Illustrative embodiments relate generally to active safety features in a fluid delivery device such as a wearable medication infusion patch pump to confirm an anomalous command from an auxiliary device before operation of the fluid delivery device in accordance with the command. Illustrative embodiments relate generally to determining when commands are anomalous using at least one anomaly detection algorithm, requiring a user action to confirm a detected anomalous command before operating the fluid delivery device in accordance with that command, and optionally using a mode of communicating the confirmation to the fluid delivery device that is different from the mode of communicating the command.
Demand for on-body or wearable medical devices and for body area network (BAN) medical devices (e.g., wireless controllers for on-body devices, and smartphones or smart watches with a medical condition management app and/or a health/fitness app) has been increasing, along with an increase in patients' and healthcare providers' desire for better and more convenient patient management of medical conditions such as diabetes. For example, one type of wearable medical device is a wearable medication delivery device that is worn against a patient's skin (e.g., a patch pump with cannula or needle inserted into the patient's skin), or a pump device that can be connected to a patient's belt or placed in a pocket of the user's clothing, for example, and having an infusion set with tubing extending from the pump to an adhesive mount with a subcutaneous cannula.
A wearable medical device can communicate wirelessly with a separate dedicated controller or smartphone (e.g., a smartphone with app configured to wirelessly interface with the wearable medical device for various operations). Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), marketed as Bluetooth® Smart, is a wireless technology that provides an effective, low power protocol for wirelessly connecting devices, including devices that run on power sources such as coin cell batteries as can often be the case with wearable medical devices.
A concern with wirelessly controlling a wearable medical device, particularly a device that delivers medication to a patient's body, via another device is security of the wireless control communication link between the medical device and the other device against man-in-the-middle (MITM) and eavesdropping attacks. Of particular concern is security of a wearable medical device against nefarious attacks or unintentional attacks wherein control of the medical device is undesirably altered by another device (e.g., the user's device, or another device that is not the user's intended remote control device, operating in an undesirable manner).
A need exists for fluid delivery device and auxiliary device cooperation that safely and securely supports dosing control of the fluid delivery device from the auxiliary device, among other operations. The above and other technical problems are overcome, and additional advantages are realized, by technical solutions provided by the illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure.
In accordance with illustrative embodiments, a fluid delivery device is provided that comprises a reservoir that can contain a fluid to be delivered to a user; a user output port configured to provide a fluid path between the reservoir and the user; a drive assembly configured to controllably drive fluid from the reservoir into the fluid path; a communication interface configured to send and receive signals on a communication path; and a controller connected to the drive assembly and the communication interface and configured to control the drive assembly to deliver a designated amount of fluid from the reservoir to the fluid path. The controller is further configured to analyze a command to operate the drive assembly to determine when the command corresponds to an anomalous command. The controller generates a prompt for confirmation of the command when the command corresponds to an anomalous command, operates the drive assembly in accordance with the command when a reply to the prompt is received and comprises an input corresponding to an affirmative confirmation, and ignores the command when the reply to the prompt is a negative confirmation chosen from an input corresponding to a negative confirmation, and no reply being received within a designated time period after the prompt.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the controller is further configured to operate the drive assembly in accordance with the command without the prompt for confirmation or the reply with an input corresponding to an affirmative confirmation when the command is not an anomalous command.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the controller is configured to process a parameter in the command in accordance with at least one anomaly detection algorithm to compare the parameter with a value chosen from a threshold value and a selected range of values, and to determine the command to be an anomalous command if the parameter exceeds the threshold value or is outside the selected range of values and to be normal command if the parameter satisfies a threshold value or selected range of threshold values.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the parameter level or range is preset, or adapted over time in accordance with operation of the fluid delivery device.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the controller is configured to process the command by analyzing variables chosen from historical commands to deliver the fluid to the patient and historical disease management data related to the patient to identify a fluid delivery device use pattern corresponding to one or more parameters related to amounts of fluid delivered, when the fluid is delivered, and patient physiological data affected by delivery of the fluid, and to detect when the command corresponds to an anomalous command because a parameter in the command is an outlier relative to one or more of the parameters of the use pattern.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the controller determines when the command corresponds to an anomalous command by using at least one anomaly detection algorithm.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the at least one anomaly detection algorithm employs anomaly detection techniques chosen from local outlier factor, histogram-based outlier score, one-class support vector machine, robust covariance, k-nearest neighbor, isolation forests, supervised machine-learning model, unsupervised machine-learning model, and hybrid approach using a semi-supervised machine-learning model.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the command is communicated to the fluid delivery device from an auxiliary device. The auxiliary device, for example, is chosen from a smartphone, a computer, a laptop, an iPad, and a dedicated, portable remote controller configured to command the fluid delivery device.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the auxiliary device is connected to the fluid delivery device by a communication modality chosen from WiFi, Bluetooth®, near field communication (NFC), cellular communication, and wired communication, and is configured to remotely control the fluid delivery device by sending commands via the communication modality.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the auxiliary device is connected to the fluid delivery device by a communication modality, and the command and the prompt are both transmitted using the communication modality. The communication modality is chosen, for example, from WiFi, near field communication (NFC) and Bluetooth®.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the prompt is transmitted using a second communication modality that is different from a first communication modality used to send the command.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the first communication modality is chosen from WiFi and Bluetooth®, and the second communication modality is chosen from near field communication (NFC), a magnet and Hall Effect sensor provided to respective ones of the fluid delivery device and an auxiliary device that sends the command to the fluid delivery device, an accelerometer sensor configured to detect a movement of an auxiliary device relative to the fluid delivery device, and a switch on the fluid delivery device.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the controller comprises a communication processor device and a safety processor device. The communication processor device establishes secure messaging with an auxiliary device connected to the fluid delivery before passing a message signal comprising the command from the auxiliary device to the fluid delivery. The safety processor device performs anomaly detection of the command.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the communication processor device and the safety processor device are both provided within the fluid delivery device.
In accordance with aspects of the illustrative embodiments, the fluid delivery device further comprises a processing device separate from and coupled to the controller. The processing device is configured to analyze the command to operate the drive assembly to determine when the command corresponds to an anomalous command, and to provide an indication to the controller when the command is determined to correspond to an anomalous command. The controller is configured to generate the prompt for confirmation of the command when the command corresponds to an anomalous command, operate the drive assembly in accordance with the command when a reply to the prompt is received and comprises an input corresponding to an affirmative confirmation, and ignore the command when the reply to the prompt is a negative confirmation chosen from an input corresponding to a negative confirmation, and no reply being received within a designated time period after the prompt.
Additional and/or other aspects and advantages of illustrative embodiments will be set forth in the description that follows, or will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the illustrative embodiments. The illustrative embodiments may comprise apparatuses and methods for operating same having one or more of the above aspects, and/or one or more of the features and combinations thereof. The illustrative embodiments may comprise one or more of the features and/or combinations of the above aspects as recited, for example, in the attached claims.
The above and/or other aspects and advantages of embodiments of the illustrative embodiments will be more readily appreciated from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which:
Throughout the drawing figures, like reference numbers will be understood to refer to like elements, features and structures.
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, there are numerous ways of carrying out the examples, improvements, and arrangements of an active safety function provided to a fluid delivery device (FDD) that receives wireless commands from an auxiliary device in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. Although reference will be made to the illustrative embodiments depicted in the drawings and the following descriptions, the embodiments disclosed herein are not meant to be exhaustive of the various alternative designs and embodiments that are encompassed by the disclosed technical solutions, and those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications may be made, and various combinations can be made without departing from the scope of the disclosed technical solutions. For example, embodiments for the present disclosure are described with respect to remote control of infusion of insulin or another medicinal fluid for purposes of regulating the user's blood glucose levels. However, numerous other types of medicines can be used by the FDD described in the example embodiments such as, but not limited to, pain relief drugs, hormone therapy, blood pressure treatments, anti-emetics, osteoporosis treatments, or other injectable medicines into the tissue or vasculature of a human or animal patient.
Insulin dosing is a critical task in the daily life of a Type 1 or Type 2 diabetic. Some existing insulin infusion pumps are connected to an auxiliary device (e.g., a dedicated proprietary controller) via a wireless or wired communication interface. These pumps allow users to control dosing from the connected auxiliary device. In the future, as regulation of medical devices permits, dosing may be allowed from a user's personal smartphone via wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth® protocol). FDDs can be manually operated to set and commence dosing, or can be set to automatically deliver a designated amount of medication at a designated time. Either way, a user interface for entering desired dose amount and/or time of delivery can be on an auxiliary device such as a personal smartphone with control functions for the FDD, or on a dedicated wirelessly connected remote controller.
While Bluetooth® can provide a secure communication path or channel between a FDD and an auxiliary device, significant harm to the user could occur in the case of unintended doses (e.g., particularly with insulin dosing), whether through user error operating the FDD or auxiliary device, or by a malicious actor. For example, FDDs need to be designed to prevent someone from purposefully interfering with or altering the communication channel between a FDD and an auxiliary device in a manner that causes the wrong command to be communicated to the FDD, or prevents a needed command from being communicated to the FDD, such that potentially harmful operation of the FDD could occur (e.g., dose size or timing that is outside an acceptable designated range or otherwise fails to satisfy a designated parameter level or range).
A technical problem therefore exists for cooperation between a FDD and an auxiliary device to safely and securely support dosing control of the FDD from the auxiliary device. This technical problem and other problems are overcome and advantages are realized by illustrative embodiments described herein. Different example embodiments of the present disclosure comprise: (1) at least an active safety feature of anomaly detection for inputted FDD commands and prompt for confirmation of anomalous commands prior to commanded operation of the FDD; and (2) an optional secondary communication path or modality for the confirmation that is different from a first communication path or modality used to communicate the command to the FDD. In accordance with another aspect of example embodiments, operations of the FDD controller can be implemented using communication channel interface firmware and safety firmware, wherein the communication channel interface firmware performs authentication to securely receive messages from an auxiliary device and forwards commands received via authenticated messages to the safety firmware, and wherein the safety firmware performs processing of the commands to ensure fluid delivery amounts and/or times of fluid delivery satisfy designated safety parameters. The communication channel interface firmware and the safety firmware can be provided in the same processing unit or in separate processing units.
As described below, one or more anomaly detection algorithm(s) can be employed at the FDD 10, or at the auxiliary device 63, or at another remote device connected to the FDD 10 and/or the auxiliary device 63, to process an inputted command (e.g., a dosing command) to determine if it is a normal command or an anomalous command before the command is acted upon by the FDD. For example, a normal command can be a command to operate the FDD according to an inputted parameter value that satisfies a designated parameter level or range for that particular patient and/or that particular FDD 10. By contrast, an anomalous command can be, for example, a command to operate the FDD according to an inputted parameter value that fails to satisfy a designated parameter level or range for that particular patient and/or that particular FDD 10. Example embodiments of an active safety feature of anomaly detection with respect to an operation command for a fluid delivery device are described below. For example, one or more anomaly detection algorithms can be used such as statistical methods or Hidden Markov models, among others, to determine if a commanded dose amount is anomalous or not. If the computing power or processing speed and the memory available on the FDD are limited (e.g., by the processing speed, power usage and/or cost of the controller, data storage and/or power components provided in a disposable FDD), the implementation of anomaly detection can be optimized to that environment. In an optimized embodiment using a disposable or partially disposable FDD 10, a user's disease management model and/or associated parameters are transferred to each new FDD 10 as the old FDD 10 is replaced and disposed of so that this user data does not have to be relearned by the controller in the new FDD 10.
With regard to the optional secondary communication path or modality for confirmation that is different from the communication path or modality used to input the command, different embodiments can include, but are not limited to, features on the pump such as a near field communication (NFC) interface, an accelerometer or other sensor used to detect a move and/or tap pattern of an auxiliary device relative to the FDD, a voice command (e.g., a microphone and phone app that can perform speech to command conversion), Bluetooth® signal strength (e.g., bringing smartphone or other auxiliary revise very close to the FDD), a fingerprint sensor, a physical user interface button, a magnet and Hall Effect sensor switch (e.g., a magnet or corresponding Hall Effect sensor provided in a respective one of custom jewelry such as a ring, bracelet, or watch that can be brought in close proximity to the other one of the magnet and corresponding Hall Effect sensor provided at a FDD 10 to indicate a user's confirmation of a command to the FDD), among other confirmation communication paths or modalities.
One of the main jobs of the BLE MCU 52a firmware is to keep track of the FDD 10's operational modes. The function of the BLE MCU 52a firmware can therefore depend on what mode the FDD 10 is in. Example FDD 10 operational modes tracked by the BLE MCU 52a firmware are: manufacturing, fill, attachment, active, fault, deactivated. The active mode is for fluid delivery (e.g., delivery of a drug from the reservoir 22 to a user). During the active mode, an auxiliary device 63 can transmit the user's basal schedule and bolus doses. The BLE MCU 52a firmware monitors the current time and uses that to determine when a basal delivery is needed. Commands from the auxiliary device 63, or from a FDD user button 17a and/or 17b are used to deliver a bolus. The firmware monitors for device faults such as: uncommanded movements (e.g., drive assembly 30 runaway), occlusions, drive train 38 failures, and low battery conditions. Feedback is provided to the user based on an LED and/or buzzer as shown connected to their respective drivers indicated at 60 and 58 in
The FDD 10's Safety MCU 52b firmware can have the following modes: pre-delivery mode, delivery mode and fault mode. The firmware can allow the motor 18 to be run without much restriction for manufacturing testing, fill level seeking, and priming to occur. Once pre-delivery mode is completed, the Safety MCU 52b firmware enters into a delivery mode. While in the delivery mode, the Safety MCU 52b monitors for too high of a basal rate and for boluses that are too large or too frequent, and removes power from the motor 18 drive assembly 30 should any of these failure conditions be detected. For example, the ability of the Safety MCU 52b firmware to assure safety is based on some limits for the amount of insulin which can be delivered over various periods of time. In accordance with an example embodiment, the BLE MCU 52a digitally communicates to the Safety MCU 52b. For example, the BLE MCU 52a passes messages with commands to operate the drive assembly 30 (e.g., a command which indicates the patient's intended dose rate) from the auxiliary device 63 to the Safety MCU 52b, along with auxiliary device-generated message authentication. For example, the BLE MCU 52a firmware can be configured to perform security operations such as certification/encryption to securely pair the FDD 10 to an intended auxiliary device 63 (e.g., using custom certification, public/private key exchange, or mutual authorization with unique identifiers (IDs) assigned to and exchanged between a FDD 10 and intended auxiliary device 63). The Safety MCU 52b firmware can be configured to use more controlled or stricter limits on the amount dosed than the amounts provided in a command transmitted from the auxiliary device 63 by (1) comparing dose parameters provided with the inputted command to thresholds related to designated dosing amounts and/or times of delivery; and (2) deferring operation of the FDD 10 in accordance with the inputted command until and if the inputted dose parameters are determined to satisfy safety thresholds for normal operation, or a confirmation is received in response to a prompt requesting confirmation of an anomalous operation from inputted dose parameters that fail to satisfy designated thresholds. This two-factor process for processing inputted commands received from the auxiliary device 63 prior to operating the FDD 100 in accordance with the commands improves the safety of operating the FDD 10 using an intended connected remote control device 63, and protects against malicious actor attacks on the communication path between the FDD 10 and a remote control device that may not be discernible by the intended user of the FDD.
In addition, the auxiliary device 63 or other device connected to the auxiliary device 63 can have a dosage calculator application that can calculate the recent rate of change in the user's blood glucose level and can use this rate of change information as a parameter in the calculation of a suggested bolus dosage of insulin (or another medication) for the user. In some embodiments, the dosage calculator application can be configured to determine basal rate dosages of insulin (or another medication) along with user-initiated bolus dosages. The auxiliary device 63, or other device connected to the auxiliary device 63, can be configured for a user to enter a carbohydrate value indicative of a meal for use by the dosage calculator application. The suggested bolus dosage or basal rate dosage can then be provided in a command sent from the auxiliary device 63 to the FDD 10, and subjected to anomaly detection and confirmation is anomalous, in accordance with aspects of illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure.
With reference to
In accordance with the process 102 in
With continued reference to
With regard to the receive command process 100 in
With further reference to anomaly detection process 102 in
In accordance with beneficial aspects of the example embodiments, commands to the FDD 10 are processed according to the process at step 102 (i.e., to determine if the command is for an anomalous change of operation in the FDD 10) regardless of how the command is received. Thus, commands manually inputted by the user or automatically set-up by the user, or received by a malicious attacker, are all subjected to the active safety feature of anomaly detection prior to FDD 10 operation in accordance with the command. The example embodiments are therefore advantageous over a medication delivery device that does not perform anomaly detection, and may only require user confirmation with each user inputted command, and therefore not detect a malicious attacker's wireless interference or nefarious command of which the user is unaware.
Regarding the prompt generation process 106 in
As an example of a prompt per process 106, the processor (e.g., controller 52) can cause generation of a textual prompt on a display 76 at the auxiliary device 63 via a response message transmitted to the auxiliary device 63 via the same communication modality used to receive the command (e.g., a BLE channel) or via a different communication modality. The text prompt can provide a description of the potential change in operation requested via the inputted command (e.g., “Bolus Initiated from Device X; Deliver Requested Bolus of 4.00 Units?”). Alternatively or additionally, other techniques can be used for prompting the user to confirm the user's intent to change the operation of the FDD 10 via an anomalous command. For example, the FDD 10 can provide a visual prompt (e.g., a flashing light), an auditory prompt (e.g., a buzzer) and/or a tactile prompt (e.g., vibration). Alternatively or additionally, any single or combination of these visual, auditory and tactile prompts can be generated at the auxiliary device 63. As a further example, a user can send confirmation of an anomalous command by pressing a button 17a and/or 17b on the FDD 10, or a button on a user input interface on the auxiliary device 63 (e.g., a pushbutton or other input switch, or a touchscreen 76). As described below, the user can optionally provide confirmation of an anomalous command by bumping the auxiliary device 63 against the FDD 10.
In accordance with an aspect of example embodiments in the present disclosure, a FDD 10 receives a confirmation via an optional secondary communication path or modality that is outside of a primary communication path or modality (e.g., a Bluetooth® channel) between the FDD 10 and an auxiliary device 63 (e.g., a remote controller) to confirm a commanded dose amount before it is given. Various example embodiments can be implemented to accommodate example user preferences. In one example embodiment, physical (or very close) access of the auxiliary device 63 to the pump 10 is necessitated in order for the pump 10 to receive a user's confirmation of an anomalous command from the auxiliary device 63. This proximity requirement for an auxiliary device 63 to access the confirmation communication path with the FDD 10 limits the ability for malicious actors to remotely administer unintended doses via an auxiliary device or other device, and limits the likelihood that the user mistakenly doses herself. Other example embodiments for implementing an optional second confirmation communication path or modality can be, but are not limited to, an accelerometer used with a “move/tap” pattern, a voice command (e.g., a microphone and phone app that can perform speech to command conversion), Bluetooth signal strength (e.g., bringing a smartphone 63 very close to a FDD 10), a fingerprint sensor on the smartphone 63, or a magnetic switch/Hall Effect sensor combination (e.g., a magnet or Hall Effect sensor provided in a jewelry piece such as a ring, bracelet, or watch that can be brought close to, respectively, the other one of a Hall Effect sensor and magnet provided in the FDD 10).
In accordance with one example embodiment, a FDD 10 is implemented as an insulin pump with a Near Field Communication (NFC) interface 65 (
In some embodiments, the FDD 10 can detect a bump with the auxiliary device 63 via its NFC circuit 65 and/or an accelerometer (not shown). As one example, the bump from a smartphone 63 against the pump 10 (e.g., directly or indirectly such that both devices 10 and 63 undergo a detectable bump impact) can cause a simultaneous data exchange between the NFC circuit 65 integrated in the pump 10 and an NFC circuit 67 in the smartphone 63. The data exchange can provide a confirmation signal to the pump 10 indicating that the user has confirmed acceptance of a suggested bolus dosage deemed by the process 102 to be anomalous. In some embodiments, accelerometers in the pump 10 and the smartphone 63 can operate in conjunction with the NFC circuits 65 and 67 to supplement criteria used for activating communications between the NFC circuits 65 and 67. In other words, while in some embodiments NFC communications are initiated based merely on proximity between the NFC circuits 65 and 67, in other embodiments a threshold movement of the pump 10 and/or the smartphone 63 needs to be detected in order to activate NFC communication and therefore confirmation of an anomalous command via this secondary confirmation communication modality.
Regardless of whether a FDD 10 and an auxiliary device 63 employ a secondary confirmation communication modality, the example embodiments described herein are advantageous over other fluid delivery systems that employ an intermediary device between a medical fluid delivery device and a remote controller therefor as a safety measure. The example embodiments can use a primary channel to send commands to a FDD 10 from an auxiliary device 63 acting as a remote controller and therefore without an additional intermediary device that adds complexity to the fluid delivery system and is more cumbersome to the user. Also, example embodiments that employ a secondary confirmation communication modality that is different from the primary command communication modality are more secure than a system wherein an intermediary device receives command and confirmation communications from both a remote device and a medication delivery device using the same communication modality.
As stated above and with further reference to the process 102 in
There are several anomaly detection techniques, such as local outlier factor, histogram-based outlier score, one-class support vector machine, robust covariance, k-nearest neighbor, and isolation forests. These algorithms can find anomalies using two methods such as outlier detection and novelty detection. Outlier detection, also known as unsupervised anomaly detection, uses a training data set of generally unlabeled data and attempts to find values that are far from the other seemingly normal values. Novelty detection, also known as semi-supervised anomaly detection, is used to detect new values that might be anomalies. As another example, a hybrid approach can be used that combine anomaly detection and model-based method(s) by including, among the considered feature set, the prediction residuals obtained using personalized predictive models identified using a single patient's data.
Unlike supervised machine-learning, unsupervised machine-learning does not require labeled data (e.g., a training set of data deemed normal and anomalistic to learning procedure to classify data as an anomaly or normal), but are based instead only on the observation of past examples of data (e.g., historical data), and new data are detected as anomalous if they differ significantly from data previously observed. In general, a combination of the above-referenced information about a user's historical and/or predicted user disease management data can be provided as input to machine learning models that use supervised or unsupervised training methods to configure an artificial intelligence system to output categorical or quantitative output for detecting events such as anomalies in commands for an FDD 10.
The following is a non-limiting example of an anomaly detection algorithm employing an unsupervised machine-learning model to determine if a command is anomalous per process 102 in
The following is a non-limiting example of an anomaly detection algorithm employing a supervised machine-learning model to determine if a command is anomalous per process 102 in
This example supervised AD algorithm utilizes the temporal correlation of infusions for a particular patient. Patient-specific infusion patterns are captured over time, and the long term changes of infusion patterns can also be detected. A safety range can be dynamically updated at different times of the day. More specifically, generated regression models can be used to dynamically configure a safe infusion range for abnormal infusion command identification. For example, the regressions can be configured to analyze infusion dosage history and predict future infusion dosages and, once data is collected and analyzed after a selected period of time, a safety range for a specified time interval can be generated. Further, two sub models can be used for bolus (one type of insulin) abnormal dosage detection and basal abnormal rate detection.
This example supervised AD algorithm can detect anomalous commands for bolus dosage and/or basal rate, and also when total daily insulin is exceeded by a command. When a command is received per process 100 in
The AD algorithm(s) per process 102 in
Typical drug delivery patch pump designs are challenged by the need to achieve small size, low power consumption, accurate delivery, high reliability, and low manufacturing costs. An example embodiment of the present disclosure achieves a technical solution to the technical problem of protecting a patient from dosing errors or other undesired medical device operations due to incorrect wireless commands; that is, from intentional nefarious interference with the wireless communication channel and command channel takeover, and/or from user operation error (e.g., intentionally or unintentionally entering an erroneous command for an anomalous operation of the medical device with respect to that patient). The example embodiments of the present disclosure can also achieve this technical solution while minimizing cost by providing means to enter confirmation of a command or to see an inputted command amount or rate of medication using a display on the auxiliary device 63 and without requiring the cost and complexity of an LED display or LCD on the FDD 10. In addition, example embodiments of the present disclosure further achieve this technical solution while minimizing cost by making the use of a different secondary confirmation channel optional, thereby omitting the need to use an NFC circuit at the FDD 10 for a secondary channel, for example.
Although various persons, including, but not limited to, a patient or a healthcare professional, can operate or use illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, for brevity an operator or user will be referred to as a “user” hereinafter.
Although various fluids can be employed in illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, for brevity the liquid in an injection device will be referred to as “fluid” hereinafter.
It will be understood by one skilled in the art that this disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the above description or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments herein are capable of other embodiments, and capable of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it will be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted,” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. In addition, the terms “connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. Further, terms such as up, down, bottom, and top are relative, and are employed to aid illustration, but are not limiting.
The components of the illustrative devices, systems and methods employed in accordance with the illustrated embodiments can be implemented, at least in part, in digital electronic circuitry, analog electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. These components can be implemented, for example, as a computer program product such as a computer program, program code or computer instructions tangibly embodied in an information carrier, or in a machine-readable storage device, for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus such as a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers.
A computer program can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network. Also, functional programs, codes, and code segments for accomplishing the illustrative embodiments can be easily construed as within the scope of claims exemplified by the illustrative embodiments by programmers skilled in the art to which the illustrative embodiments pertain. Method steps associated with the illustrative embodiments can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program, code or instructions to perform functions (e.g., by operating on input data and/or generating an output). Method steps can also be performed by, and apparatus of the illustrative embodiments can be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), for example.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of example, semiconductor memory devices, e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory or ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory devices, and data storage disks (e.g., magnetic disks, internal hard disks, or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks). The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in special purpose logic circuitry.
Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of claims exemplified by the illustrative embodiments. A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. In other words, the processor and the storage medium may reside in an integrated circuit or be implemented as discrete components.
Computer-readable non-transitory media includes all types of computer readable media, including magnetic storage media, optical storage media, flash media and solid state storage media. It should be understood that software can be installed in and sold with a central processing unit (CPU) device. Alternatively, the software can be obtained and loaded into the CPU device, including obtaining the software through physical medium or distribution system, including, for example, from a server owned by the software creator or from a server not owned but used by the software creator. The software can be stored on a server for distribution over the Internet, for example.
The above-presented description and figures are intended by way of example only and are not intended to limit the illustrative embodiments in any way except as set forth in the following claims. It is particularly noted that persons skilled in the art can readily combine the various technical aspects of the various elements of the various illustrative embodiments that have been described above in numerous other ways, all of which are considered to be within the scope of the claims.
This application is a 35 U.S.C. 371 National Stage Patent Application of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2023/011704, filed Jan. 27, 2023, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/304,710, filed Jan. 31, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2023/011704 | 1/27/2023 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
63304710 | Jan 2022 | US |