Edge Communication Device Profile Management for Medical Data
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices in healthcare settings face challenges in efficiently communicating diverse types of data across different formats and protocols, leading to complexities in data management and potential downtime for device updates and re-certification.
Innovation Solution
A communication system comprising a medical device and an edge communication device, where the edge communication device receives a profile from a remote management server defining control policies for data collection and transmission. This system ensures that only specified data is collected and transmitted based on predefined conditions, facilitating seamless data management without impacting the medical device's operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If medical devices use multiple data formats and protocols for communication, then the devices can communicate diverse types of data, but the complexity of data management increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device or layer that standardizes data communication between medical devices and external systems. This intermediary handles protocol conversion and data formatting, allowing diverse medical devices to communicate without increasing overall system complexity. The intermediary acts as a mediator that translates between multiple device-specific protocols and a standardized communication interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by dynamically adjusting communication protocols and data formats based on device type and data category. The system can switch between different communication parameters (protocols, formats, transmission modes) to optimize for specific device-external system interactions, thereby managing complexity through adaptive parameter selection rather than fixed complex architecture.
2Adaptability or versatility
If software updates and re-certification are performed on medical devices, then new services and functionality can be added, but additional expense and downtime are incurred
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the medical device system into distinct functional modules that can be independently updated. By dividing the device into separable software components or functional units, updates can be applied to specific segments without requiring complete device re-certification or shutting down the entire system. This modular approach reduces downtime and expense by isolating update operations to non-critical segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by performing software updates and validations in advance during non-critical periods. The system prepares and tests software updates before deploying them to production environments, and schedules re-certification activities during planned maintenance windows rather than when devices are actively needed. This proactive approach minimizes operational downtime by ensuring updates are ready and validated before deployment.
3Loss of information
If all data from medical devices is collected and transmitted, then complete data availability is achieved, but data communication complexity and transmission burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by collecting and transmitting only the specific types of data that are relevant to particular external systems or purposes. Rather than uniformly collecting all possible data from medical devices, the system selectively gathers data based on local requirements, device type, and intended use. This targeted approach maintains data completeness for each specific purpose while reducing overall communication complexity and transmission burden.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication system involves a medical device that collect data during a surgical or medical procedure and an edge communication device coupled to the medical device. The edge communication device is configured to receive, from a remote management server, a profile that defines control policies for the edge communication device. The control policies include a data collection policy configured to specify a type of the data that the edge communication device is allowed to collect from the medical device and a data communication policy to specify a condition for which the edge communication device is allowed to transmit the collected data to an external server. The edge communication device stores the profile in memory and implements to the control policies such that only the specified type of data is collected and such that the collected data is transmitted to the external server only in response to presence of the condition.