Patient monitoring platform interface

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a medical device interface, and more particularly, the present disclosure relates to an interface between a medical monitoring platform and a monitoring module.

[0002] A patient monitoring platform interface is provided to communicatively couple a patient monitoring platform device to a monitoring module. The monitoring module may communicate physiological information (e.g., physiological parameter values, sensor signal data) to the platform device. In some embodiments, the patient monitoring platform interface includes a plurality of pins (e.g., an array of 20 pins) configured to electrically and communicatively couple the patient monitoring platform and the monitoring module. The plurality of pins may include at least two pins configured for receiving universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) communication, at least two pins configured for transmitting UART communication, at least one pin configured for communicating diagnostic information (e.g., whether devices are coupled, whether sufficient power has been provided), at least one pin configured to couple to a ground (e.g., a ground for regulated power, unregulated power, digital data reference), at least one pin configured as a clock, at least one pin configured to receive and transmit serial communications, at least one pin configured as a regulated power supply, and at least two pins configured to a suitable universal serial bus specification.

[0009] The present disclosure is directed towards a connection interface between a platform device and a module device that are configured to be communicatively coupled to one another. In some embodiments, the platform device and module device may be part of a physiological monitoring system.

[0010] For example, FIG. 1 shows an illustrative physiological monitoring system 100 in which platform device 102 is coupled to monitoring module 110 using a wired connection 106, connectors 114 and 118, and connectors 104 and 108 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Wired connection 106 may include any suitable cable capable of carrying electrical signals between monitoring module 110 and platform device 102. Wired connection 106 may include any suitable connectors for interfacing with platform device 102 and monitoring module 110, respectively. For example, connectors 104 and 108 may be permanently affixed to wired connection 106 and may each physically engage and communicatively interface with connector 114 on platform device 102 and connector 118 on monitoring module 110.

[0011] Platform device 102 may include any suitable hardware, software, or both for implementing a device that may be used as a platform for a physiological monitoring system. For example, platform device 102 may include a display device as well as any other suitable input/output mechanisms for receiving input from a clinician or other user of physiological monitoring system 100 and for providing output to a clinician or other user of physiological monitoring system 100. Platform device 102 may include any suitable processing circuitry for determining physiological information from information provided by monitoring module 110.

[0012] In some embodiments, platform device 102 may be a standalone physiological monitor such as a pulse oximeter and may be used without monitoring module 110. In this case, platform device 102 may be directly coupled to sensors for receiving suitable physiological signals.

[0013] Monitoring module 110 may be any suitable software, hardware, or both for calculating or otherwise determining physiological information from physiological signals received from, for example, one or more sensors 112. Physiological information may include sensor signal data, physiological parameter data (e.g., values, trends), any other suitable information, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, monitoring module 110 may condition or otherwise process (e.g., filter, sample, average, amplify, modulate, transform) a signal received from one or more sensors and communicate the conditioned signal to platform device 102. Sensors 112 may include photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensors, respiratory sensors, electrocardiograph (EKG) sensors, electroencephalograph (EEG) sensors, electromyograph (EMG) sensors, temperature sensors, blood pressure sensors, any other suitable type of physiological sensor, or any combination thereof. Monitoring module 110 may communicate sensor signals, calculated physiological parameter values, calculated physiological parameter trend values, alarm data, message data, status data, device identification data, any other suitable information, or any combination thereof to platform device 102. For example, monitoring module 110 may provide one or more physiological parameters to platform 102 by communicating information indicative of the physiological parameters using wired connection 106 and any suitable ports that interface wired connection 106 between platform device 102 and monitoring module 110.

[0014] Monitoring module 110 may be configured to calculate one or more physiological parameters of a patient such as blood oxygen saturation, pulse rate, respiration rate or any other suitable respiratory activity, blood pressure (e.g., systolic, diastolic, or both), blood glucose concentration, any other suitable physiological parameter, or any combination thereof. Monitoring module 110 may be configured to calculate physiological parameter trend data such as, for example, statistical parameters (e.g., an average, a moving average, standard deviation, least squares curve-fit parameters), a change (e.g., a deviation, a relative difference), a rate of change (e.g., a slope, a derivative), any other suitable calculated values, or any combination thereof.

[0015] In some embodiments, monitoring module 110 may be a standalone physiological monitoring device such as a pulse oximeter. In some embodiments, in order for monitoring module 110 to be functional, it must be coupled to platform device 102. For example, platform device 102 may be configured to power monitoring module 110 using particular terminals of connectors 104 and 108, and particular wires of wired connection 106. In such an arrangement, monitoring module 110 may not be able to obtain power to function unless coupled to platform device 102 (although, if desired, monitoring module 110 may also be able to obtain power from other external power sources). Monitoring module 110 need not have any display interface or otherwise provide an indication of any information to a clinician or user of physiological monitoring system 100. If desired, however, any suitable indicators or information display may be provided on monitoring module 110. In some embodiments, monitoring module 110 may provide functionality that platform device 102 does not provide, any may be thus used to upgrade the functionality of platform device 102.

[0016] The arrangement of platform device 102 and monitoring module 110 may be such that they are apart from one another and wired connection 106 may extend from the location of monitoring module 110 to the location of platform device 102. Alternatively, platform device 102 and monitoring module 110 may be arranged such that they are closely spaced relative to one another and may be physically attached to one another. For example, monitoring module 110 may latch onto platform device 102 using any suitable latching mechanism.

[0017] FIG. 2 shows an illustrative physiological monitoring system 200 in which monitoring module 208 is coupled to platform device 202 using a direct connection in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The descriptions of platform device 102 and monitoring module 110 with respect to FIG. 1 generally apply to platform device 202 and monitoring module 208. One of the differences between system 100 and 200 is that wired connection 106 is not used in system 200. Rather, connector 206, which is an input/output port of monitoring module 208, may be coupled directly to connector 204, which is an input/output port of platform device 202. Monitoring module 208 may determine physiological information from physiological signals received from, for example, one or more sensors 210. Sensors 210 may couple to monitoring module 208 using a direct connection, wired connection, wireless coupling, any other suitable coupling, or any combination thereof.

[0018] In some embodiments, monitoring module 208 may include connector 212 which is used to connect monitoring module 208 to another monitoring module (not shown but with the same or different functionality compared to monitoring module 208) or other suitable external device, or any combination thereof.

[0019] FIG. 3 shows an illustrative connector 300 which is configured to communicatively couple to an illustrative connector 306, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, connectors 300 and 306 may be male and female connectors, respectively, and connector 300 may be plugged into connector 306 to achieve electrical continuity among corresponding electrical terminals of the connectors.

[0020] In some embodiments, connector 300 includes electrical terminals 304 which are each electrically coupled to corresponding wires 314. Wires 314 may include electrical insulation, which may prevent shorting or electrical contact between different wires. Wires 314 may be bundled, twisted, sheathed or otherwise arranged in a collection (e.g., a ribbon cable, a sheathed 20-conductor cable). In some embodiments, wires 314 may electrically couple to an additional connector (not shown), circuitry of an electronic device (not shown), or any combination thereof. Electrical terminals 304 may be blades, tabs, sockets, pins, any other suitable type electrical terminal which may be included in a connector, or any combination thereof. Electrical terminals (e.g., electrical terminals 304) and wires (e.g., wires 314) may be configured to transmit direct current (DC) power, alternating current (AC) power, analog signals, digital signals, any other suitable electrical activity, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0021] In some embodiments, connector 306 includes electrical terminals 310, which may correspond to electrical terminals 304 of connector 300. For example, connectors 300 and 306 may be connected (e.g., connector 300 may be plugged into connector 306), creating contact between electrical terminals 304 and corresponding terminals of electrical terminals 310. Connecting connector 300 to connector 306 may include inserting male connector portion 302 into female connector portion 308 to create the contact between electrical terminals 304 and electrical terminals 310. In some embodiments, electrical terminals 304 may be arranged on male connector portion 302, and electrical terminals 310 may be arranged in female connector portion 308. In some embodiments, electrical terminals 304 may be pins arranged in a suitable array, and may correspond to electrical terminals 310 which may be holes arranged in a corresponding array. Electrical continuity among corresponding terminals may be formed by plugging the male connector into the female connector, allowing communication among devices electrically coupled to the respective connectors. Connector 300, connector 306, or both, may function as input/output ports for suitable devices (e.g., a patient monitoring platform, a monitoring module).

[0022] In an illustrative example, connectors 300 and 306 may be a Molex 45985-0433 male connector and a Molex 46133-0203 female receptacle both manufactured by Molex of Lisle, Ill., respectively, in which the male connector is configured to plug into the female connector. One or both connectors may be soldered or otherwise electrically coupled to a printed circuit board or other suitable circuit arrangement.

[0023] FIG. 4 shows an illustrative platform interface 400, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 shows an illustrative table 500 of detailed pin descriptions of illustrative platform interface 400. In some embodiments, pin arrangement 400 may include an array of 20 pins, with pin assignments as shown in table 500 of FIG. 5. As shown in table 500, platform interface 400 may include one or more pins configured to provide regulated power (e.g., +5 VDC), unregulated power (e.g., 12-24 VDC), universal serial bus (USB) communication (e.g., using USB 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 or any other suitable USB specification), diagnostics (e.g., for diagnosing when a module is connected to a platform device, or when a module is sufficiently powered), universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) communication, clock (e.g., inter-integrated circuit (I2C) serial clock), serial data (e.g., I2C serial data), grounding, reserved capacity for future use (e.g., presently unused pins), any other suitable functionality, or any combination thereof. For example, platform interface 400 may include one or more pins for communicating with a Nell-1 OEM board.

[0024] In an illustrative example, illustrative platform interface 400 may include 20 pins as shown in FIGS. 4-5.

[0025] Platform interface 400 may include one or more pins for supplying regulated DC power to a monitoring module, as shown by pins 1 and 11 of FIGS. 4-5. Regulated power may be supplied by a potential difference between pins 1 and 11, a potential difference between either or both of pins 1 and 11 and one or more ground pins (e.g., pins 8, 10, 18, 20), any other suitable set of pins, or any combination thereof. Platform interface 400 may include one or more pins for supplying unregulated DC power to a monitoring module, as shown by pins 7 and 17 of FIGS. 4-5. Unregulated power may be supplied by a potential difference between pins 7 and 17, a potential difference between either or both of pins 7 and 17 and one or more ground pins (e.g., pins 8, 10, 18, 20), any other suitable set of pins, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, regulated power of 5 VDC, referenced to a suitable ground, may be provided for digital communications. In some embodiments, an unregulated power supply may be provided for applications requiring more power than a regulated power supply is capable of providing or applications requiring a voltage other than 5 VDC.

[0026] Platform interface 400 may include one or more pins for transmitting power, data, or both, using a suitable USB specification (e.g., USB 1.1, 2.0, 3.0). In some embodiments, two pins may be used for digital data transfer, as shown by pins 9 and 19 of FIGS. 4-5. In some embodiments, two pins may be used to supply bus voltage, as shown by pins 1 and 11 of FIGS. 4-5, and two pins may be used to supply ground reference to the supply bus voltage, as shown by pins 10 and 20 of FIGS. 4-5. In some embodiments, four pins such as, for example, pins 1, 9, 19, and 20 may provide the electronic functionality of a Standard type A USB plug connector. In some embodiments, physiological information may be communicated from the monitoring module to a platform using USB data transfer pins.

[0027] Platform interface 400 may include one or more pins for communicating diagnostic information, as shown by pins 6 and 16 of FIGS. 4-5. Diagnostic information may include information about when a platform device has been electrically coupled to a monitoring module, whether sufficient power has been supplied to a monitoring module, whether a particular monitoring module is compatible with a platform device, any other suitable diagnostic information, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, pin 6 of FIGS. 4-5 may be used to communicate information about whether a monitoring module is communicatively coupled to a platform device (e.g., providing an active low if communicatively coupled). In some embodiments, pin 16 of FIGS. 4-5 may be used to communicate information about whether sufficient power has been provided for a monitoring module (e.g., providing an active high when the power is sufficient). Diagnostic information may include message data (e.g., periodic updates), alarm data (e.g., insufficient power, malfunction), warning data (e.g., poor power quality), status data (e.g., monitoring module completely connected to platform, periodic systems check results), any other suitable data, or any combination thereof.

[0028] Platform interface 400 may include one or more grounding pins, as shown by pins 8, 10, 18, and 20 of FIGS. 4-5. Grounding pins may be used a reference for a regulated power supply, an unregulated power supply, digital data communication, analog data communication, a digital clock, any other suitable electronic activity, or any combination thereof.

[0029] Platform interface 400 may include one or more pins configured for communicating using the I2C interface, as shown by pins 2 and 12 of FIGS. 4-5. The I2C interface may include a serial data line (SDA) as shown by pin 12 and a serial clock (SCL) as shown by pin 2, which may each use a regulated power supply (e.g., 5 VDC as shown by pins 1 and 11), along with a suitable ground as shown by pins 10 and 20. The SDA line may allow digital communications to be received, transmitted, or both.

[0030] Platform interface 400 may include one or more pins configured to receive UART communications, as shown by pins 14 and 15 of FIGS. 4-5. Platform interface 400 may include one or more pins configured to transmit UART communications, as shown by pins 4 and 5 of FIGS. 4-5. Any suitable UART may be used in accordance with the present disclosure such as, for example, models 8250, 16450, 16550, and 16950 manufactured by National Semiconductor of Santa Clara, Calif. A UART may include a clock generator, a shift register (e.g., for sending or receiving data), transmit/receive control, read-write control logic, first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer memory for queue processing, any other suitable components, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, a UART may be a standalone integrated circuit. In some embodiments, a UART may be included in a microcontroller (e.g., a Nell-1 OEM board), integrated circuit, chip, or other suitable electronic assembly. In some embodiments, a UART may be configured to communicate synchronously so that timing (e.g., start, stop) bits are not used in the data stream. In some embodiments, physiological information may be communicated from the monitoring module to a platform using pins configured for UART communications. In some embodiments, platform interface 400 may be configured to receive, transmit, or both, communications for more than one UART, as shown by the designations UART1 (first UART) and UART2 (second UART) of pins 4, 5, 14, and 15 in FIG. 5.

[0031] Platform interface 400 may include one or more pins which are not configured, capable of being configured as desired, reserved for future use, or otherwise not functionally assigned, as shown by pins 3 and 13 of FIGS. 4-5. In some embodiments, pins 3 and 13 may be used to provide additional power (regulated or unregulated), provide additional digital communications capacity, provide analog communications capacity, provide additional diagnostics, provide device identification information, any other suitable configuration relative to that shown in FIGS. 4-5, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, pins 3 and 13 need not be electrically coupled to any circuitry of a monitoring module or platform device.

[0032] Although illustratively shown as having 20 pins, platform interface 400 may include any suitable number of pins, arranged in any suitable array which may be, but need not be, patterned. Pins may be arranged in any suitable order according to functionality, polarity, signal type, power level, any other suitable designation, or any combination thereof. Although discusses as “pins”, the terminals of platform interface may include any suitable geometry such as, for example, tabs, blades, holes, sockets, any other suitable electrical terminal type, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, a platform interface may include pins configured according to standards such as, for example, IEEE 1394, parallel small computer system interface (SCSI), serial data interface at 1200 Baud (SDI-12), recommended standard 422 (RS-422), any other suitable standards for data communication, or any combination thereof.