprising a transmitter arranged to transmit connected data to the electronic patient information management system.

19. The computer module as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a user interface communicatively connected to, and controlled by, the computer module and/or the control unit and/or the hub unit.

20. The computer module as claimed in claim 19, wherein the user interface is controlled to communicate to a user:

how to next operate the control unit, and/or supplementary data that has been read or status of such data, and/or data that has been read by the tag reader or status of such data, and/or test data that has been identified by the computer module or status of such data.

21. The computer module as claimed in claim 19, wherein the user interface is controlled to request a user to accept or reject the analytic determination resulting in the test data and/or supplementary data that has been read, before allowing the test data and/or the supplementary data to be transmitted to the electronic patient information management system.

22. The computer module as claimed in claim 19, wherein the user interface is a separate unit or integrated with the computer module.

23. The computer module as claimed in claim 19, wherein the user interface is connected to the computer module.

24. A method of operating a computer module according to claim 13, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a mode selecting signal transmitted to the computer module by use of a control unit, which reads an instrument tag associated with a clinical analytic device to select the clinical analytic device, the mode selecting signal comprising information connected to the output data protocol of the clinical analytic device,

selecting, in response to the received mode selecting signal, an operative mode of the computer module from multiple predetermined operative modes of the computer module, each of the multiple predetermined operative modes being associated with a respective clinical analytic device output data protocol, and

identifying test data in received data from the clinical analytic device, wherein the identification of the test data is carried out according to the selected operative mode of the computer module, the selected operative mode being associated with the clinical analytic device output data protocol.

25. A computer program product, loadable into memory of the computer module, comprising program code for performing the steps according to the method of claim 24 when run on the computer module.