Secure Telemetry for Implantable Medical Devices

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current wireless communication protocols for implantable medical devices (IMDs) lack robust security measures, particularly in ensuring message privacy, integrity, and freshness, making them vulnerable to eavesdropping and manipulation, which can compromise patient data and treatment efficacy.

Innovation Solution

A secure telemetry system that employs encryption, multi-factor authentication, and message authentication protocols, including the use of smartcards and biometric authentication, to ensure legitimate communications and prevent unauthorized access, while also providing a 'backdoor' for emergency situations to maintain patient safety.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If wireless telemetry communication is implemented for IMD administration, then convenience and treatment effectiveness are improved, but security vulnerabilities increase allowing unauthorized access and manipulation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconvenience of IMD administrationVSAvoidsecurity vulnerabilities

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The authentication process is segmented into multiple independent factors (something you know, something you have, something you are) that must all be satisfied. This segmentation ensures that no single compromised element can provide unauthorized access, while the overall system remains convenient for authorized users who possess all required factors.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A secure authentication intermediary system is introduced between the administration device and the IMD. This intermediary verifies multiple authentication factors and establishes secure encrypted communication channels, protecting the telemetry communication from unauthorized access while maintaining convenience for legitimate users.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Length of stationary object

If broadcast wireless protocols are used for telemetry, then communication range is expanded, but message integrity and privacy deteriorate due to increased eavesdropping risk

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication rangeVSAvoidmessage integrity

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of stationary objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Encryption and authentication protocols are applied in advance to all telemetry messages before transmission. This preliminary protective action ensures that even if messages are intercepted over extended ranges, their integrity and confidentiality are preserved, counteracting the increased eavesdropping risk.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

Solution Approach 2:

The communication system dynamically adjusts security parameters such as encryption keys and authentication credentials based on the communication session. This ensures that messages transmitted over longer ranges maintain their integrity through strengthened cryptographic protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If strong authentication protocols are implemented, then security is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The authentication system is designed to universally support multiple authentication factors (knowledge-based, possession-based, and biometric) within a single integrated framework. This multi-functionality provides strong security while managing complexity through a unified authentication interface that handles all factor types consistently.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system automatically manages authentication verification, session establishment, and encryption key generation without requiring complex manual configuration. This self-service capability maintains strong security while reducing the operational complexity for users and administrators.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Reliability

If encryption and multi-factor authentication are applied to all communications, then message privacy and freshness are improved, but processing time and energy consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemessage privacyVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Authentication credentials and encryption keys are established in advance during session initialization. This preliminary action allows subsequent communications to use pre-configured security parameters, reducing the processing time and energy consumption for each individual message while maintaining strong privacy protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements periodic authentication and key refresh operations at predetermined intervals rather than for every single message. This periodic approach maintains message privacy and freshness through regular security updates while minimizing the cumulative processing time and energy expenditure compared to per-message authentication.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Data Source

PatentUS8102999B2Secure telemetric link

Publication Date: 2012.01.24 MEDTRONIC INC

AI summary

A communications protocol is used to provide data privacy, message integrity, message freshness, and user authentication to telemetric traffic, especially to and from implantable medical devices in a body area network. Encryption, message integrity, and message freshness are provided through use of token-like nonces and ephemeral session-keys derived from device identification numbers and pseudorandom numbers.