MX2014008678A

MX2014008678A - Remote monitoring systems and methods for medical devices.

Info

Publication number: MX2014008678A
Application number: MX2014008678A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Joel D Wiesner; Stacey B Harrington
Original assignee: Covidien Lp
Priority date: 2012-01-18
Filing date: 2013-01-15
Publication date: 2014-10-24
Also published as: AU2013205106A1; ZA201405228B; CN104067306A; JP2015512175A; KR20140105011A; IL233633A0; RU2014129938A; EP2805299A4; BR112014017564A8; CA2861619A1; WO2013109517A1; EP2805299A1; BR112014017564A2; SG11201404133RA

Abstract

A remote monitoring system for monitoring a plurality of medical devices at a patient care or home care facility. The system includes a device integration server in communication with wireless relay modules for receiving data packets from the medical devices including an identifier and data for each medical device. The system also includes an outbound web server. The web server is configured to provide webpages including the data of the medical devices for display on first and second remote monitoring devices, subject to authentication of an associated data request from the monitoring device.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF REMOTE MONITORING FOR DEVICES DOCTORS Field of the Invention The present application relates to a remote monitoring system for monitoring medical devices in communication with a wireless communication network and, more specifically, to a remote monitoring system having various monitoring devices for monitoring medical devices communicating with the network of wireless communication through one or more wireless relay modules and a wireless relay network.

Background of the Invention In intensive care or home care health centers, such as hospitals, clinics, homes for the disabled, and the like, the time of interaction between patients and caregivers is often very valuable. In addition, caregiver response times to events and significant health problems can be critical. Centralized monitoring systems have been developed to better manage the caregiver's time and interaction with the patient. In the systems, the physiological data of each patient is transmitted to a centralized location. In this central location, a single technician, or a few, control all the information about patients Ref. 249953 to determine its status. The information indicating a patient's alarm condition will cause the technicians and / or the system to communicate with the local caregivers so that they provide immediate attention to the patient, for example through wireless locators and / or cell phones, and / or performing a called by audio throughout the center.

Implementing centralized monitoring systems using wireless networks can present some difficulties. To effectively monitor a patient's condition using the information provided by various medical devices that can be assigned to patients dynamically in different rooms and in different floors in a center, it would be desirable to establish communications between medical devices and centralized location through of a local area network, for example a "WiFi" network based on IEEE 802.11 standards. However, as networks are typically already in place in the centers to support a number of different functions (eg, physician access to electronic medical records (EMRs), administrative systems of the center and other functions), It is usually not convenient to ensure sufficient access to the local area network in order to provide centralized monitoring. In addition, when a patient is located remotely from a critical medical services center (for example, domiciliary), it is possible that access to Traditional local area network installations, for example a WiFi network, are not available or are not reliable enough to support critical care monitoring applications.

To improve the efficiency of centralized monitoring of home care and critical care services, it may be desirable to provide a single centralized monitoring location off-site to monitor several geographically dispersed critical medical service centers.

As an alternative to conventional WiFi or IEEE 801.11-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 various medical devices according to the specializations of medical devices. IEEE 11073 for the communication of medical devices in the center of attention, including, for example, pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitors, pulse monitors, scales and glucose meters. See, p. ex. , ZIGBEE Wireless Sensor Applications for Health, Wellness and Fitness, the ZIGBEE Alliance, March 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Compared to the current IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth wireless personal area networks, for example, ZIGBEE networks provide the advantage of being dynamically configurable, for example in "self-repairing" mesh configurations, and operate with low power requirements (allowing, for example, that ZIGBEE transceivers be integrally linked to medical devices with battery power). However, the transmission range between individual ZIGBEE transceivers is usually limited to no more than several hundred feet. As a consequence, the networks are suitable for communications with medical devices in the facilities, but they are unusable for the centralized monitoring locations located outside the facilities.

Therefore, a hybrid system can be used in which one or more wireless personal area networks are configured to facilitate on-site communications between medical devices and one or more wireless relay modules, which are also configured to communicate with centralized monitoring systems outside the facilities (for example, through a wireless wide area network (WWAN) as a mobile data network, for example, based on a global system for communications mobile (GSM) or code division multiple access cellular network (CDMA) or associated wireless data channels). The relay module and system are respectively described in the related patent applications entitled "Wireless Relay Module for Remote Monitoring Systems" ["Wireless Relay Module for Remote Monitoring Systems"], US Application Serial No. 13 / 006,769, filed January 14 of 2011 and "Medical Device Wireless Network Architectures" ["Wireless Network Architectures for Medical Devices"], US Application Serial No. 13 / 006,784, filed January 14, 2011) which are incorporated herein by reference to all effects.

In accordance with the current provisions on the privacy of patient data under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the communication of information between monitored medical devices and the centralized monitoring location must be made In a safe manner, the medical device and the associated patient information should be available only to personnel accessing centralized monitoring systems, who have the appropriate access credentials. To be viable, the centralized monitoring system must also be able to recognize medical device information that indicates a warning condition, which requires response from personnel at the facility or from other personnel specialized, and communicate with the staff at the facilities or specialized to inform the alert condition in a timely manner.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a centralized, remote medical information monitoring system that communicates through a wide-ranging wireless network (e.g., a wireless wide area network) with one or more health care service centers intensive and / or home care through one or more wireless relay modules in each center, where the wireless relay modules relay communications provided by medical devices in the facilities through a wireless local area network or network of wireless personal area. It would also be desirable for the centralized medical information monitoring system to be able to configure medical devices according to associations with individual centers and patients, to record communications of medical devices, to display the data of the medical device to users of the medical system. monitoring of centralized medical information that can provide sufficient credentials and to recognize alert conditions of the medical device and to transmit these conditions to the responsible personnel in a timely manner.

Brief Description of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote monitoring system and method for monitoring the status of several medical devices remotely located with respect to the monitoring system in a medical care or home care center. 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 monitors, etc.) are provided in a home health care or home care center. pulse monitors, scales and glucose meters). An interface circuit is coupled to each medical device and is configured to communicate with one of a plurality of wireless relay modules via a wireless retransmission network. The wireless relay modules are additionally configured to communicate with the remote monitoring device over a wireless communication network with Internet access and, preferably, a wide area wireless network (WWA), for example a mobile data network ( even, for example, on the basis of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) or code division multiple access cellular network (CDMA) or associated wireless data channels). In addition, to comply, for example, with HIPAA regulations, communications for each of the networks wireless are preferably carried out safely.

The remote monitoring system and method includes a device integration server in communication with the wireless relay modules to receive data packets from the wireless relay modules, including information provided by the medical devices. This information includes the identification of an associated medical device and may include data from the medical device, and is preferably encrypted or otherwise securely transmitted, for example, in accordance with the current provisions on privacy of patient data. HIPAA In addition, the information may include patient identification information encrypted or otherwise securely transmitted, which, in addition, may preferably be encoded in its non-encrypted state to avoid any reference to the patient's identity.

The remote monitoring system also includes a data management system that includes a secure device web server and a device control database, and an external web server. The data management system is configured to record the information provided to the device integration server on the medical devices. The web server external (alternatively referred to herein as "web server") is configured to provide web pages that include the data of the medical devices to be displayed on a first and a second remote monitoring device, subject to the authentication of a data request associated originating in a monitoring device. The second monitoring device, conveniently, may be for use by a relative of the patient, such as a parent, caregiver or nurse, who may be located near or far away from the patient.

In accordance with another aspect of the concepts described herein, a system for enabling remote monitoring of at least one medical device includes a device integration server in communication with at least one wireless relay device configured to transmit data packets that They contain information provided by at least one medical device. Each data packet includes data from the medical device and at least one identifier of the medical device or a patient identifier. The system additionally includes a web server separated from the device integration server. The web server is configured to provide web pages and to receive at least medical data.

In one mode, the web server is coupled to a first remote monitoring device through a secure Internet connection and is configured to receive the data from the medical device and to transmit the data from the medical device to the first remote monitoring device. In one embodiment, the first remote monitoring device displays the data of the medical device.

In one embodiment, the web server additionally transmits at least a part of the data of the medical device to a second remote monitoring device to display the part of the medical device data in the second remote monitoring device.

In one embodiment, the system additionally includes a data management system coupled to the integration server of the device. The data management system includes at least one control database of the device.

In one embodiment, the web server is configured to verify the identifier of the patient and the identifier of the medical device before transmitting the data from the medical device to the first remote monitoring device through the secure Internet connection.

In one embodiment, the web server is configured to transmit the data part of the medical device to the second remote monitoring device through a path that includes a wireless data link.

In one embodiment, the wireless data link is through a wireless mobile data network.

In one embodiment, the second remote monitoring device is a portable communication device of at least one of a cellular telephone, a tablet computer or a portable computer.

In one embodiment, the web server is configured to transmit to at least one of the first and the second remote monitoring device, status information on a wireless relay network associated with the wireless relay device.

In accordance with another aspect of the concepts described herein, a system for enabling remote monitoring of at least one medical device includes a device integration server in communication with at least one wireless relay device configured to transmit data packets that they contain information provided by at least one medical device, characterized in that each data packet includes data identifying medical device data and at least one of a medical device identifier and a patient identifier and a web server configured to provide web pages to receive at least the data of the medical device and, subject to verification of the identifier of the patient and the identifier of the medical device, transmitting the data of the medical device to the first and the second remote monitoring device through a secure Internet connection to display the data of the medical device to the first monitoring device and to the remote one.

In one embodiment, the system further includes a network state server configured to transmit to at least one of the first or second remote monitoring device, status information on a wireless relay network associated with the wireless relay device.

In one mode, the network state server is located in a different geographical location than the web server.

According to another aspect of the concepts described herein, a method for displaying medical device data through a medical device monitoring system, which method includes receiving credentials from a user of a first monitoring device and a request of the information user of the medical device for a patient that will be monitored and verify that the user is authorized to receive the imation from the medical device. In response to obtaining the verification, then, (a) identify, based at least on the credentials and in the application, an address for a secure patient database that has imation about the patient.

In one embodiment, the method further includes (b) recovering patient data and identification data of the associated medical device by a web server from the patient database via a secure communications link and (c) retrieving data from the device. doctor of a device control database for at least one medical device according to the recovered medical device identification data.

In one embodiment, the method further includes (d) transmitting the medical device data retrieved by the web server to display on the first monitoring device and (e) transmitting at least a part of the data of the medical device to a second monitoring device. Remote monitoring to show on the remote monitoring device.

In one embodiment, the part of the medical device data transmitted to the second remote monitoring device includes status imation on a relay network Wireless associated with a wireless relay device.

In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving from the wireless relay module status imation on a wireless relay network associated with a wireless relay device.

In one embodiment, the status imation on a wireless relay network refers to at least one of signal strength, data rate, recording of the specific transmission time, number of active relay modules in the wireless relay network and a unique identifier number for a specific relay module.

In one embodiment, transmitting the part of the data of the medical device to the second remote monitoring device includes encrypting the part in the part of the medical device data.

In one embodiment, transmitting the recovered medical device data to display in the first monitoring device further includes encrypting the data of the medical device with a first encryption technique, and with the characteristic that transmitting the part of the medical device data to the The second remote monitoring device includes encrypting the part of the medical device data using a second encryption technique, with the characteristic that the first encryption technique differs from the second technique of encryption. encryption According to another aspect of the concepts described herein, a system for enabling remote monitoring of at least one medical device includes an access point in communication with at least one wireless relay device and a care database node separate medical The access point includes a device integration server coupled to a database that has stored the data of the medical device. The access point further includes a secure device server coupled to the device integration server. The health care database node includes a secure patient server coupled to a patient database that has patient data stored. The secure patient server is coupled through a secure link to the secure device server of the access node.

By separating the data from the medical device and the patient data that will be stored and managed respectively by the access point and the health care database node, certain economies of scale can be achieved by configuring the access point for support various different health care centers, where each maintains its own secure health care database node to ensure privacy and control of your associated patient data.

Brief Description of the Figures The invention will become apparent from the Detailed Description of the Invention, which refers to the figures, in which: Figure 1 presents a block diagram of an exemplary remote monitoring system for monitoring medical devices remotely in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 presents a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for registering medical devices with the remote monitoring system according to Figure 1; Figure 3A presents a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for recovering and viewing medical data through the remote monitoring system according to Figure 1; Figures 3B-3D illustrate exemplary screen displays for retrieving and viewing medical data according to the method of Figure 3a; Figure 4A presents a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for issuing a command to a medical device through the remote monitoring system according to Figure 1; Figures 4B and 4C illustrate exemplary screen displays for sending commands to a device doctor according to the method of Figure 4A; Figure 5A presents a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for recognizing and reporting an alert condition according to the medical data recorded through the remote monitoring system according to Figure 1; Fig. 5B illustrates an exemplary screen display for selecting a receiver to receive an alert message according to the method of Fig. 5A; Y Figure 6 presents a block diagram of an exemplary server computer or device suitable for use in the remote monitoring system according to Figure 1.

Detailed description of the invention In the following, reference will be made, in detail, to exemplary embodiments of the invention, including those which the inventors consider to be the best ways to carry out the invention. Examples of these example modalities are illustrated in the accompanying figures. While the invention is described together with these embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments described. Instead, the invention is also intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the attached claims.

In the following description specific details are presented to provide a total understanding of the present invention. The present invention can be carried out without some or none of these specific details. In other instances, known aspects have not been described in detail so as not to hinder the present invention unnecessarily.

For the purpose of illustrating the present invention, exemplary embodiments are described with reference to Figures 1-6.

In this description and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless otherwise indicated, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

A diagram of an exemplary system 100 for medical monitoring devices according to the present invention is illustrated in Figure 1. For example, one or more medical devices 10 are provided in a patient care center 20 to monitor the medical condition and / or provide medical treatment to one or more patients. He Patient care center 20 can comprise a center of intensive care health services (for example, which includes hospitals, clinics, homes for the disabled and the like) that provide services to several patients, health houses that provide services to one or more patients, or personal spaces (for example, backpacks) that can be attached or used by an outpatient. Some examples of medical devices include, but are not limited to, respirators, urology devices, power supply devices, pulse oximeters, predictive thermometers, tympanic thermometers, patient electrodes, and feeding pumps.

With each medical device 10 there is a circuit of the associated interface 15 which includes a transceiver having one or more than one transmitter and / or a receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving signals in a wireless network oriented to the center 17, for example wireless networks of personal area with low transmission rates or "LR-WPA, for its acronym in English" network ZIGBEE or other network of personal area of low consumption, for example a Bluetooth network of low consumption, existing or currently under development or consideration. See, p. ex. , Houda Labiod et al., Wí-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and WiMax, Springer 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. It should be understood that the interface circuit 15 may be included inside or outside of the medical device 10, according to the present invention.

Within the patient center 20 are also provided one or more relay modules 30. Each relay module 30 includes a first transceiver for receiving signals and transmitting signals to the circuits of the interface 15 in the wireless network oriented to the center 17, and includes additionally a second transceiver for transmitting signals and receiving signals from an access point 40 through a wireless wide area network ("WWAN") 52. WWANs suitable for use with the present invention include, for example, networks on the basis of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) or code division multiple access cellular network (CDMA) or associated with the wireless standards iMAX 2G, 3G, 3G, long-term evolution (LTE, for its acronym in English ), 4G, of the radiocommunication sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R, for its acronym in English). See, p. example, Vijay Garg, Wireless Communications & Networking, Morgan Kaufmann 2007, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference. In order to comply with HIPAA standards, communications for each center-oriented wireless network and WWAN are preferably carried out securely using, for example, a secure connection layer (SSL) protocol or protocol. security of the transport layer (TLS) or other cryptographic protocols.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the access point 40 usable with the present invention includes an input server ("device integration server") 41 that incorporates or otherwise has access to a transceiver to communicate with the modules of relay 30 by the WWAN. The data of the medical device, the identifier of the medical device and / or the patient identifier received by the integration server of the device 41 through the WWAN are sent to a web server of the secure device 42, which is configured, for example, for recording the received data on the identification information of the associated medical devices in a control database of the device 44. As generally used herein, "medical device data" refers to the medical device data or about this including, for example, medical device identification, medical device software, configuration information or medical device status (including alarm information and / or alarm priority), patient identification information, number (s) ) of the patient's personal identification "PIN (s)", for its acronym in English, indications for the patient, and / or medical information and / or physiological of the patient as they are collected, produced and / or generated by the minus a medical device and patient identification device; as well as wireless relay network information, such as location or status information.

The external web server 43 is configured, for example, to receive and qualify the retrieval requests for data sent by one or more of the first remote monitoring device 62 through a broadband network 50 (e.g., through the Internet) and / or the second remote monitoring device 70, 75 through a wired or wireless wide area network. It is convenient that the requests are made in an encrypted format. The appropriate encryption formats that can be used for the requests may include, for example, formats that comply with the HIPAA standards described above. For each qualified request, the external web server 43 requests that data from the associated medical device or parts thereof be retrieved from the control database of the device 44 through the web server of the secure device 42, requests the associated program data for constructing a display page from a metadata and from the database of the application 46 and requesting that the associated patient data from a patient database 66 provided in a health care database node be retrieved 60 through a secure link 54 through a secure patient web server 64. It you can implement the secure link 54, for example, as another WWAN using an SSL protocol or a TLS protocol. By separating the data from the medical device and the patient data that will be stored and managed respectively by the access point 40 and the health care database node 60, certain economies of scale can be achieved by configuring the point of access 40 to support various different health care centers, where each maintains its own secure health care database node 60 to ensure privacy and control of its associated patient data.

In this case, for example, an external service provider can host the access point 40 to simultaneously support several different health care and / or home care centers, which eliminates the need for each of these centers set up and maintain your own private access point installation and provide hosting service to each center that will likely cost much less than what it would cost to set up and maintain dedicated access point facilities for each care center provider. However, it should be noted that, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the access point 40 and the medical care database node 60 can, however, be integrated in a single access point or node (for example). example, by a provider of a provider of very large-scale centers that monitor several hundred or thousands of patients). In either case and as further described herein, the outer web server 43 provides an interface for authenticated physicians or other monitoring personnel to retrieve patient and medical device data from each of the base node of the patient. health care data 60 and the access point 40 in a convenient and transparent manner, so that the details of the settings and operation of the access point 40 and the health care database node 60 have no consequences for the doctors or other monitoring personnel.

It is intended that the first remote monitoring devices 62 be for use by health care providers, eg, physicians, technicians, nurses and other health care specialists monitoring patients associated with medical devices 10. The first remote monitoring devices 62 suitable may include, for example, laptops or desktops, tablet computers, smart or other cell phones or other devices with fixed or portable displays. It is intended that the second remote monitoring devices 70, 75 be used conveniently by the caregivers and / or relatives of the patient, as parents, located close to the patient, such as in a home care setting or a small health care center, or nurses in larger health care facilities, p. ex. , hospitals. Also, suitable second remote monitoring devices 70, 75 may include, for example, laptops or desktops, tablet computers, smart or other cell phones or other fixed or portable communication devices.

In addition, the external web server 43 is illustrated coupled to a network state server 80, which monitors the state of the wireless network oriented to the center 17 and the associated medical devices 10. The network state server 80 is intended to provide information of state about the wireless network oriented to the center 17 and the associated medical devices 10 to the external web server 43. The exemplary state information about the wireless network oriented to the center 17 includes, for example, signal strength, data rate, records of the specific transmission time between the modules comprising the network 17, number of active relay modules in the network 17, unique identifier number for a specific relay module of the network 17.

Network state server 80 can be implemented on hardware or software running on a processor or computer specific to the application or for general purposes, as part of or separated from the external web server 43. In addition, the network state server 80 is shown coupled to the external web server 43 for the purpose of facilitating the illustration and the effects of the debate only. The network status server 80 may be coupled to any component or network of the access point 40 or wireless network oriented to the center 17 according to the invention.

In Figure 1, after recovering the requested medical device data and the patient data from the health care database node 60, the external web server 43 then proceeds to format and transmit the medical device data and the patient data. recovered patients (and / or provide status information about the wireless network oriented to the center 17 and the associated medical devices 10) as respective web pages or other formats to be displayed by the first and second corresponding remote monitoring devices 62, 70, 75 according to the recovered program data. It is possible that web pages or other formatted information to display include the same or different content and format for the user of the remote monitoring device provided according to the retrieved program data. For example, the device data Detailed medical information provided and displayed on a first remote monitoring device 62 for a physician may differ from the less detailed information provided and displayed on a second remote monitoring device 70 monitored by a relative or nurse at home or other health care professional in a home care environment. The status information about the wireless network oriented to the center 17 and the associated medical devices 10 can be conveniently provided to the first and / or second remote monitoring device 62, 70 and 75 in the same or different encrypted format, as appropriate. consider adequate.

In addition, and as will be further described herein, the integration server of the device 41 of Figure 1 is configured to transmit information and commands to the relay modules 30, for example, to transmit messages from the medical device or alert to others. nodes reachable by WWAN (for example, cell phones of emergency assistants) and / or for transmitting operation commands and / or software or firmware updates to medical devices 10 through the circuits of the interface 15 and the oriented wireless network to center 17.

On the other hand, in addition to monitoring and sending commands to medical devices, you can also configure the device integration server 41 for receiving and analyzing information on patient measurements from the secure patient web server 64 through the external web server 43 and the web server of the secure device 42, or through a direct secure data link and alternative to the secure patient web server 64 to avoid unsafe use of medical devices based on information from the patient's measurements. It is possible that a database (not shown), which can be accessed, for example, by the device integration server 41 and / or the device web server 42, stores various operating parameters and safe conditions and Not sure to perform the analysis. In this way, the integration server of the device 41 would function as an additional security mechanism to avoid operating errors that could result in harm to the patient.

For example, in the event that information from the patient's measurements indicate that an enteral feeding pump is associated with a neonate, the integration server of the device 41 may act, for example, to (1) eliminate remote monitoring commands who schedule a large bolus or excessive feeding rates that could be harmful to a young child; and (2) provide a warning message or other notification to the user about the probably unsafe condition of use that It could result from the application of the comment. Alternatively, if the patient's measurement information indicates that a specific bolus fee or bolus amount has been prescribed by a physician, then the device integration server may act to eliminate the remote monitoring commands that program a rate or bolus. that deviates from what is prescribed.

Fig. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 200 according to the invention for registering medical devices 10 in system 100 of Fig. 1. Method 200 begins in step 202, in which an authorized technician or other personnel having access to one of the remote monitoring devices 62, 70, 75 provides authentication credentials (eg, a recognized user and key) to the external web server 43 and the web server responds by transmitting a device configuration screen to the device. remote monitoring 62, 70, 75 that requests identification information of the medical device and associated patient identification information.

In step 204, the external web server 43 preferably queries the metadata and database of the application 46 in accordance with one or more of the identification information for the technician and / or the identification information for the patient to identify a associated health care database node 60 of several nodes database of medical care for the patient and registering a destination address for the associated health care database node 60 in the metadata and database of the application 46 in association with the identification data for the device doctor 10 and / or identification information for the patient. The identification information for the patient is preferably generated anonymously (for example as a random number) and transmitted in step 206 to the health care database node 60 for association with the patient's stored patient identification information. safe way. In step 208 of method 200 of FIG. 2, the external web server 43 requests that the web server of the secure device 42 allocate an area of the control database of the device 44 to record the data of the associated medical device for the device. medical 10 when they are received by the device integration server 41, so that they can then be retrieved by the external web server 43 after receiving an authorized request from an authenticated user operating one of the remote monitoring devices 62, 70, 75 The person skilled in the art should readily understand that step 204 of method 200 for identifying and storing the address of health care database node 60 can be omitted according to the invention if a single health care database node with system 100 of Figure 1.

Figure 3A presents a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 300 according to the invention for retrieving and viewing the data of the medical device in a remote monitoring device 62, 70, 75 for a registered medical device 10 according to the system of Figure 1. Method 300 begins at step 302 with a first authorized user, who has access to one of the first remote monitoring devices 62, which provides authentication credentials (eg, a recognized user and key) to the server In addition, in step 302, a second authorized user, having access to one of the second remote monitoring devices 70, 75 also provides respective authentication credentials to the external web server 43.

In step 304, based on the verification of the authentication credentials of the first and second authorized users, the external web server 43 consults the metadata and the database of the application 46 to identify the address of the care database node 60 to which the respective first and second authorized users have the right to access and, in step 306, request data from the database node of medical care 60 in relation to at least one identified patient for whom the first and second users are respectively authorized to view the data of the medical device, including, for example, a list of medical devices 10 that are currently associated with the patient identified and / or the state information of the network oriented to the center 17. It should be easily understood that the different authenticated users probably have different levels of sophistication and knowledge for which a corresponding level of access may be associated with their status or authentication account, which may be additionally used, for example, to limit or expand the type and / or quantity of medical device data that can be transmitted to remote monitoring devices for authenticated users.

In step 308 of the method 300 of Figure 3a, the external web server 43 consults the control database of the device 44 through the web server of the secure device 42 status information to determine which of the listed medical devices are currently assets, according to the data recorded by the control database of the device 44. It should be noted that one or more of a medical device 10 can be programmed, its associated interface device 15, an associated wireless relay module 30 and / or the integration server of the device 41 to provide the data of the medical device 10 to the integration server of the device 41 at predetermined intervals, preconfigured or not, which can then be provided to the server 43, in response to inquiries thereafter.

After obtaining the status information, the external web server 43 prepares respective display pages with encrypted medical device data, according, for example, with the information of the screen retrieved from the metadata and the database of the application 46, to display the lists of medical devices 10 available for monitoring by the respective authorized users in the remote monitoring devices 62, 70, 75. Figure 3B presents an exemplary first screen display 320 for the remote monitoring devices 62, 70, 75 which provides a matrix of medical devices 10 available for monitoring according to the type of device. For example, in the screen display 320 of Fig. 3B, the types of devices available include respirators 321, urology devices 322, power supply devices 323, pulse oximeters 324, predictive thermometers 325, tympanic thermometers 326 and pumps 327. Each of the types of devices 321-327 of Figure 3b is presented with an identification tag (e.g. label 321A) and an identification image (e.g., image 321B) to facilitate recognition.

Once the user selects a type of device (for example, in response to an activation with the pointer or click of the associated mouse executed by the authorized user), a second exemplary screen display 330 may preferably be transmitted, as shown in FIG. illustrated in Figure 3C, by the external web server 43 to be displayed on the remote monitoring devices 62, 70 or 75. In the display 330, the labels 337A are provided in association with the images 337B to identify individual feed pumps (for example, example, by patient and / or by physical or logical location). Medical devices 10 that are not available, for example, can be described, preferably, with a tag 337A '("off-line") and an image 337B' (the device is described with a slash or cross bar applied on the image or shading) that distinguishes medical devices not available 10 from available medical devices 10.

Once the first or second user selects an individual device (e.g., again, in response to an activation with the pointer or associated mouse click executed by the authorized user), a third exemplary screen display may preferably be transmitted. 340, as illustrated in Figure 3D, by the external web server 43 to display on the corresponding remote monitoring device 62, 70, 75. In display 340, for example, device information of medical device 10 (in this case, a feeding pump) is displayed on a 347A screen , preferably, which recreates a current screen generated and displayed by the medical device 10. In addition, the screen display 340 includes any of a panel 347B that provides identification information for the medical device 10 (in this case, a location of the pump). ), a panel 347C to display a message indicating a current pump error condition, and an icon button 347D to select an alternative "status" mode of the screen display 340. The screen display 340 also includes a 347E control icon button to select a system configuration screen display and a 347F control icon button to enable take control of the device from the remote monitoring device 62. For example, after selecting the control icon 347F, preferably, the display screen 340 may be updated to include the display of the medical devices 347A and one or more operating buttons that simulate the appearance of control buttons on the medical device. The characteristics of the control button are described in more detail below in relation to figures 4B and 4C.

It should be readily understood that the images of the exemplary computer screens 320, 330 and 340 and the corresponding navigation illustrated by Figures 3B, 3C and 3D are for illustrative purposes only and that many other visualizations of user screens and images can be used. interface tools for carrying out the present invention included, for example, computer screens illustrating medical devices that can be accessed by other means than the type of device illustrated in Figure 3B. For example, as a suitable alternative to the image of the screen 340 of the 3D figure transmitting information from a single medical device, it is possible to implement visualizations that provide information of multiple medical devices. On the other hand, it should be readily understood that the external web server 43, preferably, may prepare display pages with the data of the encrypted medical devices to display on any of various display devices (including, for example, work stations, computers personal, tablet-type devices including tablet-type computers and mobile devices based on a screen including personal digital assistants, smartphones, portable gaming systems and the like).

It should also be readily understood that the exemplary computer screens that will be available to the first and second users of the first and second remote monitoring devices may be different depending on whether the user is a doctor, a nurse, a relative of the patient or another caregiver, that is, according to the level of right of the specific authorized user. For example, a display for a physician in a first remote monitoring device 62 may allow the physician to adjust the settings of a medical device of a subject 10, as opposed to a display for a second remote monitoring device 70, 75 used by a relative of a patient, who only presents fundamental information of the data of the medical device without the option of the patient's relative adjusting the configurations of the medical device through the second remote monitoring device 70, 75. Likewise, methods or formats can be used of different encryption for the medical device data transmitted to the first remote monitoring device 62 than for the second remote monitoring device 70, 75.

Figure 4A presents a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 400 according to the invention for issuing a command to a medical device 10 through the system 100 according to figure 1. Method 400 begins at step 402 with an authorized user adjusting an operating parameter, such as a physician (also referred to as an "authorized physician" or "user" herein), enters into the external web server 43 using a first remote monitoring device 62 and navigates to the screen display of the device 340 of figure 3d (for example, as described above with reference to figures 3A-3D). In step 404, the physician proceeds to select the "allow full control" button 347F of Figure 3D to initiate an operational command directed to the medical device 10 and, preferably, is provided with an authentication request related in particular to the associated patient with the medical device 10. In step 406, the patient authentication information provided by the physician is sent by the external web server 43 to a health care database node 60 in accordance with an address of the base node of health care data stored by the metadata and database of the application 46 in association with the doctor and the doctor is authenticated for the patient by the external web server 43 upon receipt of a confirmed authentication message from the base node of health care data 60.

After receiving patient authentication, a control request is sent by the external web server 43 in step 408 to the web server of the secure device 42 to register in the information record of the control database of the device 44 that is associated with the medical device 10 (and, optionally, with an anonymous identification for the patient) . In step 410, the web server of the secure device sends the control request, such as an encrypted control request, to the integration server of the device 41, which transmits a control command of the associated device through the second WWAN 52 which will be received by an associated wireless relay module 30 in step 412. The wireless relay module 30 wirelessly communicates the command to the medical device 10 through an interface of the associated device 15 and waits for a response confirming the execution of the transmitted command by the device interface 15.

In step 414, the device integration server 41 receives an update message from the wireless relay module 30 through the secure WWAN 52 which confirms that the command was executed by the medical device 10. In step 416, the server device integration 41 sends the update message to the web server of the secure device 42 to register in the information record of the device control database 44 that is associated with the medical device 10.

Optionally, and preferably, the web server of the secure device 42 sends information about the update message to the external web server 43 and the external web server 43 prepares an updated display screen that is securely transmitted to the remote monitoring device 62 to indicate that the command has been executed.

Alternatively, in step 404, the authenticated physician can select the button of the "system configuration" control icon 347E to perform a different command from an operating command directed to the medical device 10. Figure 4B illustrates a display screen 450 that is presents you to the doctor after selecting the control icon button 347E. The display screen 450 includes several icon buttons that can be selected by the physician (e.g., as a result of an activation with the pointer or mouse click initiated by the physician) to select a specific configuration command. For example, the button of the icon 451 may be selected to initiate a command to provide identification information of the medical device 10. The button of the icon 452 may be selected to provide text paging in response to an alert condition, as described further in detail in the present. You can select the icon button 453 to start a download software or firmware to update the medical device 10.

The icon button 454 can be selected to initiate a diagnostic test of the medical device 10. Figure 4C illustrates an exemplary display screen 460 that can be displayed to the physician after the 454 icon button is selected. display screen 460 of Figure 4C, the physician may select one or more of (including a progression of) a series of 461 diagnostic tests directed to the components of the medical device (e.g., including power components, memory components, alarm components and the like). Alternatively and / or in addition, the physician may select one or more of a series of 462 performance statistics to collect and display (for example, which includes various device error statistics such as feed error rates, rotor errors, and error errors). alignment for a feed pump). In addition, perhaps more beneficially before issuing a software and / or firmware download command, the physician may select a proof of version number 463 to obtain identification information of the version for the software and / or firmware (preferably, including, for example, a history of downloading software and / or firmware). Optionally, the processes to perform the tests of 461 diagnosis, prepare the 462 performance statistics and identify the version number of the software and / or firmware 463 can be executed automatically without being specifically selected by the doctor, with a full report of all the results on the display screen.

Similarly to that used by the method of Figure 4A, a bandwidth priority command or instruction can be issued to a relay module, such as relay module 30 of Figure 1, for the relay module to grant priority to recommit the information received from a particular medical device related to other medical devices that can send or receive communications through this relay module. For example, it would be desirable to provide a higher bandwidth priority to an intensive care device such as a ventilator that supports a patient's respiratory function in relation to a weight scale or thermometer. It is also possible for a series of bandwidth priority levels that can be assigned to the respective medical devices based, for example, on the critical nature of the data or the function provided by the devices.

Again with reference to Figure 4B, the icon button 455 can be selected to allow the physician to specify the data transfer rates, priorities and other parameters related to the wireless transceiver of the interface device associated with the medical device. The icon button 456 can be selected to provide the physician with an alarm history, event history and other information that has been recorded, for example, for the medical device in the device control database 44 of FIG. 1 .

It should be readily understood that the method 400 for remotely sending a command to a medical device 10 was described with respect to a user of a first remote monitoring device 62 and not a user of the second remote monitoring device 70, 75 because as described, for example, throughout the present application, it is assumed that the user of the first remote monitoring device 62 is a physician, technician or other highly qualified medical professional, while the user of the second remote monitoring device 70 , 75 may be a relative of the patient or a caregiver with less knowledge. However, the method 400 is likewise usable to allow a user of the second monitoring device 70, 75 to also control specific configurations of the medical device 10.

Figure 5A presents a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method 500 according to the invention for recognizing and reporting an alert condition in accordance with the medical device data (including the state of the network oriented to the center 17) recorded through the system 100 according to figure 1. The method 500 starts at step 502 with the transmission of an alert message by a module of wireless relay 30 through secure WAN 52 to device integration server 41. In this case, wireless relay module 30 is configured to analyze (e.g., by detecting a flag or status information or comparing the message data with the information stored in an associated database) a message type of a message transmitted by an associated medical device 10 to determine that the message is an alert message and to transmit the message to the device integration server 41 after determining that the message is an alert message (for example, as a priority message). Alternatively, the wireless relay module 30 can simply queue all messages for transmission to the integration server of the device 41 in order after reception and rely on the integration server of the device 41 to analyze a message type associated to determine that a message is an alert message.

After determining that the transmitted message is an alert message, the integration server of the device 41 proceeds, in step 503, to register the message in the control database of the device 44 and, in step 504, invokes a text messaging application that retrieves the text messaging numbers associated with the identification information of the medical device 10 and / or the anonymous patient identification information . The determination of whether the transmitted message is an alert message can be made, for example, by detecting an alert flag or activator identifier in the message or by scanning the message to look for other information indicating an alert condition . The text messaging application can preferably retrieve the text messaging numbers by a query to the metadata and the application database 46 to identify the address of a health care database node associated 60 and or making a direct request or directing the outside web server 43 to request the text messaging numbers to the associated health care database node 60.

In step 506, the device integration server 41 sends one or more messages, including retrieved text messaging numbers and text message information according to the alert message to one or more wireless relay modules 30 to through the WWA 52 secure. In step 508, the wireless relay module (s) transmits the text message information directed to the text messaging numbers through one or more of the secure WWAN 52 and / or the wireless network oriented to the center 17 to complete the 500 method.

Figure 5B illustrates a "text paging" display 550 that can be invoked, for example, using method 400 of Figure 4A to issue a command to a medical device 10. Specifically, and with particular reference to Figures 3D and 4B, the text radiolocation screen 550 is shown on the first remote monitoring device 62 of a physician authenticated after the physician selection of the button of the "system configuration" icon 347e of the screen display 340 and, thereafter, after selecting the physician to go to the button of the "text paging" icon of the screen display 450. It is also possible that the paging screen 550 of Figure 5B is shown in a second remote monitoring device 70, 75 to be completed by an authorized user, such as a relative of the patient or another caregiver. As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the "text paging" 550 display screen includes a listing of one or more names 551 of persons responsible for responding to alert messages of at least two types: "error messages" 553 , which, for example, may indicate a malfunction of the device medical 10 and / or "information messages" 554, which, for example, may indicate a significant patient health condition (eg, a respiratory rate of the patient below a preset minimum frequency specified for a respiratory device 321 of the figure 3B).

The information retrieved by the external web server 43 for preparing this display is preferably retrieved from the health care database node 60, providing one or more of the identification information for the medical device 10 and / or the health information. identification of the anonymous patient stored in the control database of the device 44. After recognizing an alert message for the medical device 10, the information provided in the "text radiolocation" screen display can be retrieved by the server. device integration 41 by consulting the metadata and the application server 46 to retrieve the address information for the health care database node 60 and sending a request for text radiolocation information to the health care database node 60, based on one or more of the identification information for the device medical document 10 and / or the anonymous patient identification information stored in the device control database 4. He recognition of whether the message received from the medical device 10 is an alert message can be made, for example, by detecting an alert flag or activator identifier in the message or by scanning the message to find other information indicating an alert condition.

It should be readily understood that the use of alert message communication using text messaging in Figures 5A and 5B is only for the purpose of facilitating the illustration and that alerts may be communicated in other ways in accordance with the present invention included. , email, audio messages through telephone calls, as well as any other wired and / or wireless communication service based on texts, audio or multimedia that may receive, for example, an application or "App" of smart phone software or tablet computer.

Figure 6 shows a suitable illustrative computer system 600 for implementing the server and computer components of the present invention (eg, including the device integration server 41, the secure device web server 42, the external web server 43 and the secure patient web server 64). The computer system 600, as described herein, may comprise, for example, a personal computer that Run the WINDOWS operating system or a running server computer, WINDOWS Server, LINUX or other UNIX-based operating system. Alternatively, the computer system 600 described herein may comprise a mobile device, tablet-type devices or computers or an information device that executes, for example, an operating system of the group comprising Symbian, Android, Apple iOS, Blackberry, Microsoft Windows Phone, Linux, Palm / HP WebOS, BADA, MAEMO and MEEGO. The methods described above executed by the server and computer components of the present invention can be implemented in the computer system 600, as stored program control instructions directed to control the software of the application.

The computer system 600 includes a processor 610, a memory 620, a storage device 630 and input / output devices 640. One of the input / output devices 640 may preferably include a display 645. Some or all of the components 610, 620 , 630 and 640 may be interconnected by a system bus 650. The processor 610 may be multiple or single threading and may have one or more cores. Processor 610 executes instructions that, in the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, are the steps described, for example, in one or more of Figures 2, 3A, 4A or 5A. These instructions may be stored in one or more of a memory 620 or in a storage device 630. The information may be received and sent using one or more input / output devices 640. The memory 620 may store information and may comprise a readable medium. by computer, as a volatile or non-volatile memory. The storage device 630 can provide storage for the included system 600, for example, the database described above and can be a computer readable medium. In various aspects, the storage device 630 can be one or more of a flash memory device, a floppy disk drive, a hard disk device and an optical disk device and / or a tape device.

The input devices 640 may provide input / output operations for the system 600. The input / output devices 640 may include one or more of a keyboard, a pointing device and / or a microphone. The input / output devices 640 may additionally include a display unit for displaying graphical user interfaces, a speaker and a printer and any of various serial devices (eg, configured as universal serial bus-based devices (USB, for its acronym in English) ) .

It should be understood, of course, that while the present invention was described with respect to described embodiments, various variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the claims.

Furthermore, it is intended that the scope of the present invention include all other foreseeable equivalents of the elements and structures described herein and with reference to 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

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

1. A system for enabling remote monitoring of at least one medical device, characterized in that it comprises: a device integration server in communication with at least one wireless relay device, characterized in that the wireless relay device is configured to transmit data packets containing information provided by at least one medical device, characterized in that the data packet includes data identification of the medical device and at least one identifier of the medical device or a patient identifier; a data management system coupled to the device integration server, which data management system comprises at least one database controlling the device and a web server configured to provide web pages to receive at least the medical data and to transmit the data of the medical device to a first remote monitoring device through an Internet connection secure to display the data of the medical device in the first remote monitoring device and to transmit at least a part of the data of the medical device to a second remote monitoring device to display the part of the data of the medical device in the second device of remote monitoring, with the characteristic that the part of the data of the medical device that shows the second remote monitoring device differs from the data shown by the first remote monitoring device.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the web server is configured to verify the identifier of the patient and the identifier of the medical device before transmitting the data of the medical device to the first remote monitoring device.

3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the web server is configured to transmit the part of the data of the medical device to the second remote monitoring device through at least one wireless data link.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that the wireless data link is through a wireless mobile data network.

5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the second remote monitoring device is a portable communication device of at least one of a cellular telephone, a tablet computer and a portable computer.

6. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the web server is configured to transmit to at least one of the first and the second remote monitoring device, status information on a wireless relay network associated with the wireless relay device.

7. A system for enabling remote monitoring of at least one medical device, characterized in that it comprises: a device integration server in communication with at least one wireless relay device, characterized in that the wireless relay device is configured to transmit data packets containing information provided by at least one medical device, characterized in that the data packet includes data identification of the medical device and at least one of an identifier of the medical device and a patient identifier; a data management system coupled to the integration server of the device, which data management system comprises at least one database of control of the device, a web server configured to provide web pages to receive at least the data from the medical device and, subject to the verification of the patient's identifier and the identifier of the medical device, transmitting the data of the medical device to the first monitoring device and to the second remote monitoring device through a secure Internet connection to display the data of the medical device in the second remote monitoring devices, with the characteristic that the second device monitoring is configured to display parts of the medical device data that differ from the data displayed by the first monitoring device; Y a network state server configured to transmit to at least one of the first or second remote monitoring device, status information on a wireless relay network associated with the wireless relay device.

8. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that the network state server is located in a different geographical location than the web server.

9. A method to display the data of the medical device through a monitoring system of the medical device, characterized in that it comprises: receiving credentials from a user of a first monitoring device and a request from the user of medical device information to monitor a patient; verify that the user is authorized to receive the information from the medical device; Y If verification is achieved, then identify, based at least on credentials and in the application, an address for a secure patient database that has information about the patient; retrieve patient data and identification data of the associated medical device by a web server from the patient database through a secure communications link; recovering the data of the medical device from a device control database for at least one medical device according to the recovered medical device identification data; transmit the medical device data retrieved by the web server to show on the first monitoring device; transmitting at least a part of the data of the medical device to a second remote monitoring device for displaying in the second device of remote monitoring; Y showing, in the second remote monitoring device, parts of the medical data that differ from the data shown by the first monitoring device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that transmitting at least a part of the data of the medical device to a second remote monitoring device comprises transmitting at least status information about a wireless relay network associated with a wireless relay device to the second remote monitoring device.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises receiving, from the wireless relay module, status information on a wireless relay network associated with a wireless relay device.

12. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the status information on a wireless relay network refers to at least one of signal strength, data rate, recording of the specific transmission time, number of active relay modules in the wireless relay network and a unique identifier number for a specific relay module.

13. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that transmitting the data part of the medical device to the second monitoring device Remote comprises encrypting the part in the data part of the medical device.

14. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the step of transmitting the recovered medical device data to display in the first monitoring device further comprises encrypting the data of the medical device with a first encryption technique, and with the characteristic that the step of transmitting the part of the data of the medical device to the second remote monitoring device comprises encrypting the part of the data of the medical device using a second encryption technique, with the characteristic that the first encryption technique differs from the second technique of encryption.

15. A system for enabling remote monitoring of at least one medical device, characterized in that it comprises: at least one wireless relay device configured to communicate with at least one medical device; an access point in communication with at least one wireless relay device, the access point that includes a device integration server coupled to a database that has stored the medical device data and a secure device server coupled to the device integration server; a health care database node separate from the access point, the health care database node that includes a secure patient server coupled to a patient database that has patient data stored; a first monitoring device configured to receive and display data provided by the at least one medical device; a second monitoring device configured to receive and display at least a part of the data provided by the at least one medical device that differs from the data shown by the first monitoring device; Y a secure link coupled between the secure patient server and the secure device server of the access node.

16. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the data shown by the second monitoring device is less detailed than the data shown by the first monitoring device.

17. The system according to claim 16, characterized in that the second remote monitoring device is located in a home care environment and the data shown by the second monitoring device are designed to be seen in a care environment in home.

18. The system according to claim 17, characterized in that the device integration server is further configured to transmit the control commands of the device to the at least one medical device.