Systems and methods for transfer of on-body medical devices between networks

• US 9,770,171 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2015
• Issued: 09/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Wik, Steven William, Davenport, David Michael, Hasan, SM Shajedul
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAH, TANMAY K
• Application Number:
  US14/972,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20170172415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 34087007
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0024 for multiple sensor units attached to the patient, e.g. using a body or personal area network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A system for managing transfer of data in a medical body area network (MBAN) is presented. The system includes one or more sensor units disposed on a patient and configured to acquire data from the patient. Moreover, the system includes one or more detachable wireless communication and battery units, where the one or more detachable wireless communication and battery units are detachably coupled to a corresponding sensor unit. In addition, the system includes a patient monitoring device in bi-directional wireless communication with the one or more detachable wireless communication and battery units and configured to receive sensor data and maintain network connectivity between the one or more wireless communication and battery units and the patient monitoring device based on an operating condition of at least one wireless communication and battery unit of the one or more wireless communication and battery units.

Claims

1. A system for managing transfer of data in a medical body area network (MBAN), the system comprising:

one or more sensor units disposed on a patient and configured to acquire data from the patient;

one or more detachable wireless communication and battery units, wherein the one or more detachable wireless communication and battery units are detachably coupled to a corresponding sensor unit;

a patient monitoring device in bi-directional wireless communication with the one or more detachable wireless communication and battery units and configured to;

receive sensor data;

maintain network connectivity between the one or more wireless communication and battery units and the patient monitoring device based on an operating condition of at least one wireless communication and battery unit of the one or more wireless communication and battery units, wherein to maintain the network connectivity, the patient monitoring device is configured to;

de-associate an unique identification of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit from a unique identification of the corresponding sensor unit based on the operating condition of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit; and

associate the unique identification of the sensor unit with a unique identification of a second of the one or more wireless and communication and battery units to detachably couple the second of the one or more wireless and communication and battery units to the sensor unit based on a request from the second of the one or more wireless and communication and battery units, wherein the second of the one or more wireless communication and battery units is detachably coupled to the sensor unit via an attachment subunit of the sensor unit and an attachment subunit of the second of the one or more wireless communication and battery units.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the patient monitoring device comprises:

a proximity-based communication subunit configured to obtain the unique identification corresponding to the at least one wireless communication and battery unit using a proximity-based communication interface;

a wireless communication subunit configured to;

broadcast the unique identification of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit;

receive a request from the at least one wireless communication and battery unit having the unique identification; and

transmit information in response to the request to the at least one wireless communication and battery unit.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more wireless communication and battery units further comprise:

a proximity-based communication subunit configured to transmit and receive data using the proximity-based communication interface;

a wireless communication subunit configured to transmit and receive data over a wireless network;

a battery subunit configured to supply power to a corresponding sensor unit; and

an attachment subunit configured to detachably couple the wireless communication and battery unit to the corresponding sensor unit.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more sensor units comprise:

a medical parameter monitoring subunit configured to sense data from the patient; and

an attachment subunit configured to detachably couple the one or more sensor units to a corresponding wireless communication and battery unit.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the proximity-based communication interface comprises a Near Field Communications interface, a Radio Frequency Identification interface, a magnetic field interface, an electric field interface, an optical interface, acoustic vibrations, ultrasound vibrations, mechanical vibrations, or combinations thereof.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the unique identification comprises a unique identification code of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the wireless communication subunit of the wireless communication and battery unit is further configured to transmit the unique identification of the corresponding sensor unit to the patient monitoring device.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the patient monitoring device further comprises:

a memory subunit configured to store data; and

a processor subunit configured to store an association of the unique identification of the one or more wireless communication and battery units with an unique identification of corresponding sensor unit in the memory subunit.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the operating condition of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit comprises a detached state or an out of range state.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein the wireless communication subunit of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit is further configured to transmit the operating condition of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit to the patient monitoring device.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the patient monitoring device is further configured to:

broadcast the unique identification of the corresponding sensor unit of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the wireless communication subunit of the second of the one or more wireless communication and battery units is further configured to:

receive the broadcast having the unique identification of the sensor unit from the patient monitoring device; and

transmit a request to the patient monitoring device to be associated with the sensor unit.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the patient monitoring device is further configured to:

receive the request from the wireless communication and battery unit corresponding to the second of the one or more wireless and communication and battery units and the unique identification of the sensor unit.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the wireless communication subunit of the patient monitoring device is further configured to broadcast the unique identification of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit and the unique identification of the corresponding sensor.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the wireless communication subunit of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit is further configured to:

receive the broadcast signal from the patient monitoring device when the at least one wireless communication and battery unit is within communicative range of the patient monitoring device; and

transmit a request to re-pair with the patient monitoring device.

16. A method for managing transfer of data in a medical body area network (MBAN), the method comprising:

acquiring patient data via use of one or more sensor units disposed on a patient;

transmitting the acquired sensor data via one or more wireless communication and battery units, wherein the one or more wireless communication and battery units are detachably coupled to a corresponding sensor unit;

pairing the one or more wireless communication and battery units with a patient monitoring device, wherein the pairing comprises;

obtaining, by a patient monitoring device, a unique identification of at least one of the one or more wireless communication and battery units;

receiving, by the patient monitoring device, a request and the unique identification from the at least one wireless communication and battery unit;

obtaining, by the at least one wireless communication and battery unit, a unique identification of a sensor detachably coupled to the at least one wireless communication and battery unit;

associating the unique identification of the sensor with the unique identification of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit; and

maintaining network connectivity between the one or more wireless communication and battery units and the patient monitoring device based on an operating condition of at least one wireless communication and battery unit of the one or more wireless communication and battery units, wherein maintaining the network connectivity comprises;

transmitting, by the at least one wireless communication and battery unit, the operating condition to the patient monitoring device;

de-associating, by the patient monitoring device, the unique identification of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit from the unique identification of the corresponding sensor unit; and

associating, by the patient monitoring device, the unique identification of the sensor unit with a unique identification of the second wireless communication and battery unit.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the pairing further comprises:

broadcasting, by the patient monitoring device, the unique identification of at least one wireless communication and battery unit;

and

transmitting, by the patient monitoring device, information in response to the request to the at least one wireless communication and battery unit.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein obtaining the unique identification comprises reading, by the patient monitoring device, a Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) from the at least one wireless communication and battery unit using a proximity based protocol, wherein the Universal Unique Identifier comprises a unique identification code of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the pairing further comprises:

transmitting the unique identification of the sensor to the patient monitoring device.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein maintaining the network connectivity further comprises:

de-associating, by the patient monitoring device, the unique identification of the sensor unit from the at least one wireless communication and battery unit; and

broadcasting, by the patient monitoring device, the unique identification of the sensor unit.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

attaching the second wireless communication and battery unit of the one or more wireless communication and battery units to the sensor unit;

receiving, by the second wireless communication and battery unit, the broadcasted message from the patient monitoring device; and

transmitting, by the second wireless communication and battery unit, a request to the patient monitoring device to be associated with the sensor unit.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein maintaining the network connectivity comprises:

broadcasting, by the patient monitoring device, the unique identification of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit and the unique identification of the corresponding sensor unit;

receiving, by the at least one wireless communication and battery unit, the broadcast signal from the patient monitoring device when the at least one the wireless communication and battery unit is within communicative range of the patient monitoring device; and

transmitting, by the at least one wireless communication and battery unit, a request to re-pair with the patient monitoring device.

23. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions executable by one or more processors to perform a method managing transfer of data in a medical body area network, comprising:

acquiring patient data via use of one or more sensor units disposed on a patient;

transmitting the acquired sensor data via one or more wireless communication and battery units, wherein the one or more wireless communication and battery units are detachably coupled to a corresponding sensor unit;

pairing the one or more wireless communication and battery units with a patient monitoring device, wherein the pairing comprises;

obtaining, by a patient monitoring device, a unique identification of at least one of the one or more wireless communication and battery units;

receiving, by the patient monitoring device, a request and the unique identification from the at least one wireless communication and battery unit;

obtaining, by the at least one wireless communication and battery unit, a unique identification of a sensor detachably coupled to the at least one wireless communication and battery unit;

associating the unique identification of the sensor with the unique identification of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit;

maintaining network connectivity between the one or more wireless communication and battery units and the patient monitoring device based on an operating condition of at least one wireless communication and battery unit of the one or more wireless communication and battery units, wherein maintaining the network connectivity comprises;

transmitting, by the at least one wireless communication and battery unit, the operating condition to the patient monitoring device;

de-associating, by the patient monitoring device, the unique identification of the at least one wireless communication and battery unit from the unique identification of the corresponding sensor unit; and

associating, by the patient monitoring device, the unique identification of the sensor unit with a unique identification of the second wireless communication and battery unit.