Implanted Medical Device Paired Communication ID Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Implantable medical devices may inadvertently receive and process messages intended for other devices due to shared wireless communication protocols, leading to incorrect command execution, especially in environments where multiple patients with the same devices are present.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where implanted medical devices identify and verify the external device ID of incoming messages against a stored list of approved IDs, only processing messages from recognized devices and disregarding or responding with an error to unauthorized communications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple implantable medical devices use the same wireless communication protocol to communicate with external devices, then communication capability and interoperability are improved, but the risk of receiving messages from unauthorized external devices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary pairing between the implantable medical device and external devices before actual communication. During this pairing process, external device IDs are registered and stored in the implantable device's memory. This preliminary action ensures that when messages are received, the device can quickly verify whether the sender is authorized by comparing the external device ID against the stored list, thus preventing unauthorized communication while maintaining open communication protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary verification mechanism using external device IDs as identifiers. Instead of directly trusting any incoming message, the system uses the external device ID as an intermediary to authenticate the message source. The implantable device extracts the external device ID from incoming messages and compares it with the stored list of authorized IDs, acting as a mediator between the communication protocol and the authentication decision.
2Speed
If the implanted device processes all received messages, then communication responsiveness is improved, but the risk of executing incorrect commands from unauthorized devices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by verifying the external device ID against the stored list of authorized IDs before processing any incoming messages. This pre-verification step prevents unauthorized devices from sending commands that could be incorrectly executed. The implantable device checks the authenticity of the message source in advance, blocking potentially harmful commands from unauthorized devices while allowing legitimate commands to pass through for execution.
3Measurement precision
If the implanted device stores a list of approved external device IDs, then message authentication accuracy is improved, but device memory requirements and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses copying by storing only the essential external device IDs in the implantable device's memory during the pairing process. Instead of storing complete device profiles or complex authentication credentials, the system copies and stores only the unique external device IDs that identify authorized external devices. This simplified copying approach provides sufficient authentication accuracy while minimizing memory requirements and device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of identifying an external device that sent a message and then determining whether to process the message based in part on the identity of the external device that sent the message. The implanted device receives a message from the external device and identifies an external device ID in the received message. The external device ID identifies the external device that sent the message. The implanted device then compares the external device ID from the message to a stored list of approved external device IDs. The implanted device processes the message when the external device ID matches one or the approved external device IDs in the stored list of approved external device IDs. However, the message is disregarded when the external device ID does not match any of the approved external device IDs in the stored list of approved external device IDs.