ERROR HANDLING IN INFUSION DEVICES WITH DISTRIBUTED MOTOR CONTROL AND RELATED OPERATING METHODS

• US 20160346459A1
• Filed: 05/26/2015
• Published: 12/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medtronic Minimed Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Medtronic Minimed Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Collins, Thomas W., Chow, Steve, Campbell, Alexander S., Wang, Yongbo, Torres, Linda I.
• Granted Patent: US 9,999,721 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/14208 with a programmable infusion control system, characterised by the infusion program
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3569 sublocal, e.g. between console and disposable
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/6018 providing set-up signals for the apparatus configuration
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/145 using pressurised reservoirs, e.g. pressurised by means of pistons
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1452 pressurised by means of pistons
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/16831 Monitoring, detecting, signalling or eliminating infusion flow anomalies low-level float-valves causing cut-off A61M5/40; indicating or recording presence, absence or direction of flow in general G01P13/0066
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/17 delivered via infusion or injection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

Infusion systems, infusion devices, and related operating methods are provided. An exemplary infusion device includes a motor operable to deliver fluid to a body of a user, a first control module to enable input power for the motor and provide a dosage command for operating the motor, and a second control module coupled to the first control module to receive the dosage command and operate the motor using at least a portion of the input power based at least in part on the dosage command. One of the first control module and the second control module detects an anomalous condition, and in response, disables the input power to the motor, stores diagnostic information for the anomalous condition in its internal memory, and automatically resets thereafter.

Claims

1. An infusion device comprising:

a motor operable to deliver fluid to a body of a user;

a first control module to enable input power for the motor and provide a dosage command for operating the motor; and

a second control module coupled to the first control module to receive the dosage command and operate the motor using at least a portion of the input power based at least in part on the dosage command, wherein one of the first control module and the second control module;

detects an anomalous condition; and

in response to the anomalous condition;

disables the input power to the motor;

stores diagnostic information for the anomalous condition in its internal memory; and

resets after disabling the input power and storing the diagnostic information.

2. The infusion device of claim 1, further comprising a driver module coupled to the motor, wherein:

the first control module enables the input power to the driver module; and

the second control module operates the driver module to deliver the portion of the input power to the motor in accordance with the dosage command.

3. The infusion device of claim 1, wherein the one of the first control module and the second control module detects the anomalous condition in response to an absence of a communication from the other of the first control module and the second control module.

4. The infusion device of claim 3, wherein a first operating system executing on the one of the first control module and the second control module detects the anomalous condition in response to the absence of the communication from a second operating system executing on the other of the first control module and the second control module.

5. The infusion device of claim 1, wherein the other of the first control module and the second control module:

detects the anomalous condition in response to an absence of a communication from the one of the first control module and the second control module; and

in response;

stores second diagnostic information for the anomalous condition in its internal memory; and

resets after storing the second diagnostic information.

6. The infusion device of claim 1, further comprising an output user interface element coupled to the one of the first control module and the second control module, wherein the one of the first control module and the second control module verifies the diagnostic information for the anomalous condition is stored in its internal memory prior to resetting and generates a notification via the output user interface element in response to a failure to store the diagnostic information.

7. The infusion device of claim 1, further comprising an output user interface element coupled to the one of the first control module and the second control module, resetting the one of the first control module and the second control module comprising a processing core of the one of the first control module and the second control module executing boot loader code for a first boot loader, wherein the one of the first control module and the second control module generates a notification via the output user interface element in response to a failure to communicate with a second boot loader executed by the other of the first control module and the second control module.

8. A method of operating a motor of an infusion device to deliver fluid using a first control module and a second control module, the first control module generating one or more dosage commands and the second control module converting the one or more dosage commands to corresponding one or more motor commands for providing input power to the motor, the method comprising:

communicating one or more heartbeat messages between the first control module and the second control module; and

in response to one of the first control module and the second control module detecting an absence of a heartbeat message of the one or more heartbeat messages;

disabling, by the one of the first control module and the second control module, the input power to the motor;

storing, by the one of the first control module and the second control module, diagnostic information from its processing core to its internal memory; and

after storing the diagnostic information, loading, by the one of the first control module and the second control module, boot loader code from its internal memory to its processing core.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

detecting, by the other of the first control module and the second control module, an anomalous condition; and

in response to the anomalous condition;

storing, by the other of the first control module and the second control module, an anomalous condition, second diagnostic information for the anomalous condition from its processing core to its internal memory; and

after storing the second diagnostic information, loading, by the other of the first control module and the second control module, second boot loader code from its internal memory to its processing core.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the detecting the anomalous condition results in the other of the first control module and the second control module failing to communicate the heartbeat message.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

verifying the storing of the diagnostic information prior to loading the boot loader code; and

generating, by the one of the first control module and the second control module, a notification via an output user interface element in response to a failure to store the diagnostic information.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, by the one of the first control module and the second control module, whether a reset limit has been met after loading the boot loader code; and

generating, by the one of the first control module and the second control module, a notification via an output user interface element when the reset limit has been met.

13. A method of operating a motor using a first control module and a second control module, the method comprising:

initializing each of the first control module and the second control module to a boot loader stage;

in response to a first handshake between the first control module and the second control module while in the boot loader stage, loading a respective operating system for execution by each of the first control module and the second control module; and

in response to a second handshake between the respective operating systems executing on the first control module and the second control module, loading respective application code for execution by each of the first control module and the second control module from external memory.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

detecting, by the first control module, an anomalous condition after loading first application code for execution by the first control module from the external memory; and

in response to the anomalous condition;

disabling, by the first control module, input power to the motor;

storing, by the first control module, diagnostic information for the anomalous condition from its processing core to its internal memory; and

resetting the first control module to the boot loader stage after storing the diagnostic information.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

identifying, by the second control module, the anomalous condition in response to the first control module detecting the anomalous condition; and

in response to identifying the anomalous condition;

storing, by the second control module, second diagnostic information for the anomalous condition from its processing core to its internal memory; and

resetting the second control module to the boot loader stage after storing the second diagnostic information.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining, by one of the first control module and the second control module at the boot loader stage, whether a reset limit has been met prior to the first handshake.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising determining, by the respective operating system executing on other of the first control module and the second control module, whether the reset limit has been met prior to the second handshake.

18. The method of claim 13, an infusion device including the first control module, the second control module, and the motor, wherein loading respective application code for execution by each of the first control module and the second control module from the external memory comprises:

executing, by the first control module, a delivery control application for determining a dosage command corresponding to an amount of fluid for delivery to a user associated with the infusion device; and

executing, by the second control module, a motor control application for converting the dosage command to one or more motor commands for operating the motor to deliver the amount of fluid.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

detecting, by the first control module, an anomalous condition after providing the dosage command to the second control module; and

in response to the anomalous condition;

disabling, by the first control module, input power to the motor;

storing, by the first control module, diagnostic information for the anomalous condition from its processing core to its internal memory; and

resetting the first control module to the boot loader stage after storing the diagnostic information.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

detecting, by the second control module, an anomalous condition after receiving the dosage command from the first control module; and

in response to the anomalous condition;

disabling, by the second control module, input power to the motor;

storing, by the second control module, diagnostic information for the anomalous condition from its processing core to its internal memory; and

resetting the second control module to the boot loader stage after storing the diagnostic information.