Management method and arrangement for outpatient electrocardiography on a patient

• US 9,774,589 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2015
• Issued: 09/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Getemed Medizin- Und Informationstechnik AG
• Original Assignee: Getemed Medizin- Und Informationstechnik AG
• Inventors: Borchardt, Tilo, Scharner, Winfried, Scherf, Michael, Downes, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirl, Joseph P
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shirazi, Sayed Beheshti
• Application Number:
  US14/927,081
• Publication Number:
  US 20160127354A1
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/333 Recording apparatus specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/0431 Key distribution or pre-distribution; Key agreement
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity

Abstract

A management method for outpatient electrocardiography on a patient using an ECG recorder, an administration network, a first mobile device and at least one second mobile device is provided. In order to initialize outpatient electrocardiography on a patient, the first mobile device is connected to the ECG recorder and to the administration network and in the process an identification code assigned to the ECG recorder is transmitted from the ECG recorder to the administration network. After the verification of the authorizations of the mobile device, at least one certificate assigned to the ECG recorder is provided by the administration network and is transmitted to the ECG recorder for storage via the mobile device. The second mobile device is connected to the ECG recorder and to the administration network and in the process the identification code assigned to the ECG recorder is transmitted from the ECG recorder to the administration network.

Claims

1. A management method for outpatient electrocardiography on a patient which method, with the use of an electrocardiography (ECG) recorder, an administration network, a first mobile device and at least one second mobile device, wherein software for initializing an controlling the ECG recorder and/or for displaying the ECG profile is installed on the mobile devices, comprises the following steps:

storing the mobile devices in the administration network as mobile device each with stipulated authorizations;

connecting the first mobile device to the ECG recorder and to the administration network for initializing outpatient electrocardiography on a patient;

in the process transmission of an identification code assigned to the ECG recorder from the ECG recorder to the administration network via the first mobile device, and,

after a verification of the authorizations of the first mobile device by the administration network, providing at least one certificate assigned to the ECG recorder by the administration network which is transmitted to the ECG recorder for storage via the first mobile device;

connecting a second mobile device to the ECG recorder and to the administration network, so that the profile of the ECG can be checked and/or displayed by the second mobile device;

in the process transmission of the identification code assigned to the ECG recorder from the ECG recorder to the administration network via the second mobile device; and

transmission of one of the previously generated certificates assigned to the ECG recorder from the administration network to the second mobile device according to the authorizations of the second mobile device; and

transmission of this certificate from the second mobile device to the ECG recorder and, after a comparison with the at least one certificate previously transmitted by the first mobile device, enabling the access by the second mobile device for the purpose of controlling the ECG recorder and/or displaying the ECC profile according to the authorizations of the second mobile device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the authorizations of the mobile devices, which are stipulated in the administration network, determine which mobile devices are allowed to gain access to which functions of the ECG recorder.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile devices are identified inside the administration network using identification codes which are assigned to the mobile devices and are transmitted from the mobile devices to the administration network when making the connection.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein one of the second mobile devices is assigned to the patient as a patient mobile device, the authorizations allocated to the patient mobile device in the administration network being restricted to the display of the ECG profile in a framework stipulated for the patient.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mobile devices use the same application software which can be downloaded from the Internet for the purpose of initializing and/or controlling the ECG recorder and/or displaying the ECG profile, and their different authorizations are implemented by the ECG recorder using the certificate which is provided for the respective mobile device by the administration network.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the administration network provides two different certificates for each ECG recording, one certificate being a patient certificate assigned to the patient mobile device.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the administration network provides a certificate for each ECG recording, which certificate is used by all mobile devices for authorization for accessing the ECG recorder, in which case possibly different authorizations of the mobile devices are implemented at the level of the application software for initializing and/or controlling the ECG recorder and/or for displaying the ECG profile.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a patient application is installed on patient mobile device and a service application is installed on the other mobile devices, patient app providing reduced authorization for controlling and for receiving data from ECG recorder in comparison with the service application.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the patient mobile device is also used for GPS positioning of the patient.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein in order to initialize the outpatient electrocardiography, the patient data required for this purpose are transmitted from a patient database inside the administration network to the first mobile device and are transmitted from there to the ECG recorder.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when initializing the outpatient electrocardiography, the safe application of the ECG electrodes is checked and an error message including instructions for error correction is possibly transmitted to the first mobile device.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein ECG data are transmitted from the ECG recorder to an ECG analysis system inside the administration network via the mobile devices for evaluation, the evaluation results, possibly including therapeutic recommendations, in turn being transmitted from the ECG analysis system to the mobile devices.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein a near-field communication method, in particular Bluetooth or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), is used to transmit data between the mob devices and the administration network and/or between the mobile devices and the ECG recorder.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein data are transmitted between the mobile devices and the administration network and/or between the mobile dev and the ECG recorder in encrypted form, in particular using two-fish encryption or the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) protocol.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the storing of the ECG data and the certificates in the ECG recorder and in the administration network is done in encrypted form.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the certificates provided by the administration network are generated for a respective ECG recording as temporary certificates with a stipulated validity period.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the certificates provided by the administration network for an ECG recording using an ECG recorder are deleted after data have been transmitted to the ECG analysis system.