MX2014008584A - Wireless relay module for monitoring network status. - Google Patents

Abstract

A wireless relay module for networked communications between a series of medical devices and a remote monitoring device. An interface circuit coupled to each medical device communicates with the wireless relay module via a wireless relay network. The relay module communicates with the remote monitoring device over an internet-accessible wireless communication network. The controller determines a status of the networks. When the status indicates that the internet-accessible wireless communications network is available, a transmitter transmits medical device data over this network. When the internet-accessible wireless communications network is not accessible, another transmitter transmits the data to another wireless relay module. In addition, the controller obtains status information the two networks, and either transmits this information to one of the medical devices or prepares the information for display on a display of the wireless relay module.

Description

WIRELESS RELAY MODULE FOR SUPERVISING THE STATE OF NETWORKS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present application is directed to a wireless relay module for communication between a series of medical devices and remote monitoring devices, and more particularly, to a wireless relay module for receiving communications from and transmitting communications to medical devices via a or more wireless relay networks, for transferring the received communications from the remote monitoring devices via one or more wireless communication networks accessible via the Internet and for monitoring the state of the networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the centers of intensive care and home care health services that include hospitals, clinics, assisted living centers and the like, the interaction time of health professional-patient is very limited. On the other hand, response times by health professionals to significant health conditions and events can be crucial. Centralized supervision systems have been developed to better manage the healthcare professional's time and interaction with the patient. In these systems, the physiological data of each patient are transmitted to a centralized location. In this REF: 249883 centralized location, an individual technician or a small number of technicians supervise all this information of the patient to determine the status of the same. The information indicating an alarming condition of the patient will cause the technicians and / or the system to communicate with local health professionals to provide immediate attention to the patient, for example through wireless paging and / or cell phones and / or making a page audio of the entire installation.

The implementation of these centralized monitoring systems using wireless networks can present a variety of difficulties. In order to effectively monitor the patient's condition using information provided by a variety of medical devices that can be dynamically assigned to patients in a variety of rooms and in a variety of floors in a facility, it would be desirable to establish communications between the devices and the centralized location through a local area network such as, for example, a "WiFi" network based on IEEE 802.11 standards. However, as these networks are already typically operating in facilities to support a variety of other functions (eg, access of physicians to electronic medical records (EMRs), administrative systems of facilities and other functions) , it is often undesirable to ensure sufficient access to a local area network for the purpose of providing centralized supervision. On the other hand, when a patient is located in a location distant from an intensive care health service center (for example, in the home), access to traditional local area network facilities such as a WiFi network may not be available. available or may not be reliable enough to support intensive care monitoring applications.

As an alternative to conventional WiFi or IEEE 802.11-based local area networks, ZIGBEE networks based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for personal area wireless networks have been used to collect information from a variety of medical devices in accordance with Specializations of IEEE 11073 Devices for the communication of medical devices at the care site, including for example pulse oximeters, blood pressure measuring devices, pulse measuring devices, scales and glucose meters. See, for example, ZIGBEE Wireless Sensor Applications for Health, Nellness and Fitness, the ZIGBEE Alliance, March 2009, which is incorporated by reference in this document in its entirety. ZIGBEE networks provide the advantage that they are dynamically configurable, for example, in mesh configurations."self-healing" and that operate with low energy requirements (making it possible, for example, that ZIGBEE transceivers are integrally coupled to medical devices under battery power). However, the transmission ranges between individual ZIGBEE transceivers are generally limited to no more than several hundred meters (feet). As a consequence, these networks are not usable for centralized supervision locations located out of place. Also, in accordance with the applicable patient data privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), communication of information between supervised medical devices and central monitoring location It must be done safely.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a wireless relay module for providing communications over networks between a series of medical devices and remote monitoring devices. According to one embodiment of the invention, one or more medical devices (including, but not limited to, respirators, enteral feeding devices, pulse oximeters, blood pressure measuring devices, pulse measuring devices) , scales and glucose meters) are provided in a patient facility. A The interconnection circuit is coupled to each medical device and configured for communication with one of the plurality of wireless relay modules via one of the plurality of wireless relay networks. In addition, the wireless relay modules are advantageously configured to communicate with a remote monitoring device over one or more wireless communication networks accessible over the Internet, and preferably, wireless wide area networks (WWANs) such as a wireless network. mobile-data network (which includes, for example, a network based on a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or a cellular network of Multiple Access by Division of Code (CDMA, for its acronym in English) or associated wireless data channels or WiMAX networks). Also, in accordance for example with the HIPAA regulations, communications on each of the wireless networks are preferably conducted securely using, for example, data encryption and / or instructions.

Each of the wireless relay modules includes a receiver capable of wirelessly receiving data from medical devices of at least one medical device via the wireless relay network, a first transmitter capable of wirelessly transmitting data from medical devices to another of the wireless relay modules over the wireless relay network, a second transmitter capable of wirelessly transmitting data over a wireless communication network accessible via the Internet and a controller coupled to the first transmitter and the second transmitter. "Medical device data" as used generally herein means data from or about the medical device that includes, for example, identification of the medical device, software (hardware) of the medical device, settings or device status information. doctor (which includes alarm information and / or alarm priority), patient identification information, patient's personal identification number (s) "PIN (s)", patient prescriptions and / or medical and / or physiological data of the patient patient as they are collected, produced and / or generated by at least one of the medical device and the patient identification device; as well as information from the wireless relay network such as location or status information.

The controller is configured to facilitate the communication and management of the information transfer. For example, a first status module can determine an access state of the wireless communication network accessible via the Internet and the controller can select one of the first transmitter or the second transmitter based on those status and routing criteria. A second status module can determine a communication status on the wireless relay module. For example, when the state indicates that the wireless communication network accessible via the Internet is accessible to the wireless relay module, the controller according to the state selects the second transmitter to perform the transmission of data from medical devices via the network of wireless communication accessible via the Internet.

When the state indicates that the wireless communication network accessible via the Internet is not accessible to the wireless relay module, the controller selects the first transmitter to perform the transmission of the data from medical devices to another wireless relay module. The other or second wireless relay module can then access the wireless communication network accessible via the Internet. In this way, another attempt to transmit the data of medical devices on one of the wireless communication networks accessible over the Internet can be made by this other wireless relay module (and potentially additional modules of the wireless relay modules) until it is achieved. a successful transmission over the wireless communication network accessible via the Internet. It should be understood that, in accordance with the aspects detailed within the present description, employ additional receivers and transmitters in the module to communicate with different medical devices over different wireless relay networks.

Each of the plurality of wireless relay modules may also include additional receivers for receiving communications from the wireless communication networks accessible via the Internet.

Further in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention, information indicative of a network communication status of at least one of the wireless relay network and the wireless communication network accessible via the Internet can be transmitted to at least one of the medical devices and / or a device in communication with one of the wireless communication networks accessible via the Internet. The wireless relay module may include a screen that has a status indicator of network communications. The screen may further include an indicator of the accessibility status of communications over the wireless communication network accessible via the Internet and / or a representative indicator of a state of the wireless relay network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The invention will apparently be easier to understand from the Detailed Description of the Invention, which proceeds with reference to the figures, in which: FIGURE 1 presents a block diagram of a network architecture of an exemplary medical device incorporating a wireless relay module according to the present invention; FIGURE 2 presents a block diagram illustrating exemplary wireless network components of the architecture according to FIGURE 1; FIGURE 3A presents a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless relay module, exemplary in accordance with the present invention; FIGURES 3B-3D present schematic diagrams respectively illustrating the top, front and side views of a wireless relay module embodiment of FIGURE 3A; FIGURE 3E illustrates an exemplary control panel for the wireless relay module according to the present invention; FIGURES 4A-4D present flow charts illustrating exemplary methods of operation for the wireless relay module according to the present invention; FIGURE 5 presents a flow chart illustrating another exemplary method of operation for the wireless relay module according to the present invention; FIGURE 6 represents a schematic diagram illustrating an alternative, wireless, relay module to that represented in FIGURE 3A in accordance with the present invention; Y FIGURE 7 depicts a flow diagram illustrating yet another exemplary method of operation for the wireless relay module according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments for carrying out the invention. Examples of these exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the associated figures. While the invention is described in conjunction with those embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments described. Preferably, the invention is also intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

In the following description, specific details are set forth for the purpose of providing a complete understanding of the present invention. The present invention can be practiced without some or all of those specific details. In other cases, well-known aspects have not been described in detail with the purpose of not unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.

For the purpose of illustrating the present invention, exemplary embodiments are described with reference to FIGS. 1-7.

In this description and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an", "the" and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in this document have the same meaning as that commonly understood to a person of ordinary experience in the field to which this invention pertains.

A diagram of an exemplary architecture 100 for a system for monitoring medical devices in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIGURE 1. One or more medical devices 10 are provided in a patient facility 20 for monitoring the medical condition and / or for administer a medical treatment to one or more patients. The patient facility 20 may comprise a center of intensive care health services (eg, including hospitals, clinics, assisted living facilities and the like) that service a number of patients, a home facility to service one or more patients or a personal confinement (for example, a backpack) that can be attached to or used by an outpatient.

Associated with each medical device 10 is an interconnection circuit 15 that includes one or more of a transmitter and / or a receiver in the form of, for example, a transceiver, which transmits and respectively receives signals in an installation-oriented wireless network such as, for example, a Wireless Personal Area Network of Low Data Transfer or "LR-WPAN," a ZIGBEE network or other network of low power personal area such as a low power BLUETOOTH network, which exists or is currently under development or consideration. See, for example, Houda Labiod et al., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and WiMax, Springer 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. It should be understood that the interconnect circuit 15 may be contained within or may be disposed outside the medical device 10 in accordance with the present invention. Within the patient facility 20 one or more relay modules 30, 30a are also provided.

Each of the relay modules 30, 30a includes at least one transceiver configured to communicate with other relay modules 30, 30a in the wireless relay network 16. The relay modules 30a further include at least one second transceiver to communicate on the WWA with the access point 40. As further described in greater detail with respect to FIGURE 3A, each module 30a includes a first transceiver 31 having a respective receiver and transmitter for receiving signals from and for transmitting signals to the interconnection circuits 15 in one or more of the wireless networks oriented to the installation. Each relay module 30a, shown in FIGURE 3A, further includes a second transceiver 32 having a respective receiver and transmitter for wirelessly transmitting signals to and wirelessly receiving signals from an access point 40 via a network of wireless wide area or "WWAN".

WWAs suitable for use with the present invention include, for example, networks based on the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or the Code Wide Multiple Access Cellular Network (CDMA) or associated with wireless cellular standards 2G, 3G, 3G, 4G Long-Term Evolution, WiMAX of the Radiocommunication Sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R, for its acronym in English). See, for example, Vijay Garg, Wireless Communications & Networking, Morgan Kaufmann 2007, which is incorporated in this document as a reference in its entirety. Exemplary, adequate, additional WWANs include metropolitan area networks (MANs), campus area networks (CANs), local area networks (LANs) ), home area networks (HANs), personal area networks (PANs) and body area networks (BANs). It must be understood It is readily apparent that the relay module 30a may include additional transceivers to communicate with additional WWANs or wireless networks oriented to additional facilities as described in more detail with respect to FIGURE 6.

In accordance with HIPAA regulations, communication over each of the installation-oriented wireless network and WWAN is preferably conducted securely using encryption based on, for example, any one of a Connections Security Level protocol (SSL , for its acronym in English) and a Transport Level Security Protocol (TLS).

As illustrated in FIGURE 1, a suitable access point 40 usable with the present invention may include an input web server 41 that incorporates or otherwise accesses a transceiver (which is not shown) to communicate with the modules of relays 30a on a particular WWAN. The medical device data received by the incoming web server 41 on the WWAN is directed to a secure data storage server 42, which is configured for example to record the received data in association with identifying information of the associated medical devices. . "Medical device data" as generally used herein means data from or about the medical device that includes, for example, device identification. physician, medical device software, settings or status information of the medical device (which includes alarm information and / or alarm priority), patient identification information, patient's personal identification number (s) "PIN (s)" , prescriptions of the patient and / or medical and / or physiological data of the patient as they are collected, produced and / or generated by at least one of the medical device and the patient identification device; as well as wireless relay network information such as location or status information.

With reference once more to FIGURE 1, an outgoing web server 43 is configured, for example, to receive and qualify data retrieval requests submitted by one or more remote monitoring devices 61, 62 and 63 over a band network broad 50 (e.g., over the Internet), to request that the associated medical device data be retrieved from the secure data storage server 42 and format and transmit the recovered data or a portion thereof to one or more of the devices of remote monitoring 61, 62 and 63 for the display on screens of associated devices. It should be understood that any architecture for the access point 40 that makes it possible to receive, store and retrieve data from medical devices on a device screen of one or more of the devices of Remote monitoring 61, 62 and 63 is suitable for use in conjunction with the present invention. Variations of the exemplary structure may involve the use of a web server integrated with a data storage server.

FIGURE 2 presents a block diagram further illustrating exemplary components of the inventive architecture that are located within or otherwise associated with the installation of the patient 20. In FIGURE 2, a number of interconnecting circuits 15 and modules of Relays 30, 30a are arranged in a single, wireless relay network 16 within the patient facility 20 for purposes of illustration only. It should be understood that other interconnect circuits 15 and relay modules 30, 30a can communicate over other wireless relay networks similar to network 16 in the patient facility 20. In FIGURE 2, the interconnect circuits 15 and the modules relays 30, 30a are configured to communicate with each other via associated wireless links. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIGURE 2, network 16 is a self-configurable mesh network and may also be a self-healing mesh network such as a ZIGBEE-compatible mesh network based on the standard IEEE 802.15.4. However, the wireless relay network 16 or the additional wireless relay networks in the patient's facility they can be arranged according to a variety of other wireless local area network (WLAN) or WPAN formats including, for example, WiFi WLANs based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and BLUETOOTH WPANs based on the IEEE 802.15.1 standard.

In the illustrated wireless relay network 16, each of the interconnect circuits 15 includes a communication interconnection such as, for example, a wired communication interconnection, to an associated medical device 10. As previously stated, each of the relay modules 30, 30a includes at least one transceiver configured to communicate with other relay modules 30, 30a in the wireless relay network 16. Relay modules 30a further include at least one second transceiver to communicate over the WWAJN with the access point 40.

The use of a ZIGBEE mesh network for network 16 provides the advantages of being self-configurable when one or more interconnect circuits 15 and / or relay modules 30, 30a are added to the network and self-curable when one or more interconnection circuits 15 and / or relay modules 30, 30a are removed from or otherwise disabled in the network. The sub-groupings of the interconnection circuits 15 and the relay modules 30, 30a can be provided in a defined geographic space (for example, on an individual floor or within a region of a floor in a home or care facility). multiple floors).

FIGURE 3A provides a block diagram illustrating exemplary components of the relay module 30a. The relay module 30a of FIGURE 3A includes a first transceiver 31 for wireless communication with the interconnect circuits 15 and other relay modules 30, 30a in the WLA or WPAN network 16 of FIGURE 2 via an antenna 31a. The relay module 30a further includes a second transceiver 32 to communicate wirelessly with the access point 40 on the W AN via an antenna 32a. Each of the transceivers 31, 32 is in communication with a data processing circuit 33, which is configured to operate under the direction of a controller, for example, the processor 34, to accept data received by the transceivers 31, 32 and storing the received data in a memory such as a buffer element 35a. In addition, the data processing circuit 33 is further configured to recover data from the buffer element 35a under the direction of the processor 34 and provide the recovered data to a transceiver selected from the transceiver 31 or the transceiver 32 for the transition. For the purpose of making a selection, the processor 34 is configured to communicate with the respective status modules 31b, 32b of the transceivers 31, 32 for the purpose of determining a communication state of each of the transceivers 31, 32. One or more of the circuit data processing 33 and / or controller 34 may also preferably include commercially available encryption circuitry to encrypt data that is sent by transceivers 31, 32 and to decrypt data received by transceivers 31, 32, for example according to HIPAA requirements.

The processor 34 is also preferably in communication with a memory 35b for storing a program of operation of the processor 34 and / or data stored by and / or retrieved by the processor 34. The processor 34 is also in communication with an input / output circuit. 36, which provides signals to one or more display elements of the relay module 30a, for example, indicating a starting or current state of the relay module 30a, which includes a state of communication or connection to the WLA or WPAN network 16 or WAN. The input / output circuit 36 can also be configured to provide signals to indicate an A / C energy loss and / or to respond to signals provided by one or more input devices provided near one or more of the display elements .

The relay module 30a can preferably be provided as a small physical confinement with an integral plug and a power supply circuit, such that the relay module 30a can be plugged in. directly on and supported by a conventional wall outlet that provides commercial AC power. The relay module 30a may also preferably include a battery backup circuit of the subsystem (which is not shown) to provide uninterrupted power in the case of a short-term external power pause. Battery backup can also be advantageous, for example, for the use of the relay module 30a in an ambulatory mode which makes it possible for the patient to move within and potentially at a distance from the installation 20. In this configuration of the installation 20 , for example, any of the medical device 10, the interconnection circuit 15 and the relay module 30a can be transported conventionally on a mobile platform such as any backpack usable by the patient, vehicle or other transport vessel.

It is possible that the relay module 30 has a configuration substantially similar to the relay module 30a but excluding the transceiver for communication over the WWAN with the access point 40.

FIGURES 3B-3D illustrate respectively the top, front and side views of an exemplary module configuration 37 for the relay module 30a. The configuration 37 includes a housing 37a, which is shown in FIGURES 3B-3D configured essentially as a rectangular box or a prism. However, it should be noted that the housing can alternatively be configured in any of a variety of three-dimensional shapes having a sufficient interior volume to accommodate the associated circuits, having a surface area 37c on a front panel 37b of the housing 37a for placing a control panel 38 (as further illustrated in FIGURE 3E) and having a sufficient area on the rear panel 37d to provide a receptacle holder 37e and a plug 37f for supportably plugging the module configuration 37 into a receptacle or conventional connector. The plug 37f can also be provided in a modular and replaceable removable configuration that makes it possible for the 37f plugs to be configured in accordance with a variety of national or international standards.

FIGURE 3E illustrates an exemplary control panel 38 of the module configuration 37 that can constitute a portion of one or more of the display elements. The exemplary control panel 38 preferably includes, for example, an electricity switch 38a for powering and / or removing power from the module configuration 37 after it has been connected to a power supply, for example, it has been plugged into a conventional wall outlet or has been equipped with a backup subsystem of charged batteries. In addition, the control panel 38 preferably includes an alarm switch 38b which allows a user to activate and / or deactivate the sound of an audible alarm (e.g., a conventional buzzer, a bell or an audible sound generator and a loudspeaker). associated, which are not shown) which is coupled to an alarm circuit (which is not shown) that is configured to emit an alarm when, for example, an external AC power has been interrupted to the module configuration 37. The control panel 38 also includes one or more energy indicators 38c which may preferably be provided as one or more light emitting diode (LED) indicator segments which are activated when external power has been provided to the module configuration 37. Optionally, the indicator 38c can be activated intermittently or periodically when the AC power is lost (for example, by means of battery power of backup) to signal the loss of AC power.

The exemplary control panel 38 of FIGURE 3E also includes a battery indicator 38d to indicate a state of the battery backup circuit of the subsystem. For example, and as illustrated in FIGURE 3E, the battery indicator 38d may preferably include indicator segments 38h which may be selectively activated to indicate a capacity of the backup battery. The indicator segments 38h may also preferably be provided as LED segments or as one or more multi-colored LEDs for which the color is indicative of capacity. If implemented as individual segments 38h, the segments 38h can be activated, for example, to indicate that the backup battery is fully charged and some of the segments 38h can be progressively deactivated (e.g., proceeding downward from an end segment). top of the 38h segments) as the battery power decreases. In case the remaining battery power is insufficient to operate the module configuration 37, each of the segments 38h can be deactivated. Alternatively, indicator segments 38h may be provided as one or more multicolored LED segments (e.g., red, yellow and green). In operation, it is possible that all LED 38h segments are illuminated green indicating full charge of the backup battery and then are progressively deactivated in sequence as the battery charge levels are reduced to a first low energy threshold . Then, the LED segments 38h can be progressively illuminated in red sequence as the energy is further decreased so that all the LED segments are illuminated red when the battery power is no longer sufficient to power the configuration of the LED. Module 37 As further illustrated in FIGURE 3E, the control panel 38 may further include a relay module network indicator 38e to indicate a state of the portion of the LAN or PAN 16 network used to provide communication between the relay module 30a and its associated interconnect circuits 15 and medical devices 10. This relay module network status indicator 38e is preferably backlit with one or more multi-colored LEDs to indicate a relative "health" of the associated portion of the network (for example, using the "green color" to indicate a healthy network (for example, level of accessibility), "yellow" to indicate a network that has one or more problems but is still operable and "red" to indicate a network that is not operable and indicate an alarm condition). Optionally, the indicator element 38e may be intermittently or periodically activated when the portion of the WLAN or WPAN network 16 that provides the communication between the relay module 30a and its associated interconnect circuits 15 and the medical devices 10 has a relatively poor communication between these devices or is not available to support this communication. In addition, an audible alarm (for example, a conventional buzzer, a bell or an audible sound generator and an associated loudspeaker, which are not shown) can be initiated under these conditions.

Indicator elements 38f may also be provided, for example, in an order to indicate the status of the individual communication with medical devices 10 and / or other relay modules 30, 30a. For example, indicating elements may preferably be provided with multicolored LEDs 38g capable of illuminating, for example, a green segment for a healthy communication route, a yellow segment for a problematic operational communication route and a red segment to indicate a route of communication that is inoperative. Alternatively, the individual red, yellow and green LEDS can be used in place of the multi-colored LEDs.

A WWAN indicator 38j can preferably be provided to indicate a state of access to the WWAN network (using the "green color" to indicate a healthy network, "yellow" to indicate a network that has one or more problems but is still operable and "red color" to indicate a network that is inoperative and indicate an alarm condition). As shown in FIGURE 3E, the indicator 38j can be backlit preferably with one or more multi-colored LEDs. Optionally, the indicator element 38j can be activated intermittently or periodically, for example, when a signal strength of the WWAN network available for the module configuration 37 is too low to support the communication or is not available to support this communication. In addition, the audible alarm can be initiated under these conditions.

Finally, the control panel may include an LA / WPA indicator 38i to indicate a total health of the complete WLAN / WPAN network (or at least the portion available to provide an alternate route for the relay module 30a to the network WWAN). The WLAN / WPAN indicator 38i may preferably indicate a total state of the WLAN / WPAN network (using the "green color" to indicate a healthy network, "yellow" to indicate a network that has one or more problems but is still operable and "red color" to indicate a network that is inoperative and indicate an alarm condition). As shown in FIGURE 3E, the indicator 38i may be backlit preferably with one or more multi-colored LEDs. Optionally, the indicator element 38i can be activated intermittently or periodically when the signal strength of the WLAN network available for the module configuration 37 is too low or insufficient to support the communication. In addition, the audible alarm can be initiated under these conditions.

As previously indicated, the alarm switch 38b may be configured to allow a user to activate and / or deactivate completely the sound of one or more of the audible alarms, or for a specified period of time (similar to a "mute" function). from conventional clock alarm) the indicators of the module configuration 37 such as the indicators 38a-38j can be electrically connected preferably to the input-output circuit 36 shown in FIGURE 3A.

In addition, it is possible that the wireless relay module 30a employs, for example, hardware (physical components) or software to implement a codec of the International Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) H.323 to enable voice communication and / or video between a healthcare professional located near the wireless relay module and a distant technician. In this embodiment, the control panel of the wireless relay module 38 may optionally include microphone and horn elements (which are not shown) coupled to the codec to enable the module configuration 37 to be operated in a voice communication mode to allow voice communication, for example, between the healthcare professional and a user assistance technician in case of a problematic condition reported by one of the medical devices 10. Alternatively or in addition, the control panel 38 may include one or more of a camera element (which is not shown) and / or a display element (which is not shown) coupled to the codec that is operated in a visual communication mode. For example, the camera element can be used to transfer images from one or more medical devices 10 to one of the remote monitoring devices 61, 62 and 63 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4A presents a flow diagram 400 illustrating an exemplary method of operation for the architecture according to FIGURE 1 and components of the relay module 30, 30a of FIGURES 2 and 3A, in relation to the transmission of device data. doctors obtained from a medical device 10 to the access point 40. First, in step 402 of method 400, the medical device data is received in the first of the relay modules 30a of one of the interconnection circuits 15 and / or other relay modules 30, 30a on the wireless relay network 16. In step 404, the processor 34 of a relay module 30a determines whether the WWAN is accessible by that relay module 30a.

The determination of step 404 can be carried out in a variety of ways. For example, the processor 34 may interrogate the status module 32b of the transceiver 32 at the time of or after receipt of the medical device data to determine a status parameter that is indicative of access for the transceiver 32 to the WWAN (for example, example, the access for the transceiver 37 to the WWAN can be determined as a result of the transceiver 32 detecting a WWAN access signal having sufficient signal strength to maintain the data communication at a desired quality level). Alternatively, the processor 34 may interrogate the status module 32b at a different time including, for example, at system startup and / or periodically (e.g., hourly) and may maintain a status indicator such as in buffer 35a or other storage element that is recovered at the time of or after receipt of medical device data. In yet another alternative, a fixed, predetermined function can be assigned to the relay module 30, 30a within the network 16. For example, relay modules 30a in the network 16 can be assigned data routing assignments by the relay module 30a. a controller or control of the relay module or modules. By definition, the status of the WWAN for the relay module 30 that does not have WWAN access capability must have a fixed "WWAN inaccessible" status.

If, as provided in step 404, the status module 32b indicates that the WWAN is accessible by the transceiver 32, the processor 34 will proceed to step 406 to instruct the data processing circuit 33 of the relay module 30a to recover the medical device data of the buffer 35a (as necessary) and directing the data of medical devices to the transceiver 32 for transmission to the access point 40 on the WWAN.

Alternatively, in step 404, the status module 32b may indicate that the WWAN is not accessible by part of the transceiver 32. For example, if the relay module 30a is located in the basement of the building in an area that is substantially shielded from the WWA signals, the WWAN can not be accessible to the module of a relay 30a. In this case, in step 408, the processor 34 determines whether a second relay module 30a is accessible via the WLAN or WPAN. Again, this determination can be made in a variety of ways including by instructing the transceiver 31 to send a communication establishment signal transmission directed to a second relay module 30a and hear a response thereto or by retrieving an indicator of stored state for the second relay module 30a.

If the second relay module 30a is accessible, then the processor 34 instructs the data processing circuit 33 of a relay module 30a to retrieve the medical device data from the buffer 35a (as necessary) and send the data of medical devices to the transceiver 31 for transmission to the second relay module 30a over the WLAN or WPAN in step 410. Alternatively, if the second relay module 30a is inaccessible in step 408, this portion of the process 400 may be repeated preferably to look for an additional relay module 30a that is accessible. Alternatively, or in the case that another relay module 30a is not available, the processor 34 of a relay module 30a may preferably emit an alarm notification in step 412. Exemplary alarm notifications may include, for example, (i) one or more of the local visual and auditory alarms that are directed by the processor 34 via the input / output circuit 36 of the module of a relay 30a, (ii) alarm messages directed by the processor 34 to another WPAN, WLAN or WWAN accessible via one or more of the transceivers 31, 32 and / or (iii) alarm messages generated by the entry web server 41 of the access point 40 of FIGURE 1 after a specified period of time has been exceeded during which a communication establishment signal of the relay module 30a is due, but not received, on the incoming web server 41 of the wireless relay module 30a.

As previously described with reference to the control panel 38 of the relay module configuration 37 of FIGURE 3E, the relay module 30a is preferably provided with a relay module network indicator 38e to indicate a state of the portion of the relay module. the WLAN or WPAN network 16 of FIGS. 1, 2 used to provide communication between the relay module 30a and its associated interconnect circuits 15 and the medical devices 10. FIGURE 4B presents a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of operation 420 to generate the status information needed by the network indicator 38e of FIGURE 3E.

In steps 421, 422 of FIGURE 4B, the processor 34 of FIGURE 3A is instructed to retrieve a measurement or current module performance history, for example, of the memory 35b for each medical device 15 accessible to the relay module 30a via the WLAN / WPAN network 16. Performance measures may include, for example, a measured signal strength, noise, bit rate, error rate, packet removal rate, degree of occupancy, availability and the like. they are conventionally measured for WLAN / WPAN networks. See, for example, Pinto, NMM-Wireless Mesh Monitoring, Technical Report, INESC-ID, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for any purpose. In addition, the measured performance can take into account certain environmental information. For example, the relatively high operating ambient temperature of the relay module 30a, and the like, which can lead to possible data corruption of the medical device caused by this high ambient temperature.

In step 423, if the performance history is not sufficiently current (eg, as indicated by the timestamp data) and / or missing, the processor 34 in step 424 employs conventional means in the transceiver 31 (eg example, via state module 31b) to obtain current performance measurements by transmitting a request to and receiving current performance data from the circuit interconnection 15 of the associated medical device 10 and preferably stores the current performance measures as part of the performance history in the memory 35b. The term may preferably be determined in accordance with system performance requirements, regulators and / or other requirements for individual performance measures at prescribed time intervals (for example, for an interval older than 5 seconds, older than 1 minute, older than each more recent hour or the like), which can be stored in the memory 35b for recovery and reference by the processor 34.

After determining in steps 423 and 425 that current performance data have been obtained for each medical device accessible to the relay module 30a, the processor 34 in step 426 determines a current module status as a function of the performance data. current and performance history. For example, if the current performance data indicates that each medical device 10 is currently accessible to the relay module 30a, the performance history of the module indicates that the medical devices have been consistently accessible to the relay module 30a for a predetermined time. (for example, over a period of several hours) and the performance and / or degree of occupancy are within predetermined limits, the processor 34 can determine that the network of wireless relays 16 is "healthy" (indicated, for example, in step 427 by illuminating a green LED segment of indicator 38e).

If the current performance data indicates that each medical device 10 is currently accessible for the relay module 30a, but one or more of the devices 10 have a history of recent performance where one or more of the performance and / or degree of occupancy were out of the predetermined limits, the processor 34 can determine a "partially accessible" state (indicated, for example, in step 427 by illuminating a yellow LED segment of the indicator 38e). If one or more of the medical devices 10 are currently inaccessible to the relay module 30a, the processor 34 can determine an "inaccessible" state (indicated, for example, in step 427 when illuminating a red LED segment of the indicator 38e. ). In step 428, it can be determined by the processor 34 for example in view of the "partially accessible" or "inaccessible" states that an alarm condition has been generated, causing the processor 34 to present an alarm (for example, to the causing the yellow or red LED segments to be illuminated in a blinking manner and / or by providing one or more audible alarms as previously described.As an alternative for visualization of display status information in step 427, the processor 34 may cause that the transceiver 31 transmits the status information to one or more of the medical devices 10 or may cause the transceiver 32 to transmit the status information to a device in communication with the WWAN.

With additional reference to FIGURE 1, FIGURE 3E, FIGURE 4C presents a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method of operation 440 for generating the status information signaled by the WWAN indicator 38j of FIGURE 3E. In steps 441, 442 of FIGURE 4C, processor 34 of FIGURE 3A retrieves a WWAN performance history, for example, from memory 35b about the status of WWAN network 44. Performance measures may include, for example, example, a measured signal strength, noise, bit rate, error rate, call set-up delay, interrupted call rate, degree of occupancy and network availability and the like as conventionally measured for WWAN / cellular networks, by example via status module 32b of FIGURE 3A). See, for example, Mike P. Wittie et al., MIST: Cellular Data Network Measurement for Mobile Applications, Broadband Communications, Networks and Systems Fourth International Conference, IEEE, 2007, which is incorporated in its entirety as a reference in this document. for any purpose. In step 443, if the performance history is not current enough (for example, as indicated by the time stamp data), the processor 34 in step 444 employs conventional means in the transceiver 32 to obtain current performance measures when transmitting a request to and receiving data from the access point 40 of FIGURE 1 and preferably stores the performance measures current as part of memory performance history 35b. Alternatively, if the access point 40 and / or another device in communication with the WWAN 44 collects performance measurement data for the WWAN, the transceiver 32 may transmit a request to the access point 40 and / or another device to retrieve the data. performance.

After determining in step 443 that the WWAN performance data is current, the processor 34 in step 445 determines a current WWAN status as a function of the current performance data and the performance history. For example, if current performance data indicates that WWAN 44 is currently accessible for relay module 30a, the module's performance history indicates that WWAN 44 has been accessible to relay module 30a for a predetermined time (eg, example, several hours) and the performance and / or degree of occupancy are within predetermined limits, processor 34 can determine that WWAN 44 is "healthy" (indicated, for example, in step 446 by illuminating a green LED segment of the WWAN indicator 38j).

If current performance data indicates that WWAN 44 is currently accessible for relay module 30a, but has a history where one or more of the performance and / or degree of occupancy were outside the predetermined limits, processor 34 can determine a "partially accessible" status (indicated, for example, in step 446 when illuminating a yellow LED segment of the WWAN indicator 38j).

If the WWAN 44 is not currently accessible to the relay module 30a, the processor 34 can determine an "inaccessible" state (indicated, for example, in step 446 by illuminating a red LED segment of the WWAN indicator 38j). In step 447, which may be performed before or concurrently with step 446, it may be determined by the processor 34 for example in view of the "partially accessible" or "inaccessible" states that an alarm condition has been generated, causing the processor 34 to present an alarm (for example, by causing the yellow or red LED segments to be illuminated in a blinking manner and / or by providing one or more audible alarms as previously described.) As an alternative or in addition to the display of the display status information in step 446, the processor 34 may cause the transceiver 31 to transmit the status information to one or more of the medical devices 10 or may cause the transceiver 32 transmits the status information to a device in communication with the WWAN.

With reference once again to FIGURE 3E, FIGURE 4D presents a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of step 460 for generating the necessary status information by the LA / WPAN indicator 38i of FIGURE 3E to indicate a health total WLAN / WPAN (or at least the portion available to provide an alternate route for relay module 30a to the WWAN network). In steps 461, 462 and 464 of FIGURE 4D, the processor 34 of FIGURE 3A retrieves the current performance history of the memory module 35b for communication with each other relay module that is accessible to the relay module 30a via the WLAN / WPAN 16 network ("neighbor module").

As previously described, performance measures may include, for example, a measured signal strength, noise, bit rate, error rate, occupancy, availability, route usage and the like as conventionally measured for WLAN networks / WPAN (using, for example, the status module 31b of FIGURE 3A). Furthermore, in step 463, the processor operates the transceiver 31 to request that each neighbor module provide a WWAN status (prepared, for example, according to the method described with reference to FIGURE 4C.

In step 465, if the performance history in relation to neighboring modules is not sufficiently current (eg, as indicated by the timestamp data) and / or missing, the processor 34 in step 466 employs conventional means in the transceiver 31 to obtain current performance measurements when transmitting data to and receiving data from the neighboring modules and preferably stores the current performance measures as part of the performance history in the memory 35b. In addition, current performance measures can be obtained with respect to other adjacent devices, for example, that have a known or discernible performance (for example, a "beacons" network).

After determining in step 467 that the current performance data has been obtained for each accessible neighbor module for the relay module 30a, the processor 34 in step 468 determines a current module status as a function of the current performance data of neighboring modules (which include WWAN status of neighboring modules) and the performance history of neighboring modules. For example, if the current performance data indicates that each neighboring module 30a is currently accessible to the relay module 30a and has a WWAN status of "accessible", the performance history of the module indicates that the neighboring 30a modules have been accessible. for the relay module 30a for a predetermined period of time and the performance and / or degree of occupancy are within predetermined limits, the processor 34 can determine a "fully accessible" state (indicated, for example, in step 469 by illuminating a green LED segment of the WLAN / WPAM indicator 38i).

If the current performance data indicates that each neighbor module 30a is currently accessible for the relay module 30a, but one or more of the neighboring modules 20a have a recent performance history where the WWAN status was not accessible, the processor 34 may determining a "partially accessible" state (indicated, for example, in step 469 by illuminating a yellow LED segment of the WLAN / WPAN indicator 38i). If at least two of the neighboring modules 30a are not currently accessible for the relay module 30a, the processor 34 can determine an "inaccessible" state (indicated, for example, in step 469 by illuminating a red LED segment of the WLAN / WPAN indicator 38i). In step 470, it can be determined by the processor 34 for example in view of the "partially accessible" or "inaccessible" states that an alarm condition has been generated, causing the processor 34 to present an alarm (for example, to the cause the yellow or red LED segments to be illuminated in a blinking manner and / or by providing one or more audible alarms as previously described, as an alternative for viewing display status information in the Step 469, the processor 34 may cause the transceiver 31 to transmit the status information to one or more of the medical devices 10 or may cause the transceiver 32 to transmit the status information to a device in communication with the WWAN.

FIGURE 5 presents a flowchart 500 illustrating another exemplary method of operation 500 for the architecture according to FIGURE 1, in relation to the transmission of a message from the access point 40 that is received by one of the medical devices. This makes it possible for access point 40, for example, to communicate with medical devices for the purpose of downloading new firmware (firmware) or software, to respond to error messages initiated by medical devices (for example, for reset a device or remove it from service or to conduct device diagnostics) and to operate the medical device (for example, to adjust a flow rate in a feed pump).

In step 502 of the method 500, the message is received in the first of the relay modules 30a of the access point 40 via a WWAN. In step 504, the module of a relay 30a determines whether the message is intended to reach one of the interconnection circuits 15 and / or other relay modules 30, 30a located in the installation 20. This can be done, for example, by maintaining a list of devices active 15 and modules 30, 30a in the buffer 35a or in a manner otherwise accessible to the module of a relay 30a or when encoding an identifier of the device 15 or the module 30, 30a to include an identity of the installation 20 that it is stored in the buffer 35a or is otherwise identifiable for the module of a relay 30a.

If the module of a relay 30a determines in step 506 that the device 15 or the module 30, 30a is not located in the installation, the module of a relay 30 may preferably proceed to discard the message in step 508 and / or alert alternatively to the access point 40 with a non-delivery message. If the interconnection device 15 is located in the installation 20, the module of a relay 30a determines in step 510 whether the device 15 or the relay module 30, 30a is accessible to the module of a relay 30a via the WLAN or WPAN 16 (for example, when querying a list stored in the buffer 35a or otherwise accessible to the module of a relay 30a or when instructing the transceiver 31 to send a communication establishment transmission addressed to the interconnection device 15a, 15b and listen to an answer).

If the module of a relay 30a determines in step 512 that the device 15 or the relay module 30, 30a is accessible, then in step 514 it transmits the message via the network 16 to that device 15 or relay module 30. , 30a via the transceiver 31. In that case, the message may be broadcast again to all the devices 15 and modules 30, 30a in communication with the module of a relay 30a and each device 15 or module 30, 30a may decide to act on or ignore the message (for example, by matching an associated device identification or other identifier in the message). If the module of a relay 30a alternatively determines in step 512 that the relay module or module is not accessible, then proceeds to step 516 to determine whether a second relay module 30, 30a is accessible via the WLAN or WPA ( for example, by instructing transceiver 31 to send a communication establishment transmission addressed to the second relay module and listen for a response). If the second relay module 30, 30a is available, then the module of a relay 30a directs the message to the transceiver 31 for transmission to the second relay module 30, 30a on the WLAN or WPAN. If the second relay module 30, 30a is not accessible, then this portion of the process 500 may preferably be repeated to search for a third relay module 30, 30a that is accessible. Alternatively, or in case another relay module 30, 30a is not available, the module of a relay 30a may preferably emit an alarm notification in step 522, preferably in one of the same ways as described above with reference to method 400 of FIGURE 4A.

As illustrated for example in FIGURE 2, each relay module 30, 30a is capable of communicating with a number of medical devices 10 for a period of time. It is possible that communication with some of the medical devices 10 is where time would be the most important with respect to patient safety than others. For example, communication with medical devices 10 including each of a thermometer, a feed pump, a patient electrode and a ventilator should be considered. In this case, communication with the ventilator would be where time would be most important among the three medical devices, while communication with the thermometer could be less crucial among the three medical devices.

According to the IEEE standard 802.14.15, if the wireless relay network 16 is a ZIGBEE mesh network, then there is little risk that the communication of more than one medical device will contain simultaneous access to the wireless relay network 16. The network 16 operates with a protocol in which a transmission device checks the power in a wireless bus component of the network 16. If the bus bar is in use, the transmission device waits a pre-selected amount of time before checking again (for example, 10 to 20 milliseconds) and only proceeds to transfer data when the energy level suggests that no other Transmission is actively in progress on the wireless bus. However, for circumstances in which the data packets transmitted by the medical devices 10 reach a relay module 30, 30a at almost the same time, there may be a need to manage a supply order by the relay module 30, 30a.

For example, a medical device data pack of a ventilator that indicates the disconnection of a comatose patient should be considered, with a possible fatal outcome. In this case, the ventilator should be assigned priority for transmission to one or more of the remote monitoring devices 61, 62 and 63, while the medical device data transmissions of a thermometer and a pump are discontinued until a The response to the medical device data packet transmitted by the ventilator is received from one of the remote monitoring devices 61, 62 and 63. For example, the ventilator could be assigned a priority of 1, while the supply pump can be assigned a priority of 1. it assigns a priority of 2 and the thermometer is assigned a priority of 3. The assigned priority is preferably indicated in each data packet transmitted by and to the medical devices, for example, as a "half priority bite".

With reference to FIGURE 3A, the processor 34 can be configured to read the half priority bit of each data packet received and instructing the data processing circuit 33 to place the data packet in a logical position in the buffer 35a based on the priority designation. For example, crucial data packets (e.g., data packets that include an indication of a life-threatening condition) for the ventilator would be placed for the first recovery and transmission by the relay module 30, 30a and other packets of Data is placed in order according to your priority.

In addition, under circumstances where it may be necessary for urgent instructions to be transmitted by one of the anticipated remote monitoring devices 61, 62 and 63 based on an urgent data packet (eg, a data packet that includes an alarm) of the In the case of a ventilator, the wireless relay module 30, 30a may also discontinue the receipt of any new information from medical devices of other medical devices until the urgent instructions are transmitted and an associated alarm condition has been terminated or released.

The novel, wireless relay module disclosed in this document to provide communication over networks between a series of medical devices and a remote monitoring device provides a variety of distinct advantages compared to others. supervision systems. By employing wireless relay networks such as ZIGBEE networks based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, for wireless communication between medical devices 10 and relay modules 30, 30a according to one embodiment of the invention, the power requirements and size can be minimized so that the interconnection circuits 15 can be applied easily and cheaply and / or can be integrated with the medical devices 10.

By introducing relay modules 30a that are part of wireless relay networks and are able to directly access monitoring devices elsewhere via a WWA, access to and reliance on existing and potentially unreliable LAN facilities on a installation can be avoided. By incorporating qualities of relays into the relay modules 30, 30a that delay the communication of a first relay module 30a to a second relay module 30, 30a in case the access of the WWAN to the first relay module 30a has been committed, the present invention improves the reliability and makes possible the use of low cost, conventional cellular transceivers in the relay modules 30a for access to the WWAN.

FIGURE 6 depicts a block diagram illustrating exemplary components of an alternative configuration for the relay module 30a for the configuration of the relay module 30a shown in FIGURE 3A. The identical reference numerals in FIGURES 3A and (6) refer to identical components, eg, transceivers 31 and 32, data processing circuit 33, buffer 35a, memory 35b and processor 34. In FIGURE 6, as in FIGURE 3A, the relay module 30a includes a transceiver 31 to communicate wirelessly with the interconnect circuits 15 (shown in FIGURES 1 and 2) and other relay modules 30, 30a in a WLAN network or particular PA 16 (shown in FIGURE 2) via an antenna 31a. Also, in FIGURE 6, as in FIGURE 3A, the relay module 30a further includes a transceiver 32 to communicate wirelessly with the access point 40 over a particular WWAN (shown in FIGURE 2) via an antenna 32a.

The components added to the relay module 30a in the FIGURE 6 that are not present in FIGURE 3A include an additional transceiver 31c, similar to transceiver 31, for communication wirelessly via antenna 3 Id with interconnection circuits and other relay modules capable of communicating over a WLAN network or WPAN different from the network used by the transceiver 31. Correspondingly, the relay module 30a in FIGURE 6 still includes an additional transceiver 32c, similar to transceiver 32, for wireless communication via antenna 38d with an access point on a WWAN different from the WWAN used. by transceiver 32.

Each of the transceivers 31, 32, 31c and 32c is in communication with the data processing circuit 33, which is configured to operate under the control of the processor 34 to accept data received by the transceivers 31, 32, 31c and 32c and storing the received data in the buffer element 35a. In addition, the data processing circuit 33 is further configured to recover data from the buffer element 35a under the direction of the processor 34 and provide the recovered data to a transceiver selected from the transceivers 31, 32, 31c and 32c for transmission. For the purpose of making a selection, the processor 34 is configured to communicate with the respective status modules 31b, 32b, 31e and 32e of the respective transceivers 31, 32, 31c and 32c for the purpose of determining a communication state of the transceivers 31, 32, 31c and 32c. It should be understood that the data processing circuit 33 and the processor 34 can be implemented as integrated circuits, separate or chipsets or their functions can be combined and implemented in individual integrated circuits or chipsets.

The processor 34 is also preferably in communication with an input / output circuit 36, which provides signals to one or more display elements of the relay module 30a, for example, to indicate a status start or current of the relay module 30a, including the state of communication or connection with the WLAN or PA networks and the WWANs networks. The input / output circuit 36 can also be configured to provide signals to indicate a loss of A / C energy and / or to respond to signals provided by one or more input devices provided near one or more of the display elements.

A control panel usable for the module 30a of FIGURE 6 can be substantially similar to the control panel 38 shown in FIGURE 3E with the corresponding multiple indicators 38e to indicate the status of the different WLAN or WPAN networks and / or multiple indicators 38j to indicate the status of the different WWANs.

The configuration of the relay module 30a of the FIGURE 6 can be operated substantially similar to the configuration of the relay module 30a of FIGURE 3A by employing, for example, corresponding methods of operation to those depicted in FIGURES 4 and 5 that incorporate the use of a plurality of WWANs or networks WLAN or WPAN. However, in the realization of the operation methods for the relay module 30a of FIGURE 6, the steps depicted in FIGURES 4 and 5 can be employed with the additional transceiver selections of the additional transceivers 37 and 38. For example , FIGURE 7 represents a operating method 600 for the configuration of relay module 30a of FIGURE 6 which is analogous to method 400 of FIGURE 4A for the configuration of relay module 30a of FIGURE 3A. Methods 400 and 600 include substantially identical steps except that method 600 replaces steps 604 and 606 by steps 404 and 406 of method 400. The substituted steps 604 and 606 are similar to the corresponding steps 404 and 406 expanded to use the transceivers. 37 and 38 of FIGURE 6.

With reference to FIGURE 7, after the medical device data is received over a WLAN or PLAN network by the transceivers 31 or 37 of FIGURE 6 in step 402, the relay module 30a determines whether any WWAN is accessible by transceivers 32 or 38. If no WWAN is accessible, method 600 then proceeds to step 408 and performs substantially the same operations as those described with respect to steps 408, 410 and 412 of FIGURE 4A. Otherwise, if a WWAN is determined to be accessible in step 604 of FIGURE 7, method 600 proceeds to step 606. In step 606, method 600 transmits medical data over the available WWAN via transceiver 32 or 38 to the appropriate access point.

On the other hand, to the extent that in step 604 of FIGURE 7 there is more than one WWAN accessible then in step 606 the controller 33 of FIGURE 6 must determine in which Accessible WWANs must transmit medical data on any of the transceivers 32 or 38. This determination can be made by means of many different criteria or rules that include, for example, based on the signal strength, cost, time of the day, day of the week or preferences of a network administrator or another user.

It is possible to limit the configuration of the cellular transceivers to only the relay modules 30a in an installation, instead of the modules 30 and 30a. In addition, by providing the relay modules 30a in a compact confinement, the relay modules 30a are easily connected to commercial, reliable power sources and move easily when necessary to reconfigure the wireless relay networks in accordance with facility changes. . The portability for ambulatory use that is provided by the battery backup is an additional advantage.

Of course, it should be understood that while the present invention has been described with respect to the disclosed embodiments, numerous variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined in the claims. For example, the present invention may be based on any of a variety of current and future WPAN, WLAN and WWAN standards beyond those explicitly described herein. It must also be understood that it is possible to use exclusively relay modules 30a in the LAN or WPA 16 of FIGURES 1 and 2, with transceivers for communication with other relay modules as well as on the WWAN.

In addition, the respective interconnect circuits that can be used with the present invention can include components of and can perform the functions of the module 30 to provide greater flexibility in accordance with the present invention. In addition, numerous component configurations for the relay module 30a can be used with the present invention beyond the components shown in FIGURE 3. For example, an input-output buffer can be used with respective switches under the control of a processor for directing data from medical devices to transceivers 31, 32, 37 or 38 as necessary. On the other hand, it is intended that the scope of the present invention include all other foreseeable equivalents to the elements and structures as described herein and with reference to the figures of the figures. Accordingly, the invention should be limited only by the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims (20)

CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property:

1. A wireless relay module, characterized in that it comprises: a first receiver capable of wirelessly receiving data from medical devices over a wireless relay network of at least one medical device; a first transmitter capable of transmitting wirelessly the data of medical devices over the wireless relay network; Y a second transmitter capable of transmitting wirelessly the data of medical devices over a wireless communication network accessible via the Internet; a controller coupled to the first transmitter and the second transmitter, the controller is able to perform control of the wireless relay module to select one of the first transmitter or the second transmitter to perform the transmission of the medical device data received by the first receiver, wherein the first transmitter is additionally capable of transmitting information to at least the medical device indicative of a network communication status of at least one of the wireless relay network and wireless communication network accessible via internet.

2. The wireless relay module according to claim 1, characterized in that it also comprises: a screen that has a first indicator that indicates the status of network communication.

3. The wireless relay module according to claim 2, characterized in that it also comprises: a second receiver capable of receiving data on the wireless communication network accessible via the internet.

4. The wireless relay module according to claim 2, characterized in that it also comprises: a state module coupled to the second transmitter and to the controller, the status module is capable of determining a communication accessibility status over the wireless communication network accessible over the internet and providing the accessibility status to the controller.

5. The wireless relay module according to claim 4, characterized in that the screen further comprises a second indicator that is representative of the accessibility status of communication over the wireless communication network accessible over the internet.

6. The wireless relay module according to claim 2, characterized in that the screen further comprises a second indicator which is representative of a state of the wireless relay network.

7. The wireless relay module according to claim 1, characterized in that the wireless relay network is at least one of a ZIGBEE network or a Bluetooth network with relay capability.

8. The wireless relay module according to claim 1, characterized in that the wireless communication network accessible via the internet is a mobile communication network.

9. A wireless relay module, characterized in that it comprises: a first receiver capable of wirelessly receiving data from medical devices over a wireless relay network of at least one medical device; a first transmitter capable of wirelessly transmitting data from medical devices to a second wireless relay module over the wireless relay network; a second transmitter capable of transmitting wirelessly the data of medical devices over a wireless communication network accessible via the Internet; a controller coupled to the first transmitter and to the second transmitter, the controller is capable of performing the control of the wireless relay module to select one of the first transmitter or the second transmitter to perform the transmission of the data of, medical devices received by the first receiver, and a screen coupled to the controller, the screen is capable of displaying information that is indicative of the status of the network communication of at least one of the wireless relay network and the wireless communication network accessible via the internet.

10. The wireless relay module according to claim 9, characterized in that it also comprises: a first state module that is coupled to the second transmitter and the controller, the first state module is capable of determining a state of potential communication over the wireless communication network accessible over the internet and of providing the state of potential communication to the controller for select the first transmitter or the second transmitter based on the state.

11. The wireless relay module according to claim 10, characterized in that the screen is also capable of providing a status indication of a determined state of the potential communication over the wireless communication network accessible over the internet.

12. The wireless relay module according to claim 10, characterized in that it comprises in addition a second state module coupled to the first transmitter, the second state module is capable of determining a communication status on the wireless relay network.

13. The wireless relay module according to claim 12, characterized in that the screen is also capable of providing a status indication of the potential communication on the wireless relay network.

14. The wireless relay module according to claim 13, characterized in that the wireless relay network is at least one of a ZIGBEE network and a Bluetooth network with relay capability.

15. The wireless relay module according to claim 9, characterized in that the wireless communication network accessible on the internet is a mobile communication network.

16. The wireless relay module according to claim 9, characterized in that the first transmitter is also capable of transmitting information to at least the medical device that is indicative of the state of the network communication of at least one of the wireless relay network and wireless communication network accessible via internet.

17. A process for operating a relay module in a wireless medical device network, characterized in that it comprises the steps consisting of: receiving medical device data from at least one medical device over a wireless relay network; determining a state of a wireless communication network accessible via the internet in communication with a first transmitter of the relay module; transmitting the data of medical devices of at least the medical device over the communication network by means of the first transmitter if the determined state satisfies a particular criterion; transmitting the medical device data of at least the medical device by means of a second transmitter in communication with the wireless relay network to a second relay module on the wireless relay network if the determined state fails to meet the particular criteria; determine information that is indicative of the status of the network communication of at least one of the wireless relay network and the wireless communication network accessible via the internet.

18. The process according to claim 17, characterized in that it also comprises the step consisting of: display the determined information that is indicative of the state of the network communication.

19. The process according to claim 17, characterized in that it also comprises the step consisting of: transmit the determined information that is indicative of the network communication status to at least the medical device.

20. The process according to claim 17, characterized in that it also comprises the step consisting of: transmitting the determined information that is indicative of the network communication status via the first transmitter to a device in communication with the wireless communication network accessible via the internet.