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EP-4736181-A1 - A SERVER FOR EXTENDING A POINT-TO-POINT CONNECTION BETWEEN A HEALTHCARE INFORMATION SYSTEM AND AT LEAST ONE MEDICAL DEVICE

EP4736181A1EP 4736181 A1EP4736181 A1EP 4736181A1EP-4736181-A1

Abstract

A server for extending a point-to-point connection between a healthcare information system and at least one medical device is described. A server for extending a point-to-point connection between a healthcare information system and at least one medical device. The server is configured to connect to a local module via a first private network, the local module configured to connect to the healthcare information system, and to connect to a field module via a second private network, the field module configured to connect to the at least one medical device. In response to receiving data from the at least one medical device via a field module, the server is configured to verify that the data is from the at least one medical device and to send the verified data using the first private network to the local module, and/or, in response to receiving data from the local module, the server is configured to send the data to the medical device using the second private network via the field module.

Inventors

  • CAIN, Stuart James
  • CAIN, Nicholas John
  • GREVE, Andrea

Assignees

  • Cain Medical Ltd

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240628

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A server for extending a point-to-point connection between a healthcare information system and at least one medical device, the server configured : to connect to a local module via a first private network, the local module configured to connect to the healthcare information system, and to connect to a field module via a second private network, the field module configured to connect to the at least one medical device; in response to receiving data from the at least one medical device via a field module, to verify that the data is from the at least one medical device and to send the verified data using the first private network to the local module; and/or in response to receiving data from the local module to send the data to the medical device using the second private network via the field module.
  2. 2. The server of claims 1 or 2, wherein the server is configured to send the data via a single port, and/or; to receive data via the single port from the local module.
  3. 3. The server of claim 1 wherein the data is verified by checking the data size and/or frequency.
  4. 4. The server of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the verification of the data is performed by the local module or by the server.
  5. 5. The server of any of claims 1 or 4, wherein the data is verified by confirming that the data conforms to a medical device data type corresponding to the medical device networked to the field module.
  6. 6. The server of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the data is verified by confirming the medical device fixed internet protocol address or media access control address.
  7. 7. The server of any of claims 1 to 6 wherein the server is configured to communicate with the local module or field module using the transmission protocol expected by the medical device.
  8. 8. The server of any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the medical device is a point of care medical device.
  9. 9. The server of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the field module is configured to connect to a plurality of medical devices.
  10. 10. The server of any one of claims 1 to 9 where the server is configured to verify and send data from a plurality of medical devices simultaneously.
  11. 11. The server of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the data received is encrypted data, and the server is configured to decrypt the data.
  12. 12. The server of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the data received is protected using a password, and the server is configured to access the data using the password.
  13. 13. The server of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the field module or server is configured to identify a test type based on the at least one medical device type, and based on the test type, send data from a test performed on the at least one medical device to an associated local module and/or hospital information system.
  14. 14. A local module for extending a point-to-point connection between a healthcare information system and at least one medical device, the local module configured : to connect to the healthcare information system; to connect to a sever via a private network; in response to receiving data from the server using the private network, to identify an inbound port on the healthcare information system to send the data to the healthcare information system; and/or in response to receiving data from the healthcare information system, to send data from the healthcare information system to the server.
  15. 15. A field module for extending a point-to-point connection between a healthcare information system and at least one medical device, the local module configured : to connect to a server via a private network; to connect to the at least one medical device; and to relay data between the at least one medical device and the server.
  16. 16. The field module of claim 15, comprising a location module configured to identify the location of the filed module.
  17. 17. The field module of claim 15 or 16, wherein the module comprises an interface configured to allow data input, wherein on receiving an input of data, sends the data to the hospital information system via the server.
  18. 18. The field module of any of claims 15 to 17, wherein the field module is configured to: send medical device data to the healthcare information system; and receive diagnostic information from the healthcare information system based on the medical device data.
  19. 19. The field module of any of claims 15 to 18, wherein the field module is configured to: send medical device data to the healthcare information system; and receive instruction information from the healthcare information system based on the medical device data.
  20. 20. A system for extending a point-to-point connection between a healthcare information system and at least one medical device, the system comprising: a local module connected to the healthcare information system; a server connected to the local module via a first private network; and a field module connected to the server via a second private network, wherein the field module is configured: to connect to the at least one medical device; and to relay data between the at least one medical device and the server; wherein the server is configured : in response to receiving data from the field module, to verify that the data is from the at least one medical device and to send the verified data to the local module or receive data from the local module; wherein the local module is configured: in response to receiving data from the server to forward the data to the healthcare information system; and/or in response to receiving data from the healthcare information system, to send data from the healthcare information system to the server.

Description

A server for extending a point-to-point connection between a healthcare information system and at least one medical device Field The present invention relates to hardware and methods for extending a point-to- point connection from inside a trusted local network to outside that network. Specifically, the invention relates to hardware and methods for extending a point- to-point connection from inside a trusted local network to a remote device, for example a field device. Background Growing pressures on emergency departments, paramedics and emergency services have risen to concerning levels in the UK. Overcrowded hospitals make it difficult for ambulances to offload patients, non-emergency calls take up valuable resources and an aging population on places increasing demands on the medical systems with downstream consequences for ambulance services. Integrated care systems including hospital at home, emergency care services and virtual wards are able to alleviate some of these pressures by facilitating care and an effective triage of patients out in the community. To enable effective care, one critical need is to shift diagnostic testing, currently happening within hospitals, into community settings to ensure high-quality clinical care without conveying patients into hospitals. For this, medical grade Point of Care (POC) testing and patient monitoring devices can be placed into communities. However, whilst hospital grade POC devices often automate their recording of data into hospital information systems, this is only possible within hospital IT settings. Once POCs are taken out of hospitals into communities, they lose their ability to automatically communicate with hospital systems. However, 'real-time' access to POC data is critical to enable clinical experts to make time-critical clinical decisions for emergency care. Summary According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a server for extending a point-to-point connection between a healthcare information system and at least one medical device, the server configured: to connect to a local module via a first private network, the local module configured to connect to the healthcare information system, and to connect to a field module via a second private network, the field module configured to connect to the at least one medical device; in response to receiving data from the at least one medical device via a field module, to verify that the data is from the at least one medical device and to send the verified data using the first private network to the local module; and/or in response to receiving data from the local module to send the data to the medical device using the second private network via the field module. The medical device may be a device which is remote or outside of a hospital or other care-giving centre. For example, the medical device may be a point of care (POC) device, or a point of care testing (POCT) device used on a patient in community or community care setting. The local module may be a clinical-based device, for example, a hospital-based device, such as a hospital-based computer or server. In this way, a remote medical device which is in the community outside of a hospital or other caregiving or care-providing centre can automatically connect to any POC device and provide secure connections reaching into hospital information systems. Paramedics are therefore able to deliver mobile, laboratory-standard test results in the community with the data being communicated in 'real-time' to clinical experts in hospital pathology labs for appropriate decision-making. This enhanced communication, may reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, help guide clinical pathway decisions, accelerates time to treatment and reduces inconvenience to patients. The server may be configured to connect wirelessly, for example, using broadband or narrowband radio waves, cellular connections, for example, 3G, 4G, 5G, GSM and the like. Data may be in the form of a data packet. The local module may be configured to connect to the same local area network as the healthcare information system. The server may be configured to connect to the local module via a single port. Thus, the healthcare information system can communicate with a medical device which may be in a location outside the hospital which houses the healthcare information system. Additionally, or alternatively, the diagnostic results can be sent from the healthcare information system back to field module via the local module and the server in a readable format. The server may be configured to send the data via a single port, and/or; to receive data via the single port from the local module. The number of ports required to cross the hospital IT boundary may be minimised by mapping and remapping the message crossing the between the Server 9 and the local module. For example, many POC devices can be connected to hospital information systems with opening a single port or more. The server can dir