Patent Application
20140249501
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fluid injection systems and, more specifically, to a system and method for managing fluid injection protocols and providing fluid injection systems with fluid injection protocols.
2. Background of the Invention
In injection-based therapies, various injection parameters are often required. For example, with cellular therapy fluids, specific cells have been found to require specific values for various injection parameters. These parameters are necessary for optimizing cell outputs.
Medical professionals are often in need of injection protocols for different situations and different patients. Therefore, the medical professionals need to customize a protocol for a particular situation. At the same time, other medical professionals may be in need of such customized protocols for similar situations.
Further, research and development professionals are often in need of injection protocols for different testing situations. Therefore, the research and development professionals need to customize a protocol for a particular situation.
Generally, the present invention provides a system and method for managing injection protocols and providing injection systems with injection protocols that overcome some or all of the drawbacks and deficiencies associated with known injection systems.
According to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, provided is a fluid injection system for controlling at least one fluid delivery system, the fluid injection system comprising at least one computing device in communication with the at least one fluid delivery system, the at least one computing device configured to: display, on or with at least one display device, at least one graphical user interface configured to facilitate a user selection of at least one injection protocol of a plurality of injection protocols; receive, from at least one user, at least one selected injection protocol from the plurality of injection protocols; retrieve, from at least one remote server computer, the at least one selected injection protocol; and control the at least one fluid delivery system based at least partially on the at least one selected injection protocol.
According to another non-limiting embodiment, provided is an fluid injection management system, comprising: at least one injection protocol database comprising injection protocol data, the injection protocol data including a plurality of injection protocols; and at least one server computer configured to: receive a plurality of injection protocols from a plurality of client computers; store the plurality of injection protocols in the at least one injection protocol database; and transmit at least one selected injection protocol of the plurality of injection protocols to at least one medical or research facility.
According to a further non-limiting embodiment, provided is a computer-implemented method for managing a plurality of fluid injection protocols, comprising: receiving a plurality of fluid injection protocols from a plurality of user computers; storing the plurality of fluid injection protocols in at least one database; receiving, from at least one computer in communication with a fluid delivery system, a request to download at least one fluid injection protocol; and transmitting at least a portion of the at least one fluid injection protocol to the at least one computer.
These and other features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structures and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As used in the specification and the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “end”, “upper”, “lower”, “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “lateral”, “longitudinal” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as it is oriented in the drawing figures. However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative variations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the invention. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics related to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting.
As used herein, the terms “communication” and “communicate” refer to the receipt, transmission, or transfer of one or more signals, messages, commands, or other type of data. For one unit or device to be in communication with another unit or device means that the one unit or device is able to receive data from and/or transmit data to the other unit or device. A communication may use a direct or indirect connection, and may be wired and/or wireless in nature. Additionally, two units or devices may be in communication with each other even though the data transmitted may be modified, processed, routed, etc., between the first and second unit or device. For example, a first unit may be in communication with a second unit even though the first unit passively receives data, and does not actively transmit data to the second unit. As another example, a first unit may be in communication with a second unit if an intermediary unit processes data from one unit and transmits processed data to the second unit. It will be appreciated that numerous other arrangements are possible. Any known electronic communication protocols and/or algorithms may be used such as, for example, TCP/IP (including HTTP and other protocols), WLAN (including 802.11 and other radio frequency-based protocols and methods), and/or the like.
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In some non-limiting embodiments, the processor 109, memory 110, input device 106, and/or the display device 104 of the injection system 102 may be part of a separate computer that is in communication with the fluid delivery system 112. In other non-limiting embodiments, the processor 109, memory 110, input device 106, and/or the display device 104 may be part of or integrated with a housing of the fluid delivery system 112. In further non-limiting embodiments, the injection system 102 may include a combination of one or more separate computers in communication with the fluid delivery system 112 and internal components (e.g., processors, memory, etc.) of the fluid delivery system 112. It will be appreciated that various other components and/or modules may be included with the injection system 102 and/or fluid delivery system 112. Further, numerous other arrangements are possible and various components may be integrated with and/or separated from one another.
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The term “injection system,” as used herein, refers to one or more hardware and/or software components, systems, modules, and/or the like used to deliver fluid to a patient, an animal, or a test receptacle. It will be appreciated that the various components and/or modules of the injection system may be included in a single housing, may be separated, and/or may be arranged in any other operable way. The term “fluid delivery system,” as used herein, refers to a portion of an injection system 102, or separate components or devices in communication with an injection system 102, which deliver fluid to patients, animals, or test receptacles, and/or control fluid delivery. In some non-limiting embodiments, the fluid delivery system 112 may include a syringe motor, actuator, interface, one or more pumps, one or more pump cartridges, one or more ports for receiving pump cartridges, tubing or other fluid paths, and/or the like. Examples of injection and fluid delivery systems that can be used with the injection protocol management system 1000 include, but are not limited to, those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0123257 to Stokes et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0086087 to Spohn et al., and WIPO Patent Application Publication No. WO/2012/155035 to Shearer et al., all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. The fluid delivery systems may include various components such as, but not limited to, those discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,337,456 to Schriver et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 8,147,464 to Spohn et al., which are also hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
As used herein, the terms “injection protocol database” and “protocol database” refer to one or more data structures configured to store injection protocol data. In some non-limiting embodiments, the injection protocol database 114 may include data structured as one or more tables, trees, arrays, objects, and/or other like data structures. The data may be arranged by pharmaceutical, cell type, identifier, therapeutic use, protocol name, and/or the like. It will be appreciated that, with some forms of structured data, the data may be arranged in any number of ways depending on how it is queried. In non-limiting embodiments utilizing an object-oriented database, the protocols themselves may be individual objects with various attributes and parameters. It will be appreciated that any other data storage methods and/or data structures may be used.
In one non-limiting embodiment, injection protocol data may include one or more parameters and/or variables such as, but not limited to, a flow rate, a flow acceleration and/or deceleration rate, a flow pressure, a number of phases, various identifiers for drugs, contrast fluids, cells, injection systems, containers, tubing and/or other fluid delivery system components, an initial cell concentration, an initial pharmaceutical concentration, a timing or sequence for injection steps, a particular use, a variable associated with a fluid containing cells and/or pharmaceuticals, a variable associated with a fluid path for the fluid delivery system, a total fluid volume, and/or other like parameters. In the injection protocol database, sets of one or more parameters may be associated with one or more pharmaceuticals, cell types, injection types, protocol names or identifiers, therapeutic uses, target organ or body area for the injected fluid, and/or the like.
In one non-limiting embodiment, the injection protocol management system 1000 is used for delivering cellular therapies to patients. In this example, the injection protocols include one or more parameters associated with one or more cells to optimize cell outputs (e.g., apoptosis, differentiation, proliferation, and/or the like). Medical professionals, researchers, and other individuals or entities may experiment with various injection parameters for different cells and/or therapies. This testing data, or results derived from such testing data, may be used to generate the injection parameters for a protocol.
In one non-limiting embodiment, the injection protocols may be generated, at least in part, based on the injection protocol data and patient-based factors. The patient-based factors may include various patient parameters including, but not limited to, a patient age, weight, body mass index (BMI), gender, medical history, and/or the like. Thus, injection protocols may factor in such patient parameters by weighing, multiplying, or otherwise calculating injection parameters based on the patient parameters. It will be appreciated that such factoring and/or calculations may be performed by the injection protocol server 108, the injection system 102, or any combination of computing devices local and/or remote to the injection system 102.
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The interfaces 117, 118 may be integrated or separate subsystems, such as modules, components, and/or the like, that allow different graphical interfaces, portals, web pages, and/or the like to be accessed by and/or provided to different remote users. In some embodiments, the interfaces 117, 118 may be two separate web pages hosted by the server 108. The protocol upload interface 118 may transmit, to a provider computer 124, display data configured to generate an upload graphical user interface (GUI) 128 to enable a protocol provider, such as a physician or other type of medical or research professional, to upload injection protocols to the server 108. The protocol upload interface 118 may therefore include payment history and/or activity history information relating to third-party downloads, accruement of royalties or payments for third-party downloads, and/or other like information relating to the protocols uploaded by the user. The upload GUI 128 may also include input fields, selection options (i.e., radio buttons, check boxes, etc.), and buttons to facilitate user input.
In one non-limiting embodiment, users that upload protocols to the injection protocol server 108 are associated with a provider account that allows the users to login and monitor the download and/or purchase activity associated with the protocols that they uploaded. For example, payment history information may be generated based at least in part on a number of downloads, and/or an aggregate revenue generated by such downloads, of protocols that the user uploaded and/or otherwise provided. It will be appreciated that various payment arrangements are possible to reward and/or compensate the protocol providers.
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In one non-limiting embodiment, injection protocols stored in the protocol database 114 may be ranked in various ways. Protocol rankings may include, for example, a user-specified ranking, a number of times downloaded and/or sold, a number of times viewed, a date first uploaded, and/or the like. User rankings may be based on a grading or number system (e.g., a ranking Y out of X number of units, where Y is equal or less than X). Rankings may also be used for each protocol, or various aspects of each protocol (e.g., efficiency, effectiveness, cost, and/or the like). Moreover, users may comment or add notes to various protocols to provide information or advice on using the protocols, to review or evaluate the protocols, or to otherwise provide information relevant to one or more protocols. Media content, such as photographs, pictures, video data, audio data, and/or the like, may also be uploaded by users to be associated with one or more protocols. Such media content may allow a user to evaluate whether a particular protocol would be appropriate for their use.
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Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood that the present invention contemplates that, to the extent possible, one or more features of any embodiment can be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment.
