Method, system and device for upgrading blood pump firmware without stopping pump

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a method, system and device for upgrading blood pump firmware without stopping a pump. The method comprises the steps that a to-be-upgraded target processor is selected from at least one processor of an implantable blood pump; sending new version firmware data to the target processor; under the condition that pump blood control is continuously provided for the implantable blood pump, the target processor is controlled, upgrading is carried out based on the new version firmware data, and the upgraded implantable blood pump is obtained. According to the embodiment of the invention, the blood pumping control can be continuously provided for the implantable blood pump, so that even if the target processor is in firmware upgrading, the target processor or other processors can continuously maintain the blood pumping control, thereby reliably ensuring that the implantable blood pump is upgraded and can continuously assist the lesion heart to pump blood, namely, the blood pumping efficiency is improved. Blood flow required by the patient is maintained without stopping the pump, and the life safety of the patient is practically protected.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of medical technology, and in particular to a method, system and device for upgrading blood pump firmware without stopping the blood pump. Background Art

[0002] For patients with heart failure, the left ventricular assist system (LVAS) is a viable option to support the heart's pumping function. Figure 1 As shown in Figure 1, LVAS usually includes an implanted left ventricular assist device (LVAD, Left Ventricular Assist Device), an external controller worn outside the body (used to control LVAD and power supply), and a monitor ( Figure 1 Among them, LVAD is a blood pump that can provide blood pumping control, which can help or replace the damaged left ventricle to pump blood, so that the blood can flow out of the left ventricle and be sent to the aorta, ensuring human life safety.

[0003] In the existing scheme, after the LVAD (or blood pump) is implanted in the human body, the LVAD firmware can be upgraded to improve the LVAD's blood pumping performance or expand other functions (such as parameter monitoring or feedback). However, the unfriendly thing is that this upgrade process requires stopping the control of the blood pump, which is equivalent to stopping the blood flow for patients with heart failure, which can easily cause problems such as insufficient blood flow or thrombosis, endangering the safety of patients and even causing irreversible damage.

[0004] In view of this, there is an urgent need to provide an effective solution. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a method, system and device for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump, which are used to upgrade the blood pump without stopping the blood pump, thereby effectively protecting the life safety of patients with heart failure.

[0006] A first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a method for upgrading a blood pump firmware without stopping the blood pump, comprising:

[0007] Selecting a target processor to be upgraded from at least one implanted processor of the implantable blood pump;

[0008] Sending new version firmware data to the target processor;

[0009] While continuously providing blood pumping control to the implantable blood pump, the target processor is controlled to perform an upgrade based on the new version of the firmware data to obtain an upgraded implantable blood pump.

[0010] Optionally, while continuously providing blood pumping control to the implantable blood pump, controlling the target processor to upgrade based on the new version of the firmware data includes:

[0011] If the main processor of the implantable blood pump is preferentially selected as the target processor, the auxiliary processor other than the main processor is continuously powered so that when the main processor is upgraded based on the new version of the firmware data, the auxiliary processor controls the implantable blood pump to continue pumping blood.

[0012] Optionally, in the case of continuously providing blood pumping control to the implantable blood pump, after controlling the target processor to upgrade based on the new version of the firmware data, the method further includes:

[0013] If the target processor fails to be upgraded, the target processor is upgraded again based on the new version of the firmware data, and / or other processors except the target processor are upgraded.

[0014] Optionally, when the at least one implantable processor includes a main processor and other processors, the step of re-upgrading the target processor based on the new version firmware data includes:

[0015] Synchronize the original firmware data stored in the other processors to the target processor, so that the target processor is restored to a normal working state; the normal working state refers to a state in which the processor can continuously perform blood pumping control;

[0016] Based on the new version of the firmware data, the target processor restored to the normal working state is upgraded again.

[0017] Optionally, the upgrading of processors other than the target processor includes:

[0018] Return to the step of selecting a target processor to be upgraded from at least one implanted processor of the implantable blood pump, so as to upgrade the next selected target processor based on the new version firmware data; wherein the at least one processor does not include a processor that fails to be upgraded.

[0019] Optionally, the upgrading of processors other than the target processor includes:

[0020] After the target processor is successfully upgraded, the firmware data of the upgraded target processor is synchronized to the other processors to obtain multiple upgraded processors.

[0021] Optionally, if the target processor upgrade fails, the method further includes:

[0022] It indicates that the target processor is abnormal, and instructs the processor in a normal working state to maintain blood pumping control.

[0023] A second aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a left ventricular assist system, comprising: an external controller, an implantable blood pump;

[0024] The external controller is connected to the implantable blood pump, and the external controller is used to receive firmware data sent by the host computer;

[0025] The external controller and / or the implantable blood pump controls blood pumping via at least one processor;

[0026] The extracorporeal controller and / or the implantable blood pump are further used to execute the method described in the first aspect or any specific implementation of the first aspect.

[0027] A third aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, they implement the method described in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application or any specific implementation of the first aspect.

[0028] A fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, they implement the method described in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present application or any specific implementation of the first aspect.

[0029] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that the embodiments of the present application have at least the following advantages:

[0030] The embodiment of the present application can continuously provide blood pumping control for the implantable blood pump, so that even if the target processor is in the process of firmware upgrading, the target processor or other processors can continuously maintain the blood pumping control work, thereby reliably ensuring that the implantable blood pump can continuously assist the damaged heart to pump blood during the upgrade, maintain the blood flow required by the patient, and effectively protect the patient's life safety. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0032] It should be noted that, although the steps in the process diagrams involved in the various embodiments are drawn in sequence as indicated by the arrows, unless otherwise specified herein, there is no strict order restriction on the execution of these steps, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a portion of the steps in the flowcharts involved in the various embodiments may include multiple steps or multiple stages, and these steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and the execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a portion of the steps or stages in other steps.

[0033] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of existing LVAS products;

[0034] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the system architecture of a method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 4 This is a functional module diagram of a method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of blood pump control implemented by the auxiliary processor when the blood pump main processor firmware is upgraded in the embodiment of the present application

[0038] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the main processor implementing blood pump control when the blood pump auxiliary processor firmware is upgraded in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 7 A state machine diagram of a method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a multi-processor collaborative workflow when upgrading the blood pump firmware in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Fig. 9 This is a table of processor working status relationships when upgrading the blood pump firmware according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The described embodiments should not be regarded as limiting the present application. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0043] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. in the specification and claims and drawings of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, a process, method, system or device that includes a series of steps or components is not necessarily limited to those steps or components that are clearly listed, but may include other steps or components that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods or devices.

[0044] In the following description, similar expressions such as "a specific implementation" or "a specific example" are involved, which describe a subset of all possible embodiments, but it is understood that "a specific implementation" or "a specific example" can be the same subset or different subsets of all possible embodiments, and can be combined with each other without conflict. In the following description, multiple terms involved refer to at least two. Similar expressions such as "any" or "at least one" mentioned in this application can specifically refer to any example of the listed examples or any combination of these examples.

[0045] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application belongs. The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing the embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0046] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 The system architecture of an embodiment of the present application is shown. This system architecture includes a host computer, an external controller that can be worn externally, an implantable LVAD (or blood pump) that can be implanted in the human body, etc. The host computer, the external controller and the blood pump can be connected by wired or wireless communication. The aforementioned host computer can specifically be a computer or other offline programming device, which is mainly used for data transmission and data monitoring with the external controller. The aforementioned external controller can be regarded as an intermediary between the host computer and the blood pump, which can convert, display or transmit data, for example, the status of the blood pump and the status information of the power supply can be displayed in real time. In some examples, the aforementioned external controller and the blood pump can be connected by a percutaneous cable, and the external controller can be connected to a power supply to power the blood pump to ensure that the processor of the blood pump controls the motor normally, thereby assisting the damaged heart to pump blood normally.

[0047] It should be noted that the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by an extracorporeal controller, and can also be designed to be implemented autonomously by a blood pump, or implemented jointly by an extracorporeal controller and a blood pump. The specific method can be determined according to the actual application scenario and is not limited here.

[0048] The method of the present application will be further described in detail below based on the situation that the method of the present application is implemented by a blood pump, that is, in some examples, Figure 3 It can be seen as a schematic diagram of the process of upgrading completed independently by the blood pump.

[0049] See also Figure 3 In a first aspect, the present application provides a specific embodiment of a method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump, and the embodiment includes the following steps:

[0050] Step S31: Select a target processor to be upgraded from at least one implantable processor of the implantable blood pump.

[0051] The implantable blood pump of the embodiment of the present application may have one or more implantable processors (which may be called chips or processors), which may be set in the human body, specifically inside the implantable blood pump; this processor may parse the input signals sent by the external controller, such as blood pumping instructions, blood pumping parameters, etc., and the output signals obtained by the analysis may be used to control the start and stop of the blood pump motor, adjust the motor speed, etc., so that the blood pump can pump blood as expected. Since the processor is the core component of the blood pump, completing the upgrade of the processor can be regarded as completing the upgrade of the blood pump, and the method of the present application can also be referred to as a method for upgrading the firmware of the blood pump without stopping the pump.

[0052] In some examples, the implantable blood pump of the embodiments of the present application may be a magnetically levitated blood pump.

[0053] In order to prevent the failure of a single device from affecting the overall safety and effectiveness of the blood pump product, in actual applications, the blood pump can be equipped with at least two processors, so that when one of them fails, there is still a backup processor to implement the work, that is, to reflect the safety redundancy design mechanism, conservatively and reliably ensure that the blood pump pumps blood uninterruptedly, and effectively protect the patient's life safety. The models of these processors can be the same or different, but at least they must all support the blood pumping control. In addition, when equipped with at least two processors, you can choose to upgrade some or all of the processors of the blood pump, which can be determined by your needs.

[0054] Of course, without considering the safety redundant design mechanism, a blood pump may also be equipped with only one processor.

[0055] Step S32: Send the new version firmware data to the target processor.

[0056] To achieve the upgrade, the in vitro controller can receive new firmware data (or program) from the host computer, so that the processor of the blood pump can use the new firmware data for upgrading, thereby obtaining an upgraded blood pump.

[0057] The "upgrade" in the embodiment of the present application mainly refers to the update and iteration in the sense of software. Compared with the old version, the new version of the firmware data can expand more or better functions for the blood pump, such as monitoring function or diagnosis function, or improve the operating performance of the blood pump and ensure the durability of the blood pump.

[0058] Step S33: While continuing to provide blood pumping control to the implantable blood pump, the target processor is controlled to upgrade based on the new version of the firmware data to obtain an upgraded implantable blood pump.

[0059] Here, continuous blood pumping control is provided for the implantable blood pump (such as maintaining motor rotation control), which can essentially be understood as keeping at least one processor of the blood pump functioning normally, so that the blood pump can continuously pump blood under the control of the processor, while also performing blood pump upgrade work; the processor can specifically be the target processor itself, or other processors other than the target processor, without limitation.

[0060] In summary, the embodiments of the present application can continuously provide blood pumping control for the implantable blood pump, so that even if the target processor is in the process of firmware upgrading, the target processor or other processors can continuously maintain the blood pumping control work, thereby reliably ensuring that the implantable blood pump can continuously assist the damaged heart to pump blood during the upgrade, maintain the blood flow required by the patient, and effectively protect the patient's life safety.

[0061] Based on the above example descriptions, some specific possible implementation examples will be provided below. In actual applications, the implementation contents between these examples can be combined or implemented separately as needed according to the corresponding functional principles and application logic. If implemented in combination, the execution order between the combined examples can be determined according to their respective processing logics, which can be determined by the actual scenario.

[0062] based on Figure 3 In some specific examples, the specific operation process of step S33 may include: if the main processor of the implantable blood pump is preferentially selected as the target processor, the auxiliary processor other than the main processor is continuously powered so that when the main processor is upgraded based on the new version of the firmware data, the auxiliary processor controls the implantable blood pump to continue pumping blood.

[0063] Specifically, if the implantable blood pump includes two or more processors, which can be divided into a main processor and an auxiliary processor, the main processor can be prioritized as the target processor to be upgraded, and the auxiliary processors other than the main processor can be continuously powered, so that when the main processor is upgraded based on the new version of the firmware data, the auxiliary processor can control the implantable blood pump to continue pumping blood, thereby achieving the effect of upgrading the blood pump while not stopping the pumping. Of course, there can be one or more target processors to be upgraded in the same period of time. In other words, multiple processors can be upgraded at the same time without stopping the pumping, which can be determined according to the actual situation.

[0064] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, the "primary" and "secondary" of the primary processor and the secondary processor are in terms of the upgrade order, that is, a processor can be defined as "primary" or "secondary" relative to other processors; in other words, without too much consideration, two or two batches of processors with a sequential upgrade order can always be divided into "primary" and "secondary" if they are discussed in terms of the upgrade order. Generally, there are no excessive requirements for the attributes such as brand and model between the primary processor and the secondary processor, as long as they can both control the implantable blood pump to continuously pump blood.

[0065] See also Figures 4 to 6 , two chips of the same model can be selected as the main processor and auxiliary processor. At this time, the input and output of the two are generally the same, so the arbitration control module of the blood pump can be used to decide which processor's output signal is finally used to control the blood pump; for example, if both the main and auxiliary processors are successfully upgraded, the motor of the blood pump can give priority to the output signal of the main processor. Of course, in the case of differences between the main processor and the auxiliary processor (such as different chip models or outputs), the output signals of the two can be combined to control the operation of the blood pump. The specific needs can be determined by the user, so I will not go into details here.

[0066] like Figure 5 , Figure 6 As shown, from the source, in some examples, the arbitration control module can be used to decide, for example, the arbitration control module can decide which processor the new version of the firmware data is given to, and the processor that receives the new version of the firmware data can be used as the target processor to be upgraded, and the implantable blood pump can use the output signals of other processors except the target processor to regulate the blood pump to continue pumping blood. In other words, the arbitration control module can decide which of the multiple processors to be upgraded (one or more) and the order of upgrading when multiple processors need to be upgraded. Generally, the main processor can be upgraded first, and then the auxiliary processor can be upgraded.

[0067] As a possible implementation, if each processor of the blood pump supports "upgrading itself without stopping working" (that is, it can always implement the central idea of ​​not stopping pumping blood), then in some examples, these processors can be used as target processors in parallel to achieve upgrades with a small time difference or even no time difference.

[0068] based on Figure 3 In some specific examples, after step S33, the method of the embodiment of the present application may further include the following operations (attempting a secondary upgrade): if the target processor fails to be upgraded, the target processor is upgraded again based on the new version of the firmware data, and / or processors other than the target processor are upgraded.

[0069] Specifically, Figure 7 As shown, when both the main processor and the auxiliary processor are in a normal state (i.e., a state in which the blood pumping can be continuously controlled), the main processor can be preferentially selected as the target processor for upgrading; if the main processor fails to be upgraded, the main processor can be restored to a normal state, because after a processor upgrade fails, the original firmware data of the processor may be destroyed, making the processor unable to work normally, and then the main processor can be upgraded again until the main processor is successfully upgraded, or, if the upgrade fails after retrying n times (such as 1 time), the main processor can be prompted to have an abnormality and enter a failure protection mode (Fail-Safe Mode), and the blood pumping control is maintained by the auxiliary processor. On the other hand, if the main processor is successfully upgraded, the auxiliary processor can be upgraded later, and the upgrade process of the main or auxiliary processor can be implemented similarly. For example, similarly, if the auxiliary processor fails to be upgraded, the auxiliary processor can be restored to a normal state, and then the auxiliary processor can be upgraded again until the auxiliary processor is successfully upgraded, or, if the upgrade fails after retrying n times (such as 1 time), the auxiliary processor can be prompted to have an abnormality and enter a failure protection mode (Fail-Safe Mode), and the blood pumping control is maintained by the main processor.

[0070] For example, see Figure 8 If a main processor fails to upgrade after step S33 (which can be called a primary upgrade), a secondary upgrade of the main processor can be attempted. The process of the secondary upgrade can be similar to that of the primary upgrade. For example, the main processor receives the new version of the firmware data from the in vitro controller again (which can be initiated by the host computer), and the main processor is upgraded again based on the new version of the firmware data; and / or, the auxiliary processors other than the main processor are upgraded (i.e., after a primary upgrade). In this way, it can be further ensured that at least one processor can be successfully upgraded, thereby achieving the purpose of upgrading the blood pump.

[0071] Of course, the auxiliary processor can also be upgraded once after the main processor has undergone a secondary upgrade, depending on the specific situation. In reality, it is usually pursued that all processors of the blood pump can be upgraded, so that no matter which processor is adopted, the version and function of the processor can be unified, so as to facilitate subsequent unified supervision, operation and maintenance, and improve user experience.

[0072] The above-mentioned primary upgrade of the main processor may even include a secondary upgrade process, which can be referred to as an autonomous upgrade process of the main processor.

[0073] Considering that after a processor upgrade fails, the original firmware data of the processor may be destroyed, making the processor unable to work normally, such as being unable to cause the motor to rotate normally to pump blood; Figure 8 As shown, as a possible implementation, when at least one implantable processor includes a main processor and other processors, the above-mentioned process of "re-upgrading the target processor based on the new version of the firmware data" may specifically include: synchronizing the original firmware data stored in other processors to the target processor, so that the target processor is restored (recovery) to a normal working state (which may be referred to as "recovery processor"), for example, restoring the main processor based on the auxiliary processor, or restoring the auxiliary processor based on the main processor; the normal working state (or simply the normal state) refers to the state in which the processor can continuously control the blood pumping; based on the new version of the firmware data, the target processor restored to the normal working state is upgraded again, such as returning to the operations of steps S32 to S33.

[0074] Specifically, Fig. 9 As shown, if the current state of a processor is "recovery processor" (which can be classified as the upgrade stage), it can be said that the output signal of other processors in normal working state is used to control the operation of the blood pump, so that even in the upgrade stage of a processor, there are other substitute processors to maintain blood pumping control, that is, the main purpose of continuously focusing on not stopping blood pumping control. In other words, compared with the normal working state, the upgrade stage of the processor can be regarded as a special stage, and the state of the processor in the upgrade stage can be called a special state. Therefore, if the current state of a processor is a special state, the blood pump can use other processors in normal working state to maintain blood pumping control.

[0075] Of course, if the target processor after the first upgrade failure still has new version firmware data, then step S32 may not be executed when the target processor is upgraded for the second time, depending on the specific situation.

[0076] As a possible implementation, when at least one implantable processor includes a main processor and other processors, the above-mentioned process of "upgrading processors other than the target processor" may specifically include (autonomous upgrade of the auxiliary processor): returning to the step of selecting the target processor to be upgraded from at least one implantable processor of the implantable blood pump (i.e., S32), so as to upgrade the next selected target processor based on the new version of the firmware data; wherein at least one processor does not include a processor that failed to be upgraded. In other words, the auxiliary processor can be similar to the autonomous upgrade process of the main processor, and can be upgraded autonomously, so that even if the main processor fails to be upgraded (continuously), the auxiliary processor has another opportunity to be upgraded autonomously, and the details will not be repeated here.

[0077] As another possible implementation, when at least one implantable processor includes a main processor and other processors, the above-mentioned process of "upgrading other processors except the target processor" may specifically include (the auxiliary processor is upgraded in dependence on the main processor): after the target processor is successfully upgraded, the firmware data of the upgraded target processor is synchronized to other processors to obtain multiple processors that are all upgraded. In other words, the auxiliary processor does not need to be upgraded autonomously, but simply adopts the firmware data of the main processor after the upgrade, that is, it is conveniently upgraded in dependence on the main processor.

[0078] based on Figure 3 In some specific examples, if the target processor upgrade fails (such as a primary upgrade or a secondary upgrade), the method of the embodiment of the present application may also include: prompting that there is an abnormality in the target processor and instructing the processor in normal working state to maintain blood pumping control.

[0079] like Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9 As shown, taking the main processor as an example, if the main processor fails to upgrade after two upgrades, it can be prompted that the main processor is abnormal and enters the fail-safe mode. In addition, the blood pump can be prompted to use the output signal of the auxiliary processor in normal working state to control the operation of the blood pump. Entering the fail-safe mode can, in a certain sense, indicate that a certain processor may have hardware or software problems, and human intervention can be performed to replace the hardware or update the software.

[0080] It should be noted that, generally, the functions of the upgraded processor are more complete than those of the processor before the upgrade, so in terms of performance, the upgraded processor can be selected to implement the blood pumping control of the blood pump.

[0081] In summary, the embodiments of the present application can upgrade the blood pump without stopping the blood pumping control (i.e., without stopping the pumping), thereby reliably protecting the life safety of heart disease patients.

[0082] Compared to Figure 3 The examples shown illustrate that the above-mentioned additional or detailed example contents or possible implementation methods (such as secondary upgrade) do not necessarily have to be executed during the specific implementation. If more than two examples or possible implementation methods are added, these examples or possible implementation methods can be implemented in combination or separately. If implemented in combination, the execution order between the combined examples can be determined according to their respective processing logic, which can be determined according to the actual scenario.

[0083] A second aspect of the present application provides a left ventricular assist system, the left ventricular assist system comprising: an external controller, an implantable blood pump;

[0084] The external controller is connected to the implantable blood pump, and the external controller is used to receive firmware data sent by the host computer;

[0085] The external controller and / or the implantable blood pump controls the blood pumping via at least one processor;

[0086] The extracorporeal controller and / or the implantable blood pump is also used to execute the method described in the above-mentioned first aspect or any specific implementation of the first aspect.

[0087] In the embodiment of the present application, the operation performed by the left ventricular assist system is similar to the operation described in the first aspect or any specific method embodiment of the first aspect, and will not be described in detail here. Of course, the specific implementation process of each operation in the first aspect of the present application can also refer to the relevant description of the second aspect.

[0088] The present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect or any specific implementation of the first aspect.

[0089] The present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions or a computer program. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method described in the first aspect or any specific implementation of the first aspect.

[0090] It is understandable that in various embodiments of the present application, the sequence number of each step does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each step should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. The operation content added or refined in each example scheme of the above method, system or device does not necessarily have to be executed in the specific implementation. If more than two operations are added, these operations can be implemented in combination or separately, depending on the actual scenario.

[0091] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems and devices described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0092] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the device is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple components can be combined or integrated into another system or device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of components, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0093] If the integrated components are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be essentially or partly or all or partly embodied in the form of a computer software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product (or computer program product) is stored in a storage medium, including several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a business server or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, read-only memory), random access memory (RAM, random access memory), disk or optical disk, etc., which can store program code.

Claims

1. A method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the pump, characterized in that: include: Selecting a target processor to be upgraded from at least one implanted processor of the implantable blood pump; Sending new version firmware data to the target processor; While continuously providing blood pumping control to the implantable blood pump, the target processor is controlled to perform an upgrade based on the new version of the firmware data to obtain an upgraded implantable blood pump.

2. The method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of controlling the target processor to perform an upgrade based on the new firmware data while continuously providing blood pumping control to the implantable blood pump includes: If the main processor of the implantable blood pump is preferentially selected as the target processor, the auxiliary processor other than the main processor is continuously powered so that when the main processor is upgraded based on the new version of the firmware data, the auxiliary processor controls the implantable blood pump to continue pumping blood.

3. The method for upgrading the blood pump firmware without stopping the blood pump according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the case of continuously providing blood pumping control to the implantable blood pump, after controlling the target processor to upgrade based on the new version of the firmware data, the method further includes: If the target processor fails to be upgraded, the target processor is upgraded again based on the new version of the firmware data, and / or other processors except the target processor are upgraded.

4. The method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump according to claim 3, characterized in that: When the at least one implantable processor includes a main processor and other processors, the step of re-upgrading the target processor based on the new version firmware data includes: Synchronize the original firmware data stored in the other processors to the target processor, so that the target processor is restored to a normal working state; the normal working state refers to a state in which the processor can continuously pump blood; Based on the new version of the firmware data, the target processor restored to the normal working state is upgraded again.

5. The method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump according to claim 3, characterized in that: The step of upgrading other processors except the target processor comprises: Return to the step of selecting a target processor to be upgraded from at least one implanted processor of the implantable blood pump, so as to upgrade the next selected target processor based on the new version firmware data; wherein the at least one processor does not include a processor that fails to be upgraded.

6. The method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump according to claim 3, characterized in that: The step of upgrading other processors except the target processor comprises: After the target processor is successfully upgraded, the firmware data of the upgraded target processor is synchronized to the other processors to obtain multiple upgraded processors.

7. The method for upgrading the firmware of a blood pump without stopping the blood pump according to claim 1, characterized in that: If the target processor upgrade fails, the method further includes: It indicates that the target processor is abnormal, and instructs the processor in a normal working state to maintain blood pumping control.

8. A left ventricular assist system, characterized in that: include: External controllers, implantable blood pumps; The external controller is connected to the implantable blood pump, and the external controller is used to receive firmware data sent by the host computer; The external controller and / or the implantable blood pump controls blood pumping via at least one processor; The extracorporeal controller and / or the implantable blood pump are further used to execute the method for upgrading the firmware of the blood pump without stopping the blood pump as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A readable storage medium, characterized in that: The readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is implemented.

10. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises computer instructions, which implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when executed by a processor.

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