U.S. patent application number 15/528351 was filed with the patent office on 2017-11-09 for method and system for establishing network connection to a wearable eeg monitoring module.
This patent application is currently assigned to T&W Engineering A/S. The applicant listed for this patent is T&W Engineering A/S. Invention is credited to Svend Vitting ANDERSEN, Niels Erik Boelskift MARETTI, Anders WESTERGAARD, Soren Erik WESTERMANN.
Application Number | 20170323073 15/528351 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51945880 |
Filed Date | 2017-11-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170323073 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WESTERMANN; Soren Erik ; et
al. |
November 9, 2017 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ESTABLISHING NETWORK CONNECTION TO A WEARABLE
EEG MONITORING MODULE
Abstract
A system and a method for providing a network connection for a
computer device (21) to a wearable EEG monitoring module (1) having
a gateway to the Internet (16), and comprising a patient record
server (25) accessible over the Internet, and providing an
electronic patient medical database (26), each patient record
including a unique identity for an associated wearable EEG
monitoring module; a control server (19) providing an EEG module
connection register (19a) including the unique identity of EEG
monitoring modules associated with current connection information;
and a network connection handling element (43) being adapted for
detecting the presence of a wireless connection between the
wearable EEG monitoring module (1) and the gateway, and for
uploading current connection information to the control server
(19). The control server (19) is adapted for updating the
convection information in the EEG module connection register (19a)
when receiving communicated Connection information, and for
providing the current connection information to a computer device
(21) upon request. The computer device (21) is adapted for
establishing a direct connection to the wearable EEG monitoring
module (1) based on the current Connection Information Requested
from the control server (19). The invention further provides a
wearable EEG monitoring module (1) and a computer-readable storage
medium.
Inventors: |
WESTERMANN; Soren Erik;
(Espergaerde, DK) ; ANDERSEN; Svend Vitting;
(Espergaerde, DK) ; WESTERGAARD; Anders; (Herlev,
DK) ; MARETTI; Niels Erik Boelskift; (Birkerod,
DK) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
T&W Engineering A/S |
Lynge |
|
DK |
|
|
Assignee: |
T&W Engineering A/S
Lynge
DK
|
Family ID: |
51945880 |
Appl. No.: |
15/528351 |
Filed: |
November 20, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
November 20, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2015/077210 |
371 Date: |
May 19, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G16H 40/40 20180101;
G16H 10/60 20180101; H04R 2225/67 20130101; H04R 25/554 20130101;
H04R 2225/39 20130101; G06F 19/3418 20130101; G16H 10/65 20180101;
H04R 25/70 20130101; H04R 25/505 20130101; G16H 40/67 20180101;
H04W 48/18 20130101; H04W 76/14 20180201; H04R 2225/55 20130101;
G16H 50/30 20180101; H04R 25/558 20130101; H04W 4/80 20180201; H04W
12/0608 20190101; H04W 12/0609 20190101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 19/00 20110101
G06F019/00; G06F 19/00 20110101 G06F019/00; G06F 19/00 20110101
G06F019/00; H04R 25/00 20060101 H04R025/00; G06F 19/00 20110101
G06F019/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 20, 2014 |
EP |
PCT/EP2014/075111 |
Claims
1. A method for providing a network connection to a wearable EEG
monitoring module via the Internet, wherein said wearable EEG
monitoring module is connected to the Internet via a gateway, and
comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of patient records
in a patient record server accessible over the Internet, each
patient record including a unique identity for an associated
wearable EEG monitoring module; detecting the presence of a
wireless connection between said wearable EEG monitoring module and
said gateway; communicating the current connection information to a
control server; providing, in said control server, an EEG module
connection register containing said unique identity of wearable EEG
monitoring modules and corresponding communicated current
connection information; requesting, from a computer device, said
control server to provide the current connection information for
said wearable EEG monitoring module by providing the associated
unique identity; and establishing, from said computer device, a
direct connection to said wearable EEG monitoring module based on
the current connection information retrieved from said control
server.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein an Internet enabled
personal communication device and said wearable EEG monitoring
module are connected for establishing a wireless connection,
whereby the personal communication device becomes a gateway for
said wearable EEG monitoring module to a patient record server over
the Internet.
3. The method according to claim 1, and comprising retrieving, from
said computer device, log data from said wearable EEG monitoring
module via said gateway.
4. The method according to claim 1, and comprising automatically
updating said EEG module connection register of the control server
upon creation of new patient records in said patient record
server.
5. The method according to claim 1, and comprising uploading
current connection information to said control server upon
detection of a new connection to the Internet.
6. The method according to claim 1, and comprising assigning in
said EEG module connection register a unique identity to said
wearable EEG monitoring module and mapping this unique identity to
an IP address and a port number.
7. The method according to claim 2, wherein a medical care
professional is retrieving data from and adjusting settings of said
wearable EEG monitoring module during a remote EEG surveillance
session by means of a computer program running on said computer
device, wherein the computer program retrieves identification of
said wearable EEG monitoring module from the patient record server
and retrieves the associated Connection information from the EEG
module connection register administered by the control server.
8. A system for performing the method according to claim 1, said
system comprising: a patient record server (25) accessible over the
Internet, and providing an electronic medical record database (26),
each patient record including a unique identity for an associated
wearable EEG monitoring module; a control server (19) providing an
EEG module connection register (19a) including said unique identity
of EEG monitoring modules associated with current connection
information; a network connection handling element (43) being
adapted for detecting the presence of a wireless connection between
said wearable EEG monitoring module (1) and said gateway, and for
uploading current connection information to said control server
(19); and wherein the control server (19) is adapted for updating
the connection information in the EEG module connection register
(19a) when receiving communicated connection information, and for
providing the current connection information to a computer device
(21) upon request; and wherein said computer device (21) is adapted
for establishing a direct connection to said wearable EEG
monitoring module (1) based on the current connection information
requested from said control server (19).
9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said network connection
handling element (43) is contained in said wearable EEG monitoring
module (1).
10. The system according to claim 8, wherein said network
connection handling element (43) is contained in an Internet
enabled personal communication device (13), and wherein said
Internet enabled personal communication device (13) and said
wearable EEG monitoring module (1) are provided with respective
transceivers for establishing a short range wireless connection,
whereby the personal communication device (13) becomes said gateway
for said wearable EEG monitoring module (1) to the Internet
(16).
11. The system according to claim 10, wherein said network
connection handling element (43) is adapted for detecting the
presence of said short range wireless connection to said wearable
EEG monitoring module (1), and for communicating said current
connection information to said control server (19).
12. The system according to claim 8, wherein the computer device
(21) is adapted for retrieving log data from said wearable EEG
monitoring module (1) using said gateway.
13. The system according to claim 8, wherein said patient record
server (25) and said control server (19) are two separate
entities.
14. The system according to claim 8, wherein said patient record
server (25) automatically updates said EEG module connection
register (19a) of the control server (19) upon creation of new
patient records.
15. The system according to claim 10, wherein said EEG module
connection register each wearable EEG monitoring module present in
the EEG module connection register (19a).
16. The system according to claim 8, wherein said network
connection handling element (43) is adapted for communicating said
current connection information to said control server (19) upon
detection of a new connection to the Internet (16).
17. The system according to claim 8, wherein said EEG Module
Connection Register (19a) of the control server (19) is adapted to
assigning in said EEG module connection register (19a) a unique
identity to said wearable EEG monitoring module (1) and mapping
this unique identity to an IP address and a port number.
18. A non-transient computer-readable storage medium having
computer-executable instructions, which when executed on an
computer device (21) are adapted for manipulating a wearable EEG
monitoring module (1) during a remote ward round session, and for
performing a method comprising the steps of: launching the remote
ward round session application on the computer device (21);
accessing from the remote ward round session application a patient
record server (25) over the Internet for retrieving a patient
record for the user of the wearable EEG monitoring module (1) to be
manipulated, said patient record containing a unique identity of
said wearable EEG monitoring module (1); retrieving connection
information for said wearable EEG monitoring module (1) from the
EEG module connection register (19a) administered by a control
server (19); and establishing a direct connection for programming
said wearable EEG monitoring module (1) based on the connection
information retrieved from said control server (19).
19. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 18,
wherein the connection information retrieval and the direct
connection establishment is provided automatically from a
surveillance session application once the patient record has been
accessed.
20. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 18,
wherein the manipulation of the wearable EEG monitoring module (1)
comprises retrieving data from and/or adjusting settings of said
wearable EEG monitoring module (1) during the remote ward round
session under control of a medical professional.
21. A wearable EEG monitoring module (1) having a unique identity
and being adapted to be connected to a computer device (21) via the
Internet (16), and comprising a network connection handling element
(43) being adapted to detecting the presence of a wireless
connection between the wearable EEG monitoring module (1) and a
gateway to the Internet (16), and to communicating a current
connection information for the wearable EEG monitoring module (1)
to a control server (19), whereby the computer device (21) is
adapted to request the current connection information from said
control server (19) based on the unique identity of the wearable
EEG monitoring module (1), and for establishing a direct connection
to the wearable EEG monitoring module (1).
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a system and a method for providing
a network connection to a wearable EEG monitoring module via the
Internet. More specifically the invention relates to a system for
remote surveillance of an EEG signal of a person susceptible of
having a hypoglycemic seizure, where the system comprises an EEG
sensor having electrodes for measuring one or more EEG signals from
said person. The invention also relates to a wearable EEG
monitoring module.
[0002] For persons with diabetes accurate control of blood sugar
concentration is important. The level should not be too high in
order to limit the risk of long term effects of diabetes. The blood
sugar level should also not be too low, since this might lead to
hypoglycemia, where the person becomes absent and may become
unconscious. Hypoglycemic attacks may be fatal. Often persons with
diabetes have the problem that they will not feel any warning
before the blood sugar concentration has fallen to a level where a
hypoglycemic attack occurs. This phenomenon is known as
hypoglycemic unawareness. The risk of an attack therefore often
limits the possible activities of the people concerned, which
furthermore decreases their quality of life. Attacks can be
prevented in a simple way, e.g. by consuming appropriate food when
glucose values become critically low. The number of people in the
risk group is approximately 10 million.
[0003] A large part of people with diabetes are elderly persons, of
which some cannot always be trusted to take the necessary actions
themselves on an alarm of an imminent hypoglycemic attack. The same
may be the case for children having diabetes. For persons who may
need assistance in preventing an imminent hypoglycemic attack it is
necessary to have a system which can also transmit an alarm to a
helper, e.g. caregiver, who is not necessarily in the same room. In
the case of children the helper would typically be a parent. In
order to avoid errors it is essential that the handling of such a
system is as simple as possible, and that it is easy to control the
system. Simple handling includes that intervals between changing or
recharging batteries should be as long as possible. Easy control of
the system includes that it should be easy to check correct
positioning of the part arranged on the skin surface of the body.
Simple handling and easy control is especially important in a
nursing home where one helper or caregiver may need to watch out
for more than one alarm system related to different persons and at
the same time be doing a number of other tasks.
[0004] The purpose of the invention is to provide remote access to
wearable EEG monitoring modules allowing medical care professionals
to retrieve logging data from the wearable EEG monitoring modules
for analyses and to adjust settings for the wearable EEG monitoring
modules.
[0005] This purpose is according to the invention achieved by a
method for providing a network connection to a wearable EEG
monitoring module via the Internet. The wearable EEG monitoring
module is connected to the Internet via a gateway. The method
comprises the steps of providing a plurality of patient records in
a patient record server accessible over the Internet, each patient
record including a unique identity for an associated wearable EEG
monitoring module; detecting the presence of a wireless connection
between said wearable EEG monitoring module and said gateway;
communicating the current connection information to a control
server; providing, in said control server, an EEG module connection
register containing said unique identity of wearable EEG monitoring
modules and corresponding communicated current connection
information; requesting, from a computer device, said control
server to provide the current connection information for said
wearable EEG monitoring module by providing the associated unique
identity; and establishing, from said computer device, a direct
connection to said wearable EEG monitoring module based on the
current connection information retrieved from said control
server.
[0006] According to a second aspect of the invention there is
provided a system for providing a network connection for a computer
device to a wearable EEG monitoring module having a gateway to the
Internet. The system comprises a patient record server accessible
over the Internet, and providing an electronic medical record
database, each patient record including an unique identity for an
associated wearable EEG monitoring module; a control server
providing an EEG module connection register including said unique
identity of EEG monitoring modules associated with current
connection information; and a network connection handling element
being adapted for detecting the presence of a wireless connection
between said wearable EEG monitoring module and said gateway, and
for uploading current connection information to said control
server. The control server is adapted for updating the connection
information in the EEG module connection register when receiving
communicated connection information, and for providing the current
connection information to a computer device upon request, and the
computer device is adapted for establishing a direct connection to
said wearable EEG monitoring module based on the current connection
information requested from said control server.
[0007] According to a third aspect of the invention there is
provided a computer-readable storage medium having
computer-executable instructions, which when executed on a computer
device are adapted for manipulating a wearable EEG monitoring
module during a remote ward round session. When executed, the
computer-executable instructions are responsible for launching the
remote ward round session application on the computer device;
accessing from the remote ward round session application a patient
record server over the Internet for retrieving a patient record for
the user of the wearable EEG monitoring module to be manipulated,
said patient record contain a unique identity of said wearable EEG
monitoring module; retrieving connection information for said
wearable EEG monitoring module from the EEG module connection
register administered by a control server; and establishing a
direct connection for programming said wearable EEG monitoring
module based on the connection information retrieved from said
control server.
[0008] According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is
provided a wearable EEG monitoring module having a unique identity
and being adapted to be connected to a computer device via the
Internet. The wearable EEG monitoring module comprises a network
connection handling element being adapted to detecting the presence
of a wireless connection between the wearable EEG monitoring module
and a gateway to the Internet, and to communicating current
connection information for the wearable EEG monitoring module to a
control server. The computer device is adapted to request the
current connection information from said control server based on
the unique identity of the wearable EEG monitoring module, and for
establishing a direct connection to the wearable EEG monitoring
module.
[0009] The invention will be described in further detail with
reference to preferred aspects and the accompanying drawing, in
which:
[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a system for providing a
network connection to a wearable EEG monitoring module according to
a first embodiment of the invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates in more details the system shown in FIG.
1;
[0012] FIG. 3 illustrates schematically a system for providing a
network connection to a wearable EEG monitoring module according to
a second embodiment of the invention;
[0013] FIG. 4 illustrates in more details the system shown in FIG.
3;
[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates schematically the data exchange in the
network connection system according to an embodiment of the
invention;
[0015] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart for accessing a wearable EEG
monitoring module over the Internet according to an embodiment of
the invention;
[0016] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart for maintaining the access data for
a wearable EEG monitoring module according to an embodiment of the
invention; and
[0017] FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a method for handling the
establishment of a direct connection to a wearable EEG monitoring
module according to an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2, which schematically
illustrates a system for providing a network connection for a
computer device 21 to wearable EEG monitoring module 1 having a
gateway the Internet 16. A gateway is a network node that allows a
network to interface with another network with different protocols.
A head 6 of a person provided with a wearable EEG monitoring module
1 according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown. The
wearable EEG monitoring module 1 is adapted for remote surveillance
of an EEG signal. The person being monitored wears the wearable EEG
monitoring module 1 comprising an implantable EEG sensor 2 and an
associated processing unit 4. The implantable EEG sensor 2 and the
processing unit 4 are adapted to be in wireless communication 3
through the skin of the person. The implanted EEG sensor 2
comprises electrodes 5. The EEG sensor 2 will have at least two
electrodes 5, which may be arranged as separate electrodes along
the same wire as illustrated. One wire comprising all electrodes
associated with respective conductors may facilitate the
implantation process. The EEG sensor 2 is adapted for implantation
on the head. This implantation may be subcutaneous or intra
cranial. The advantage is that a better contact between electrodes
and tissue can be obtained. A subcutaneous EEG sensor can also be
implanted relatively easy.
[0019] The implantable EEG sensor 2 is provided with an electronic
module 7 receiving one or more differential EEG signals from at
least two electrodes 5, and delivering an output signal via a coil
36. The processing unit 4 is preferably arranged at the ear of the
person of whom the EEG signal is being monitored. Preferably, the
processing unit 4 is arranged in a housing behind the ear as a
behind the ear hearing aid. This also facilitates a position as
close as possible to the implanted part, which is important for the
wireless communication and power transfer through the skin. With
the position behind the ear of the housing, means for fixation is
also necessary. For this purpose part of a wire or sound tubing
also applied for conveying the sound from processing unit 4 into
the ear canal may be used. This means that this wire or sound
tubing should be relatively stiff, i.e. adapted for keeping the
original given shape during use. Further to this purpose the wire
or sound tubing can also be used for providing a sound alarm or
message to the user. In the case of a wire the loudspeaker or
receiver could be arranged within or close to the ear canal. In the
case of sound tubing the loudspeaker or receiver could be arranged
in the housing of the processing unit.
[0020] The wearable EEG monitoring module 1 communicates preferably
with the personal communication device 13--here shown as a
smartphone. The personal communication device 13 according to the
invention is Internet enabled which means that the personal
communication device 13 may access the Internet 16 via a wireless
Internet connection (e.g. WLAN such as 802.11.sub.a, b or g), or a
cellular data connection (e.g. WCDMA or LTE). Advantageously, the
personal communication device 13 has the ability to download and
launch application software from an app store via the Internet. The
term "app" is short for application software which is a set of one
or more programs designed to carry out operations for a specific
application. Application software cannot run on itself but is
dependent on system software to execute.
[0021] A server 25 hosts a centrally operated outpatient Electronic
Medical Record (EMR) system or an electronic patient medical
database 26 being accessible over the Internet; and each patient
record involving remote surveillance of an EEG signal includes a
unique identity for an associated EEG monitoring module 1.
Furthermore, a control server 19 is providing an EEG module
connection register 19a including unique identity for EEG modules
with associated connection information, preferably including the IP
address and port number. The personal communication device 13
includes a network connection handling element 43 which in the
embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is being adapted for detecting the
presence of the short range wireless connection 34 between the
wearable EEG monitoring module 1 and the gateway. The network
connection handling element 43 is integrated as a part of the
personal communication device 13, and is adapted for uploading
current connection information to the control server 19. The
control server 19 is adapted for updating the connection
information in the EEG Module connection register 19a when
receiving uploaded connection information. The control server 19
furthermore provides the connection information to a computer
device 21 upon request. The computer device 21 is adapted for
establishing a direct connection to the at least one EEG monitoring
module 1 based on the connection information requested from the
control server 19.
[0022] The wireless connection 3 between the implantable EEG sensor
2 and the processing unit 4 is based on an inductive coupling
between the coil 36 and a coil 37 in an inductive radio 38 of the
processing unit 4. This wireless connection 3 is applied to
transfer power from the processing unit 4 to the implantable EEG
sensor 2. Thereby, it is possible to operate the implantable EEG
sensor 2 without a battery. The two coils 36, 37 should be closely
aligned on each side of the skin barrier in order to achieve an
efficient power transfer. The center axis of one coil should
preferably continue through the center axis of the other coil, or
the two center axes should be arranged close to each other. This
close arrangement is ensured when arranging the processing unit.
The implantable EEG sensor 2 must be placed such during
implantation that it will be easy to align the two coils, i.e. the
implantable EEG sensor 2 should be arranged in a position where its
inductive coil is at a position where it will be easy to arrange
the coil of the processing unit 4 aligned. In case of insufficient
alignment between the two coils for obtaining a satisfactory power
and data transmission, this can be detected by the processing unit
4 and a notification can be sent to the personal communication
device 13.
[0023] The wireless connection based on inductive coupling is also
applied for transmission of the EEG signal from the implanted EEG
sensor 2 to the processing unit 4. This may be done by varying the
load on the coil of implanted EEG sensor 2. The changes in load in
the implanted EEG sensor 2 influence the power load on the coil in
the processing unit 4. In this way an EEG signal can be transmitted
from the implanted EEG sensor 2 to the processing unit 4. The
inductive radio 38 switches between two modes--in the first mode
the power supply powers the implanted EEG sensor 2, and in the
second mode implanted EEG sensor 2 transmits the differential EEG
signal to the inductive radio 38 which forwards the data via a
module 40 operating as electrode front-end and Analog to Digital
Converter (ADC) to a digital signal controller 41. The processing
unit 4 comprises a power supply 39 including a battery, e.g. a
standard hearing aid battery, for powering the processing unit 4
and the implantable EEG sensor 2 via the wireless connection 3. The
processing unit 4 also comprises a digital signal controller 41 for
analyzing the EEG signal according to predefined algorithms in
order to identify an imminent seizure. The processing unit 4
comprises a memory 41a, such as an EEPROM, for logging EEG signals,
specific events or alarms. The processing unit 4 includes a short
range radio 42 for communication with the personal communication
device 13.
[0024] A short range radio 44 connects the personal communication
device 13 to the wearable EEG monitoring module 1 by means of the
Bluetooth Low Energy protocol. The personal communication device 13
has memory 49 (e.g. EEPROM)--in which a control app 50 for the
wearable EEG monitoring module 1 is stored. The personal
communication device 13 is adapted to present the control app 50 on
a touch screen to the user. The control app 50 is adapted to offer
control elements, display alarm (together with an acoustic alarm),
and present logged data.
[0025] The control app 50 of the personal communication device 13
hosts the network connection handling element 43. The personal
communication device 13 is according the present embodiment a
smartphone. The personal communication device 13 includes a
processor 46 controlling the operation of audio elements 48 (like a
speaker and a microphone) and user interface (UI) elements 47 (like
a touch screen or keys and a display). Furthermore the processor 46
controls the operation of a transceiver 45 serving various mobile
communication standards and WLAN standards connecting the personal
communication device 13 to the Internet 16. The transceiver 45 may
establish one or more competing Internet connections, e.g. via the
cellular network and via a public hotspot or a router at home. The
network connection handling element 43 identifies the current
connection information, preferably including the IP address and
port number, for the Internet connection identified. The network
connection handling element 43 detects the presence of the short
range communication channel between the personal communication
device 13 and the wearable EEG monitoring module 1, and the long
range communication channel from the personal communication device
13 to the Internet 16.
[0026] The connection information includes the current IP address
of the EEG monitoring module 1. Furthermore, the connection
information may also include the port number of the EEG monitoring
module 1, as an IP address is always associated with a port of the
host. The port is the endpoint of communication in the hosts
operating system. In some situations it may be advantageous to
identify the protocol type of the communication in the connection
information.
[0027] When the short range communication channel and long range
communication channel both are present, the network connection
handling element 43 transmits a connection information notification
30 (also shown in FIG. 5) over the Internet 16 to the control
server 19 whose connection information is preprogrammed into the
network connection handling element 43. The connection information
notification 30 provides the unique identity for the EEG monitoring
module 1 linked to the current Internet addresses and preferably
also port number.
[0028] The transmission of the connection information notification
30 is trigged by an event both the short range communication
channel and long range communication channel are present. Hereby
the control server 19 is able to maintain its EEG module connection
register 19a as a look-up table in which the unique identity for
the wearable EEG monitoring module 1 may be translated to the
current connection information of the network connection handling
element 43. The connection information in EEG module connection
register 19a for a unique identity for the wearable EEG monitoring
module 1 may be prioritized according to data bandwidth or data
pricing, and these information may be provided by the personal
communication device 13.
[0029] The network connection handling element 43 serves several
purposes--it monitors status of the connectivity for the wearable
EEG monitoring module 1, handles session security, and notifies the
current connection information to an EEG module connection register
19a. The network connection handling element 43 may be downloaded
to the personal communication device 13 from an app store and
stored in a memory, e.g. Solid State Drive, of the personal
communication device 13.
[0030] When a medical professional or a monitoring server needs to
exchange or collect data from the wearable EEG monitoring module 1,
the patient medical record may be accessed in the patient record
server 25 from where the unique identity for the EEG monitoring
module in question may be retrieved. Preferably, the program
handling the data exchange and retrieving the unique identity for
the EEG monitoring module 1, automatically sends the connection
information request 31 to the control server 19, and sets up the
direct connection 33, preferably using UDP hole punching, to the
network connection handling element 43 based on the connection
information response 32 from the EEG module connection register
19a. The direct connection 33 is handled as described with
reference to FIG. 5.
[0031] The centrally operated outpatient Electronic Medical Record
(EMR) system or an electronic patient medical database 26 contains
personal information such as name, address and additional contact
data like phone number and e-mail address. For each patient, the
record contains data like birthday, social security number, and
health insurance number. For each patient record there is provided
security elements as credentials for accessing to one or more data
fields and secure keys for establishing a secure connection between
the computer device 21 and the wearable EEG monitoring module 1.
The patient may by means of the stored security elements edit
credentials via a web-interface. The patient record manager may by
means of certificates control persons allowed to Read and Edit data
in the patient record and thereby in the wearable EEG monitoring
module 1.
[0032] Finally the patient record includes a data field identifying
the wearable EEG monitoring module 1 associated with the account,
and identified by manufacturer, EEG monitoring module model, serial
number, and software version.
[0033] FIG. 3 shows a wearable EEG monitoring module 1 according to
one aspect of the invention. The EEG monitoring module 1 can be
worn in the ear canal of a person to be monitored, e.g. for
detecting hypoglycemia, e.g. like a per se known In-The-Canal (ITC)
hearing aid. Furthermore, the device will allow healthcare personal
to remote monitor and record EEG data for the patient--either
continuously or as periodical upload of logged data (data
harvesting). Healthcare personnel would then be allowed to monitor
patients who have regularly recurring problems like seizures or
micro-sleep. The wearable EEG monitoring module 1 will not
interfere with normal life, because the wearable EEG monitoring
module 1 has an acoustic vent 116 so the wearer will be able to
hear. After a while, the wearer forgets that he wears the wearable
EEG monitoring module 1. The wearable EEG monitoring module 1 is on
its outer surface provided with two active electrodes 5. Internally
the wearable EEG monitoring module 1 contains a customized housing
14. The EEG monitoring module 1 is arranged in the ear canal with
the electrodes in contact with the tissue in the ear canal. Thereby
any kind of surgery is avoided, but the contact between the
electrodes and the tissue is less stable.
[0034] The wearable EEG monitoring module 1 in the customized
housing 14 is formed to fit into the external auditory canal 111 of
the wearer, and defines a cavity in the external auditory canal 111
together with the tympanic membrane 110, and the cavity is opened
by means of the acoustic vent 116 extending through the entire
length of the wearable EEG monitoring module 1. Preferably the
wearable EEG monitoring module 1 does not extend beyond the pinna
112.
[0035] The electronic components of the wearable EEG monitoring
module 1 are shown schematically in enlarged view in the dotted
box. The electronic components include a power supply 39 based upon
a standard hearing aid battery for powering the electronics. The
two electrodes 5 provided on the surface of the wearable EEG
monitoring module 1 pick up a potential and delivers the data via a
module 40 operating as electrode frontend and Analog to Digital
Converter (ADC) to a controller 41. The controller 41 receives the
amplified and digitized signal for processing. The controller 41
analyses the EEG signal picked up for detecting hypoglycemia by
monitoring the brain wave frequency, and if the brain wave
frequency falls beyond a predefined interval, this may indicate
that a medical emergency may arise. Hypoglycemia is a medical
emergency that involves an abnormally diminished content of glucose
in the blood.
[0036] Upon detection of abnormal brain wave activities, the
controller 41 provides an alert for the patient via an audio
front-end module 35 including a microphone and a speaker. With the
microphone, the controller 41 is able to pick up audio samples and
classify the current sound environment. Furthermore, the controller
41 establishes a wireless communication link by means of a short
range radio 42 being able to connect to the Internet 16 via a
communication standard, such as the Bluetooth.TM. Low Energy
standard. The controller 41 adjusts the predefined interval for
normal brain wave activity in correlation to the real time clock
information and the sound environment classification. With the
speaker, the controller 41 is able to alert the wearer of the
wearable EEG monitoring module 1 that a medical emergency may arise
and that precautionary actions have to be taken.
[0037] The controller 41 is connected to a memory 41a, such as an
EEPROM, for logging EEG signals, specific events or alarms. The
memory 41a further hosts the network connection handling element
43, and this will be described in details below.
[0038] Referring to FIG. 4, in which it is seen that the EEG
monitoring module 1 comprises the electronic components shown in
FIG. 3. The EEG monitoring module 1 uses short range radio 42 for
establishing a wireless connection to a gateway to the Internet 16.
This gateway may be the personal communication device 13, a router
(e.g. WLAN) in a private domain or a hotspot in a public domain. A
hotspot is a physical location that offers Internet access over a
wireless local area network (WLAN) through the use of a router
connected to a link to an Internet service provider. Hotspots
typically use Wi-Fi technology.
[0039] The EEG monitoring module 1 comprises a network connection
handling element 43 stored as a software program in the
non-volatile memory 41a. The network connection handling element 43
detects when a new network connection to the EEG monitoring module
1 has been established--e.g. a connection to a hotspot or to a
router in the private domain, and when the current connection
information has been identified, the network connection handling
element 43 transmits a connection information notification 30 over
the Internet 16 to the control server 19. The address of the
control server 19 is advantageously preprogrammed into the network
connection handling element 43. The connection information
notification 30 provides a unique identity for the EEG monitoring
module 1 linked to its current connection information. The
transmission of the connection information notification 30 is
trigged by an event, e.g. the establishment of a connection to the
Internet via a gateway. Hereby the control server 19 is able to
maintain its EEG module connection register 19a as a look-up table
in which the unique identity for the EEG monitoring module 1 may be
translated to the current connection information of the EEG
monitoring module 1.
[0040] The Internet is adapted to relay datagrams across network
boundaries based on the Internet Protocol (IP). The routing
function according to the Internet protocol enables
internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet. The
Internet Protocol has the task of delivering packets from the
source host to the destination host solely based on the IP
addresses in the packet headers. For this purpose, IP defines
packet structures that encapsulate the data to be delivered. It
also defines addressing methods that are used to label the datagram
with both source and destination IP addresses. When sending the
connection information notification 30, the current connection
information of the network connection handling element 43 is
present as source address of the data packet embodying the
connection information notification 30, and the unique identity for
the EEG monitoring module 1 is contained in the data packet. The
control server 19 extracts these two elements and updates the EEG
module connection register 19a accordingly.
[0041] The network connection handling element 43 serves several
purposes--it monitors status of the connectivity of the EEG
monitoring module 1, handles session security, and notifies the
current connection information to the EEG module connection
register 19a. The network connection handling element 43 is
embedded into the EEG monitoring module before it leaves the
factory, and some elements may be stored in the non-volatile memory
41a and some elements as security elements and certificates in a
non-editable memory.
[0042] The invention is advantageous when a medical care
professional, during a remote EEG surveillance for minimizing the
risk of an imminent hypoglycemic seizure, analyzes log data from
the wearable EEG monitoring module 1--either in response to an
alarm or in a scheduled session where the patient data are analyzed
regularly in order to detect anomaly. This could be data or
information on incidences where an alarm has almost been triggered
but was prevented. Prevention of an alarm could take place if the
person under EEG surveillance was eating or drinking, thereby
increasing the blood sugar concentration, just before the alarm
would have been triggered. Also data indicating the physical status
of the person, e.g. sleeping or awake, could be transferred.
[0043] The remote EEG surveillance includes manipulation of a
remote wearable EEG monitoring module 1, and this manipulation may
include remote control of the wearable EEG monitoring module
1--e.g. remote switching between day, night or exercise mode for
the module; data logging of data captured by the wearable EEG
monitoring module 1; and setting of operational parameters for EEG
sensing, e. g. thresholds for the alarm function.
[0044] When a medical care professional needs to manipulate the
setting of the EEG monitoring module 1, he may via the computer
device 21 access the patient record from the patient record server
25 from where he may retrieve the unique identity for the wearable
EEG monitoring module 1 in question. Preferably the surveillance
software running on the computer device 21 automatically sends a
connection Information request 31 from the account based on the
unique identity for the wearable EEG monitoring module 1 in
question to the control server 19. Based upon a look-up in the EEG
Module Connection Register 19a, the control server 19 responds to
the connection Information request 31 by sending a connection
information response 32 containing the current connection
information of the wearable EEG monitoring module 1 based on the
unique identity stored in the patient record.
[0045] The computer device 21 then starts to set up a direct
connection 33 preferably using UDP (User Datagram Protocol) hole
punching (used for setting up connections between Internet hosts in
private networks using network address translators) for
establishing a bidirectional UDP connection. The computer device 21
sends a direct connection set-up request 33a to the network
connection handling element 43, and if the EEG monitoring module 1
is still on-line, the network connection handling element 43
confirms the request by sending a direct connection set-up
confirmation 33b. Hereafter, the computer device 21 and the network
connection handling element 43 start to exchange payload in a
bi-directional data packet exchange or direct connection operation
33c. The payload may include upload of data from the EEG monitoring
module 1, such as logging data and settings, and download of data
to the EEG monitoring module 1, such as instruction for remote
control of the wearable EEG monitoring module 1. The computer
device 21 disconnects the direct connection by sending a direct
connection termination instruction 33d to the network connection
handling element 43 once the exchange of data packets have been
successfully completed.
[0046] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method for accessing an
EEG monitoring module 1 over the Internet 16 according to an
embodiment of the invention. An entity, e.g. a computer
(M2M--"machine-to-machine"--data consolidation) or a medical care
professional via a computer 21, intending to connect to the EEG
monitoring module 1, accesses in step 60 the patient record
database 26. If the entity is permitted to connect to the EEG
monitoring module 1, the entity is in step 61 able to retrieve the
unique identity of the EEG monitoring module 1 from the patient
record. In step 62, the entity sends the Connection Information
Request 31 containing the unique identity of the EEG monitoring
module 1 to the EEG Module Connection Register 19a, and receives
the current Connection information of the EEG monitoring module 1
in response. In step 63, the entity sets up the direct connection
33 from a computer 21, preferably using UDP hole punching, to the
network connection handling element 43 in the EEG monitoring module
1 (in FIGS. 1 and 2) or in the personal communication device 13
connected to the EEG monitoring module 1 (in FIGS. 3 and 4). In
step 64, the entity terminates the direct connection when the
exchange of data has been completed successfully.
[0047] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method for maintaining
the access data for an EEG monitoring module 1 according to an
embodiment of the invention. In step 71, the network connection
handling element 43 detects the presence of a new connection to the
Internet 16; or the network connection handling element 43 detects
the presence of a connection to the Internet 16 from the personal
communication terminal 13 and a short range connection to the EEG
monitoring module 1.
[0048] When sending the connection information notification 30 in
step 72, the current connection information, including the IP
address and port number; of the network connection handling element
43 is present as source address of the data packet, and the unique
identity for the EEG monitoring module 1 is contained in the data
packet as payload. The control server 19 extracts these two
elements and updates the EEG Module Connection Register 19a
accordingly.
[0049] These steps are repeated every time the network connection
handling element 43 detects a change in the connection between the
EEG monitoring module 1 and the Internet 16.
[0050] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method for handling the
establishment of the direct connection to the EEG monitoring module
1 according to an embodiment of the invention. When the network
connection handling element 43 in step 73 receives a request for
setting up a direct connection 33a, it starts verifying the
validity of the connection in step 74. This may include
verification of certificates. If the validity of the connection has
been verified, the network connection handling element 43 confirms
the establishment of the direct connection 33 in step 75.
[0051] In step 76, the computer 21 communicates to the network
connection handling element 43 what kind of data that has to be
exchanged--upload of logging data, download of settings etc. In
step 77, the data requested is exchanged, and in step 78, data are
handled as prescribed. New settings may overwrite earlier settings
in the EEG monitoring module 1, and logging registers may be reset
if their content has been uploaded. When the data has been
exchanged and handled successfully, the direct connection session
is terminated in step 79.
[0052] The number of electrodes has so far been identified as a
pair of active electrodes operating in differential mode. However
two or more active electrodes may be acting as sensing electrodes
for measuring the electric potential difference relative to an
active electrode acting as a common reference electrode. The
electrodes will operate in a unipolar lead mode.
* * * * *