Method and system for verifying whether a non-medical client device is operating correctly with a medical device controlled by the non-medical client device and causing a notification to be generated

Abstract

A method and system are provided for verifying whether a non-medical client device is operating correctly with a medical device controlled by the non-medical client device (NMCD) and causing a notification to be generated. In accordance with the method, an application at the non-medical client device monitors for occurrence of a trigger event and when a trigger event is detected, the application can perform one or more diagnostic checks to verify whether a medical control application at the NMCD is operating correctly. When the application determines that the one or more diagnostic checks have failed, the medical control application can attempt to initiate one or more remedial correction measures to restore the medical control application so that it is operating correctly. When the one or more remedial correction measures were unsuccessful, the application causes the notification to be generated via a user interface of the non-medical client device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for verifying whether a non-medical client device is operating correctly with a medical device controlled by the non-medical client device and causing a notification to be generated, the method comprising:
 monitoring for occurrence of a trigger event via an application at the non-medical client device;   performing, via the application at the non-medical client device when the application at the non-medical client device detects occurrence of the trigger event, one or more diagnostic checks to verify whether a medical control application at the non-medical client device is operating correctly;   attempting to initiate one or more remedial correction measures to restore the medical control application at the non-medical client device so that it is operating correctly when the application at the non-medical client device determines that the one or more diagnostic checks have failed; and   causing, via the application at the non-medical client device, the notification to be generated via a user interface of the non-medical client device when the one or more remedial correction measures were unsuccessful.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the notification is a first notification, and further comprising:
 starting a counter at the non-medical client device after causing the first notification to be generated via the user interface of the non-medical client device;   regularly determining, via the application at the non-medical client device, whether an acknowledgement signal was generated to acknowledge the first notification; and   causing a second notification to be generated via a second user interface of the medical device when a count of the counter exceeds a threshold count and no acknowledgement signal was generated to acknowledge the first notification, wherein the second notification is used to alert a user that the first notification generated at the non-medical client device has not been acknowledged so that other remedial measures can be taken at the non-medical client device.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein performing comprises:
 performing a communication link verification process, via the application at the non-medical client device when the application at the non-medical client device detects occurrence of the trigger event, to determine whether the non-medical client device has an established communication link to the medical device.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein attempting comprises:
 attempting to establish a communication link between the non-medical client device and the medical device when the application at the non-medical client device determines that the non-medical client device does not haves a communication link to the medical device.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein causing comprises:
 causing a first notification to be generated via the user interface of the non-medical client device when the attempt to establish the communication link between the non-medical client device and the medical device is unsuccessful; and   causing a second notification to be generated via a second user interface of the medical device when the attempt to establish the communication link between the non-medical client device and the medical device is unsuccessful.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein performing comprises:
 initiating a verification protocol, via the application at the non-medical client device when the application at the non-medical client device detects occurrence of the trigger event, wherein the verification protocol comprises: executing one or more diagnostic checks to verify whether the medical control application is functioning properly and has access to adequate computing resources, wherein the computing resources include processing resources, communication resources, user interface resources, and memory resources.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the trigger event comprises one or more of:
 receiving an indication that a notification needs to be acknowledged;   receiving an indication that a notification needs to be activated;   receiving an indication that a notification has been issued;   receiving an indication that a timer has expired; and   receiving an indication that a counter has a count that exceeds a threshold count.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more diagnostic checks to verify whether the medical control application is operating correctly comprise one or more of:
 determining whether an operating system version is up to date;   determining whether the medical control application is up to date;   determining whether settings of the medical control application are correct;   determining whether the medical control application is loading properly; and   determining whether the medical control application is running properly.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more remedial correction measures attempt to correct issues that are causing the non-medical client device to run improperly so that the medical control application will function correctly and have access to required computing resources. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more remedial correction measures comprise one or more of:
 automatically closing and restarting the medical control application;   prompting the user to change restart the medical control application of the non-medical client device when it is determined that the medical control application is not loading or is not running properly;   automatically powering the non-medical client device off, automatically restarting non-medical client device and reopening the medical control application;   downloading and installing an up-to-date version of the medical control application or an up-to-date version of an operating system when it is determined that the existing versions were not correct;   prompting the user to change one or more settings of the medical control application when it is determined that one or more settings of the medical control application are incorrect; and   freeing up additional computing resources of the non-medical client device for use by the medical control application when it is determined that the medical control application does not have access to adequate computing resources.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the non-medical client device comprises: a smartphone, and wherein the medical device comprises one of an insulin infusion device that is configured to be controlled via the medical control application executed at the smartphone, and a glucose sensor arrangement. 
     
     
         12 . A non-medical client device that is configured to execute a medical control application that controls a medical device, the non-medical client device comprising:
 at least one processor device; and   a non-transitory processor-readable medium operatively associated with the at least one processor device, the processor-readable medium comprising executable instructions configurable to cause the at least one processor device to perform a method for verifying whether the non-medical client device is operating correctly with the medical device and causing a notification to be generated, the method comprising:
 monitoring for occurrence of a trigger event via an application at the non-medical client device; 
 performing, via the application at the non-medical client device when the application at the non-medical client device detects occurrence of the trigger event, one or more diagnostic checks to verify whether a medical control application at the non-medical client device is operating correctly; 
 attempting to initiate one or more remedial correction measures via the application to restore the medical control application at the non-medical client device so that it is operating correctly when the application at the non-medical client device determines that the one or more diagnostic checks have failed; and 
 causing, via the application at the non-medical client device, the notification to be generated via a user interface of the non-medical client device when the one or more remedial correction measures were unsuccessful. 
   
     
     
         13 . The non-medical client device of  claim 12 , wherein the notification is a first notification, and the method further comprising:
 starting a counter at the non-medical client device after causing the first notification to be generated via the user interface of the non-medical client device;   regularly determining, via the application at the non-medical client device, whether an acknowledgement signal was generated to acknowledge the first notification; and   causing a second notification to be generated via a second user interface of the medical device when a count of the counter exceeds a threshold count and no acknowledgement signal was generated to acknowledge the first notification, wherein the second notification is used to alert a user that the first notification generated at the non-medical client device has not been acknowledged so that other remedial measures can be taken at the non-medical client device.   
     
     
         14 . The non-medical client device of  claim 12 , wherein performing comprises:
 initiating a verification protocol, via the application at the non-medical client device when the application at the non-medical client device detects occurrence of the trigger event, wherein the verification protocol comprises: executing one or more diagnostic checks to verify whether the medical control application is functioning properly and has access to adequate computing resources, wherein the computing resources include processing resources, communication resources, user interface resources, and memory resources.   
     
     
         15 . The non-medical client device of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more remedial correction measures attempt to correct issues that are causing the non-medical client device to run improperly so that the medical control application will function correctly and have access to required computing resources, and wherein the one or more remedial correction measures comprise one or more of:
 automatically closing and restarting the medical control application;   prompting the user to change restart at least one of the medical control application, the non-medical client device and an operating system of the non-medical client device when it is determined that the medical control application is not loading or is not running properly;   automatically powering the non-medical client device off, automatically restarting non-medical client device and reopening the medical control application;   downloading and installing an up-to-date version of the medical control application or an up-to-date version of an operating system when it is determined that the existing versions were not correct;   prompting the user to change one or more settings of the medical control application when it is determined that one or more settings of the medical control application are incorrect; and   freeing up additional computing resources of the non-medical client device for use by the medical control application when it is determined that the medical control application does not have access to adequate computing resources.   
     
     
         16 . A wireless body area network for an insulin infusion system, comprising:
 a plurality of devices that are part of the wireless body area network, the plurality of devices comprising: a non-medical client device and a medical device configured to be controlled by a medical control application executed by the non-medical client device, the non-medical client device comprising:
 a processor device; and 
 a non-transitory processor-readable medium operatively associated with the processor device, the processor-readable medium comprising executable instructions configurable to cause the processor device to perform a method for verifying whether the non-medical client device is operating correctly with the medical device and causing a notification to be generated, the method comprising:
 monitoring for occurrence of a trigger event via an application at the non-medical client device; 
 performing, via the application at the non-medical client device when the application at the non-medical client device detects occurrence of the trigger event, one or more diagnostic checks to verify whether a medical control application at the non-medical client device is operating correctly; 
 attempting to initiate one or more remedial correction measures via the application to restore the medical control application at the non-medical client device so that it is operating correctly when the application at the non-medical client device determines that the one or more diagnostic checks have failed; and 
 causing, via the application at the non-medical client device, the notification to be generated via a user interface of the non-medical client device when the one or more remedial correction measures were unsuccessful. 
 
   
     
     
         17 . The wireless body area network of  claim 16 , wherein the notification is a first notification, and the method further comprising:
 starting a counter at the non-medical client device after causing the first notification to be generated via the user interface of the non-medical client device;   regularly determining, via the application at the non-medical client device, whether an acknowledgement signal was generated to acknowledge the first notification; and   causing a second notification to be generated via a second user interface of the medical device when a count of the counter exceeds a threshold count and no acknowledgement signal was generated to acknowledge the first notification, wherein the second notification is used to alert a user that the first notification generated at the non-medical client device has not been acknowledged so that other remedial measures can be taken at the non-medical client device.   
     
     
         18 . The wireless body area network of  claim 16 , wherein the trigger event comprises one or more of: receiving an indication that a notification needs to be acknowledged; receiving an indication that a notification needs to be activated; receiving an indication that a notification has been issued; receiving an indication that a timer has expired; and receiving an indication that a counter has a count that exceeds a threshold count, and
 wherein the one or more diagnostic checks to verify whether the medical control application is operating correctly comprise one or more of: determining whether an operating system version is up to date; determining whether the medical control application is up to date; determining whether settings of the medical control application are correct; determining whether the medical control application is loading properly; and determining whether the medical control application is running properly.   
     
     
         19 . The wireless body area network of  claim 16 , wherein performing comprises:
 initiating a verification protocol, via the application at the non-medical client device when the application at the non-medical client device detects occurrence of the trigger event, wherein the verification protocol comprises: executing one or more diagnostic checks to verify whether the medical control application is functioning properly and has access to adequate computing resources, wherein the computing resources include processing resources, communication resources, user interface resources, and memory resources.   
     
     
         20 . The wireless body area network of  claim 16 , wherein the one or more remedial correction measures attempt to correct issues that are causing the non-medical client device to run improperly so that the medical control application will function correctly and have access to required computing resources, and wherein the one or more remedial correction measures comprise one or more of:
 automatically closing and restarting the medical control application;   prompting the user to change restart the medical control application of the non-medical client device when it is determined that the medical control application is not loading or is not running properly;   automatically powering the non-medical client device off, automatically restarting non-medical client device, and reopening the medical control application;   downloading and installing an up-to-date version of the medical control application or an up-to-date version of an operating system when it is determined that the existing versions were not correct;   prompting the user to change one or more settings of at least one of the medical control application, the non-medical client device or an operating system of the non-medical client device when it is determined that one or more settings of the medical control application are incorrect; and   freeing up additional computing resources of the non-medical client device for use by the medical control application when it is determined that the medical control application does not have access to adequate computing resources.