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US 2009/0222671 A1Published application
Safety features for medical devices requiring assistance and supervision
OwnerJeffrey H. Burbank, Dennis M. Treu +1inventors
InventorsJeffrey H. Burbank, Dennis M. Treu, James M. Brugger
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Abstract
An automatic locking system for a medical treatment device helps to ensure that an assistant is present during treatment of a patient. Among the features disclosed biometric authentication to verify that a trained assistant is present, a presence detector to ensure the assistant is continuously present during treatment, and warning and recovery processes that allow intermittent lapses in the continuous presence of the assistant.
Claims23
A method for verifying proper use of a medical device, comprising:
- authenticating an authorized person other than a patient to be treated using a device attached to a treatment device used to treat said patient;
- generating an enabling signal to cause said treatment device to become operable in response to a result of said authenticating;
- verifying at least one time during a treatment interval that an individual other than said patient is at a treatment location where said patient and said treatment device are located;
- performing a warning procedure responsively to a result of said verifying, said warning procedure including generating a signal to indicate an impending termination of treatment within a specified time;
- waiting for said individual to verify a presence of said individual within said specified time;
- terminating a treatment of said patient responsively to and after said step waiting.
3 more elements
A medical device, comprising:
- controls for operating the medical device;
- a lock that prevents at least some functions of the medical device from being operable through the controls;
- the lock granting initial access to the medical device when a key is applied to the lock;
- a message generator that indicates that the medical device will go into a failsafe mode unless the lock is applied again at at least one time during a treatment interval;
- the lock permitting continued operation of the medical device in response to the key being applied at the at least one time;
- the medical device being configured to go into the failsafe mode when the key is not applied during the at least one time.
3 more elements
A medical device, comprising:
- a medical treatment component;
- a monitoring system configured to receive data from sensors to confirm the presence of a helper, the helper being different from a patient receiving treatment by the medical treatment component;
- the monitoring system being further configured to confirm a pattern of presences of the helper during a treatment period in which the medical treatment component is operative to deliver therapy to a patient;
- the monitoring system generating a signal indicative of an abnormal condition when the pattern of presences of the helper is not confirmed.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.