Dialysis Alarm Prioritization Across Networked Device Groups
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dialysis machines lack the ability to remotely distinguish message priorities and coordinate message handling across a network of devices, leading to inefficiencies in resolving operational issues.
Innovation Solution
A networked status message system with a control agent that centrally or decentrally calculates prioritized warning messages based on the status of all devices, using an evaluation circuit to determine message urgency and distribute them accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If each medical device is equipped with a locally controlled display unit, then the device can provide status updates, but the system cannot remotely distinguish message priorities or coordinate message handling across the network
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the message evaluation functionality from individual local devices into a centralized control unit. This control unit collects status messages from multiple devices, evaluates their priorities centrally, and coordinates the display across the network. This resolves the contradiction by enabling priority differentiation without requiring complex coordination capabilities at each individual device level.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit acts as an intermediary between the individual medical devices and the network display system. It receives status messages from devices, determines their priorities, and manages the coordinated display. This intermediary approach enables remote priority distinction while keeping individual devices relatively simple.
2Productivity
If all status messages are displayed with equal priority, then the system is simple to operate, but the time required to restore fault-free operation increases due to inability to prioritize critical messages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color-coded visual indicators (e.g., different colors for different priority levels) to communicate message urgency. This allows critical messages to be immediately distinguished without requiring complex user analysis, maintaining ease of operation while enabling rapid prioritization and faster restoration of operational status.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the visual parameters of message display (such as color, intensity, or flashing patterns) based on message priority. This transformation of static equal-priority displays into dynamic priority-based displays enables faster identification of critical issues while keeping the interface intuitive and easy to operate.
3Measurement precision
If a centralized control unit evaluates all status messages, then message prioritization is accurate, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the message evaluation function from the individual devices and places it in a dedicated centralized control unit. This separation allows accurate priority evaluation to be performed centrally while individual devices remain relatively simple. The control unit handles the complex evaluation logic, while devices focus on generating and transmitting status messages.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to the concerted processing of a number of local device status notifications (1G) of dialysis devices (D). The dialysis devices (D) are operated as a group (V). A control agent (20) carries out a central calculation of prioritised warning notifications (pW) for the group (V) of dialysis devices (D). The prioritisation is calculated in a concerted calculation according to a pre-configured rule system.