Synchronizing clocks on a medical device and server

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/964,444, entitled “Patient Treatment Systems Employing Medical Device Informatics”, and filed Aug. 10, 2007. That application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In general, the present disclosure relates to treatment of patients via systems for use and control of medical devices. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to software for treatment of patients using medical devices.

Patients at hospitals and other care centers require controlled therapy administration and monitoring. Hospitals and care centers use a variety of types and brands of medical devices to assist in monitoring and therapy administration. For example, medical devices used to assist in therapy administration may include medical infusion pumps, pulse oximeters, cardiopulmonary monitors, and other therapy delivery and patient monitoring equipment. The various types and brands of medical devices each generally use differing, proprietary communication standards.

The proprietary standards employed by the different devices limit interoperability among the devices, making therapy administration difficult. During use of one or more of the medical devices, a caregiver may want to perform a number of actions related to the medical device. For example, a caregiver may wish to set parameters in a medical device based on the observed characteristics of the patient. Or, the caregiver may wish to view data gathered by a monitor. Due to the proprietary standards used by various medical devices, the caregiver may use a number of types of software and hardware to access the information gathered by the medical device needed to treat the patient.

Coordinating usage of medical devices also can be difficult. A single medical device can be programmed for administering different therapies and in different locations within a hospital. Usage records of multiple medical devices of varying types and in different hospitals may need to be compared. Similarly, the status of a medical device can be difficult to monitor because the devices are often in locations other than where the caregiver is located.

Methods and systems of patient treatment are disclosed. The methods and systems include use of medical device informatics to modify and validate therapies and drugs used in those therapies. In the various aspects of the present disclosure, a medical device, such as a medical infusion pump, interfaces with a server to administer treatments to patients.

In certain aspects, medical device metadata is used to define a medical device within a medical device network. In further aspects, messages are communicated between a medical device and server to define treatments and other operations to the medical device. In still other aspects, operational and historical data is communicated from medical devices to a medical device server to allow remote monitoring of the administration of a therapy to a patient. In further aspects, timing parameters dictate communication and tracking of events between a medical device and a medical device server.

In a particular aspect, a method of synchronizing clocks between a medical device and a medical device server is disclosed. The method includes maintaining a server time value on a medical device server communicatively connected to a medical device, and transmitting the server time value from the medical device server to the medical device, the medical device maintaining a device time value. The method further includes replacing the device time value with the server time value.

In a second aspect, a medical device time synchronization system is disclosed. The system includes a medical device configured to maintain a device time value and a medical device server communicatively connected to the medical device. The medical device server includes a memory configured to store a server time value and a programmable circuit operatively connected to the memory. The programmable circuit is configured to execute program instructions to maintain the server time value and transmit the server time value to the medical device. The medical device is further configured to, upon receipt of the server time value, replace the device time value with the server time value.

In a third aspect, a method of synchronizing clocks between a plurality of medical devices and a medical device server is disclosed. The method includes maintaining a server time value on a medical device server communicatively connected to the plurality of medical devices. The method further includes transmitting the server time value from the medical device server to the medical devices, the medical devices each maintaining a device time value. The method also includes replacing the device time values of each medical device with the server time value and receiving a confirmation signal from the medical devices to the medical device server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary medical device network in which aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a medical device useable in aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a software architecture for a medical device network;

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