External Device Access Control for Implantable Medical Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices and their external programmers require complex user interactions and lack effective access control, making it difficult for users with varying backgrounds and qualifications to access appropriate features, potentially leading to unauthorized access to device functions.
Innovation Solution
An external device system that determines its location and user identity to tailor and simplify the user interface, allowing access to specific features of an implantable medical device based on location and user role, using a communication circuit, locating circuit, and control circuit to configure access permissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the external device provides comprehensive functionality to interact with the implantable device, then the adaptability and versatility of the system is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates for users with varying backgrounds and qualifications
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface dynamically adapts its complexity and available features based on the user's identified qualifications and role. The system transitions from a static, fixed interface to a dynamic one that adjusts its presentation and functionality according to user characteristics, making the interface easier to operate for less experienced users while maintaining comprehensive functionality for qualified users.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the user interface are made accessible or hidden based on user qualifications. The interface presents simplified controls to users with limited expertise while providing advanced features to qualified users, creating localized differences in interface quality and complexity appropriate to each user's background.
2Ease of operation
If the external device provides access to all device features, then the ease of operation is improved for qualified users, but the reliability deteriorates due to unauthorized access to device functions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification and qualification assessment of users before allowing access to device features. By evaluating user credentials and qualifications in advance, the system establishes access control boundaries before any device interaction occurs, preventing unauthorized access while maintaining ease of operation for qualified users.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary access control layer between the user and the implantable device features. This intermediary mechanism evaluates user qualifications and mediates access to device functions, ensuring that only qualified users can access specific features while maintaining a user-friendly interface for authorized operations.
3Ease of operation
If the user interface is simplified for ease of operation, then the ease of operation is improved for users with limited expertise, but the adaptability deteriorates as it cannot accommodate diverse user needs
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface dynamically adjusts its complexity and feature set based on real-time assessment of user qualifications. The interface is not a fixed simplified design but an adaptive system that simplifies controls for less experienced users while providing advanced customization options for qualified users, maintaining both ease of operation and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The user interface is designed to serve multiple user types with different expertise levels through a single unified system. The interface provides universal access to all users while maintaining specialized functionality for different user categories, eliminating the need for separate interfaces for different user groups.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprises an external device for communication with an implantable device. The external device includes a communication circuit configured to receive a communication signal from at least a third device separate from the external device and the implantable device, a locating circuit configured to determine a location of the external device using the received communication signal, a port configured to receive user identity information into the external device, and a control circuit electrically coupled to the communication circuit, the locating circuit, and the port. The control circuit is configured to allow user access to an implantable device feature according to the determined location and received user identity information.