Implant Authentication and Connectivity

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for providing secure authentication and connection between an implant and a remote monitoring platform for tracking implant performance. A joint implant according to the present disclosure can include a first implant coupled to a first bone of a joint, a second implant coupled to a second bone of the joint, a first communication module, and a memory to store authentication information. The first communication module can be configured to wirelessly transfer the authentication information to a communication module of an external device when the external device is placed adjacent the joint implant. The first communication module can be an NFC communication module configured to transfer the authentication information to the communication module of the external device via NFC.

1 . A joint implant comprising:
 a first implant coupled to a first bone of a joint;   a second implant coupled to a second bone of the joint;   a first communication module, and   a memory to store authentication information,   wherein the first communication module is configured to wirelessly transfer the authentication information to a communication module of an external device when the external device is placed adjacent the joint implant.   
     
     
         2 . The joint implant of  claim 1 , wherein the first communication module is an NFC communication module, the NFC communication module configured to transfer the authentication information to the communication module of the external device via NFC. 
     
     
         3 . The joint implant of  claim 2 , further including at least one sensor to measure an interaction between the first and second implants. 
     
     
         4 . The joint implant of  claim 3 , wherein the authentication information include joint implant data or patient data. 
     
     
         5 . The joint implant of  claim 4 , wherein the joint implant is configured to change from a sleep mode to an advertising mode when the external device is placed adjacent the joint implant. 
     
     
         6 . The joint implant of  claim 5 , further including a second communication module. 
     
     
         7 . The joint implant of  claim 6 , wherein the second communication module is any of BLE, Z-wave or Zigbee module. 
     
     
         8 . The joint implant of  claim 7 , wherein the second communication module is a BLE module. 
     
     
         9 . The joint implant of  claim 8 , wherein the BLE module is configured to transfer the measured interaction between the first and second implants to the communication module of the external device via BLE in the advertising mode. 
     
     
         10 . The joint implant of  claim 9 , wherein the joint implant is configured to return to the sleep mode upon transferring the measured interaction. 
     
     
         11 . The joint implant of  claim 10 , wherein the measured interaction is any of a load between the first and second implants and position of the first implant with respect to the second implant. 
     
     
         12 . The joint implant of  claim 11 , wherein the joint implant is a knee joint implant, the first implant being a femoral implant and the second implant being a tibial implant. 
     
     
         13 . The joint implant of  claim 12 , wherein the tibial implant includes a tibial insert and a tibial stem, the first communication module, the second communication module and the memory being disposed within the tibial insert. 
     
     
         14 . The joint implant of  claim 13 , wherein the position of the first implant with respect to the second implant includes any of a knee flexion angle, knee varus-valgus rotation, knee internal-external rotation, knee medial-lateral translation, superior-inferior translation, anterior-posterior translation, and time derivatives thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The joint implant of  claim 14 , wherein the tibial insert includes any of a pH sensor, a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor operatively coupled to a processor. 
     
     
         16 . The joint implant of  claim 1 , wherein the external device is any of a smartphone, tablet, watch, and fob. 
     
     
         17 . The joint implant of  claim 1 , wherein the joint implant is any of hip implant, shoulder implant, and ankle implant. 
     
     
         18 . The joint implant of  claim 12 , wherein the measured interaction includes patient activity data. 
     
     
         19 . The joint implant of  claim 18 , wherein the patient activity data includes any of a patient's gait and a number of steps taken by the patient in a predetermined interval. 
     
     
         20 . An implant system comprising:
 an implant coupled to a patient, the implant comprising:   a first communication module, and   a memory to store authentication information,   an external device including a communication module,   wherein the first communication module is configured to wirelessly transfer the authentication information to the communication module of an external device when the external device is placed adjacent the implant.   
     
     
         21 . The implant system of  claim 20 , wherein the communication module is configured to communicate with a cloud-based service such that the authentication information from the first communication module is authenticated on the cloud-based service. 
     
     
         22 . A method for monitoring implant performance, the method comprising the steps of:
 placing an external device adjacent an implant coupled to patient to initiate a first communication between the implant and the external device;   authenticating implant information via the first communication;   initiating a second communication between the implant and the external device upon successful authentication of the first communication; and   transferring implant data from the implant to the external device via the second communication.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , where the first communication is an NFC communication and the second communication is a BLE communication.