Dynamic pairing of patients to data collection gateways
Systems, devices and methods transmit data from a patient device to a location, for example a remote location, where the patient is monitored. The system may comprise a server system, for example a backend server system, a gateway and the patient worn device. The gateway can be configured to communicate with the patient worn device in response to a list transmitted from the server, for example an approved patient device list transmitted from the server to the gateway. The gateway may exclude communication with patient worn devices that are not on the list. This use of the list can control data throughput from the patient device to the gateway and also from the gateway to the server, such that the communication from the device on the list to the server is maintained and appropriate information can be reliably sent from the patient device to the server.
1. A system for monitoring a patient, the system comprising:
a server system having a tangible medium configured to store and transmit gateway specific patient device list;
a patient device adapted to be coupled to the patient to measure patient data, the patient device comprising a communications module configured to transmit a device identifier; and
a gateway configured to communicate with the server system and the patient device, the gateway configured to receive the device identifier from the patient device and to receive a request from the patient device to pair with the gateway, and wherein the gateway is further configured transmit a gateway identifier to the server system and to receive the gateway specific patient device list, which includes a list of approved device identifiers associated with the gateway identifier, from the server system upon receipt of the request from the patient device to pair with the gateway, wherein the patient device provides the gateway with a link key if successfully paired with the gateway, wherein at least one of the server system, the patient device or the gateway is configured to determine an encryption key from the link key and wherein the patient device is configured to encrypt the patient data for transmission with the encryption key.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the gateway is further configured to allow pairing between the patient device and the gateway only if the device identifier received from the patient device appears in the list of approved device identifiers received from the server system.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein successful pairing of the patient device with a gateway provides a dedicated connection from the patient device to a backend server system via the gateway.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server system maintains a master approved patient device list for each gateway connected to the server system, wherein the master approved patient device list identifies the device identifiers associated with each gateway.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the list of approved device identifiers received by the gateway includes the entire master approved patient device list.
6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the list of approved device identifiers received by the gateway includes only those patient devices allowed to pair with the gateway.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the list of approved device identifiers provided to the gateway includes a range of identifiers, wherein the patient device is paired with the gateway if the device identifier associated with the patient device is within the range of identifiers.
8. A method of communicating patient monitoring data, the method comprising:
receiving, at a gateway from a patient device via a first electronic communication link, a device identifier transmitted by the patient device;
receiving, at the gateway from the patient device via the first electronic communication link, a request to pair the patient device to the gateway;
upon receipt of the request to pair the patient device to the gateway, performing a step to provide to a remote server system via a second electronic communication link a unique gateway identifier and receive in response to the unique gateway identifier a list of approved device identifiers associated with the unique gateway identifier from the remote server system via the second electronic communication link
receiving, at the gateway paired with the patient device via the first electronic communication link, a link key associated with the patient device;
measuring patient data using the patient device;
encrypting, at the patient device, the measured patient data using the link key;
communicating the measured patient data to the gateway paired with the patient device via the first electronic communication link, wherein the measured patient data communicated to the gateway is encrypted; and
decrypting, at the gateway, the encrypted measured patient data using the link key.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
comparing the device identifier received from the patient device with the list of approved device identifiers received from the server system; and
allowing pairing between the patient device and the gateway only when the device identifier received from the patient device appears in the list of approved device identifiers.
10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
preventing communication from the patient device to the gateway if the device identifier received from the patient device does not appear in the list of approved device identifiers.
11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising communicating the measured patient data received at the gateway to the remote server via the second electronic communication link.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the gateway includes in the measured patient data communicated to the remote server the device identifier associated with the patient device that measured the patient data.
13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising receiving, at the gateway via the second electronic communication link, an updated list of approved device identifiers from the remote server.