Firmware Version Detection via Deep Packet Inspection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Medical devices often require firmware updates to address errors and vulnerabilities, but these updates are not consistently announced, and support personnel struggle to maintain up-to-date firmware due to the numerous types of devices and vendors, making it challenging to determine which versions should be installed and detect outdated firmware.

Innovation Solution

A system that captures and analyzes packets transmitted over communication networks using deep packet inspection (DPI) to identify the latest firmware versions of medical devices, recommending updates when older versions are detected, and tracking the installation status of firmware across multiple medical facilities.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If support personnel manually track firmware updates across numerous medical devices, then they can maintain awareness of update availability, but the complexity and time required increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefirmware update statusVSAvoidtracking system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The medical devices automatically report their firmware version and update status to the monitoring system through captured network packets, eliminating the need for support personnel to manually query or track each device. The system self-updates its knowledge base by continuously monitoring device communications.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

A network monitoring system acts as an intermediary between medical devices and support personnel, capturing and analyzing firmware-related information from device communications. This intermediary automatically extracts firmware version data from network traffic and presents it in a centralized dashboard.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If the system captures and analyzes all network packets from medical devices, then it can accurately detect firmware versions, but the processing load and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefirmware version detection accuracyVSAvoidcomputational resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the specific firmware version information from network packets using deep packet inspection, rather than analyzing the entire packet content. It focuses on extracting relevant fields that contain firmware identifiers while ignoring other data in the network traffic.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs deep packet inspection on a subset of packets that are most likely to contain firmware information, such as device self-descriptions or status reports, rather than analyzing every single packet transmitted on the network. This selective approach maintains accuracy while reducing processing load.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Productivity

If the system implements comprehensive firmware monitoring across multiple facilities, then it can identify the latest firmware versions, but the system complexity and implementation difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefirmware update management efficiencyVSAvoidmonitoring system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The monitoring system is designed to work with multiple types of medical devices from different vendors by capturing and analyzing standardized network communications. It performs multiple functions including firmware detection, version comparison, and update recommendation within a single unified platform.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system combines data from multiple medical facilities into a single centralized monitoring dashboard, merging firmware information from numerous devices into unified statistics that show the distribution of firmware versions across the entire network.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS10658079B1Crowd-based recommendations of a version of firmware for medical devices

Publication Date: 2020.05.19 CLAROTY LTD

AI summary

This disclosure describes a system, a method, and a computer program that enable recommendation of a version of firmware for medical devices. In one embodiment, a computer receives packets transmitted over communication networks of medical facilities, where the packets include data related to medical device activity. The computer performs deep packet inspection (DPI) of the packets, and extracts, from results of the DPI, versions of firmware installed on the medical devices. The computer calculates, based on the versions of firmware, extents to which different versions of firmware were installed on the medical devices, and identifies a latest version of firmware, from among the different versions, whose extent of installation reaches a predetermined threshold. The computer can then make a recommendation to update firmware installed on one or more medical devices at a certain medical facility to the latest version.