Patent Publication Number: US-2023164724-A1

Title: Communication method, relay apparatus, and server apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the International Application No. PCT/JP2020/027952, filed on Jul. 17, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Disclosure 
     The present disclosure relates to a technology for communication between facilities in a medical system. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     To transmit and receive data between medical facilities in different time zones in the related art, local time information of one of the time zones needs to be converted into local time information of the other time zone by adjusting a time difference. In an environment where there is a time difference between a facility A and a facility B within a given medical group, and the facility A maintains a database that manages the examination schedule of the facility B, the facility B retrieves its examination schedule from the facility A by transmitting a schedule acquisition request to the facility A. In this process, the facility A converts local time information included in the schedule acquisition request transmitted from the facility B into local time information of the facility A and searches the database by the local time information as converted. 
     Patent literature 1 discloses a medical network system provided with a time zone identification means that identifies the time zone to which each of a requesting terminal and an acknowledgment terminal belongs and a due date calculation means that determines time information related to the due date of an examination result report of the medical examination facility where the acknowledgment terminal is installed and determines converted time information derived from converting the time information into a time with reference to the time zone to which the requesting terminal belongs. 
     [Patent literature 1] JP2009-75736 
     Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) is used as the world time reference. By using UTC time information mutually for communication between medical facilities in different time zones, the differences in time zones need not be considered. It is therefore desired to build a scheme for efficiently realizing communication that uses UTC time information. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure addresses the issue described above, and a purpose thereof is to provide a technology for realizing communication that uses UTC time information. 
     An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a communication method in a medical system including a medical device and a relay apparatus provided in a first facility and a server apparatus provided in a second facility, wherein the medical device is configured to: transmit a verification signal including time information indicating a current time to the server apparatus via the relay apparatus, the server apparatus is configured to: receive the verification signal; compare the time information included in the verification signal with a current time on the server apparatus in UTC time; determine whether the medical device includes a UTC offset in the time information, based on a result of comparison; and transmit a result of determination related to a UTC offset to the relay apparatus or the medical device, and the relay apparatus is configured to: receive the result of determination; and register information related to the result of determination in a storage apparatus, mapping the information to device identification information identifying the medical device. 
     Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a medical system including a medical device and a relay apparatus provided in a first facility and a server apparatus provided in a second facility, wherein the medical device includes a verification signal transmission unit that transmits a verification signal including time information indicating a current time to the server apparatus. The relay apparatus includes a verification signal relay unit that receives the verification signal from the medical device and transmits the verification signal to the server apparatus. The server apparatus includes: a verification signal reception unit that receives the verification signal; an offset determination unit that compares the time information included in the verification signal with a current time on the server apparatus in UTC time and determines whether the medical device includes a UTC offset in the time information; and a determination result transmission unit that transmits a result of determination related to a UTC offset to the relay apparatus or the medical device. The relay apparatus includes: a determination result reception unit that receives the result of determination; and a registration unit that registers information related to the result of determination in a device information recording unit, mapping the information to device identification information identifying the medical device. 
     Optional combinations of the aforementioned constituting elements, and implementations of the present disclosure in the form of methods, apparatuses, systems, recording media or mediums, computer programs, etc. may also be practiced as additional modes of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings that are meant to be exemplary, not limiting, and wherein like elements are numbered alike in several figures, in which: 
         FIG.  1    shows a configuration of a medical system according to an embodiment; 
         FIG.  2    shows functional blocks of the medical device, the relay apparatus, and the server apparatus; 
         FIG.  3    is a sequence chart showing a step of verifying whether the function to handle UTC time is provided; 
         FIG.  4    shows an example of a recording status in the device information recording unit; 
         FIG.  5    is a sequence chart showing a process in which the medical device transmits medical data; and 
         FIG.  6    is a sequence chart showing a process in which the information system transmits medical data. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The disclosure will now be described by reference to the preferred embodiments. This does not intend to limit the scope of the present disclosure, but to exemplify the disclosure. 
       FIG.  1    shows a configuration of a medical system  1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The medical system  1  of the embodiment is configured by connecting a plurality of facilities by a network  4 . In this example, one parent facility  3  and a plurality of child facilities  2  are communicably connected by a network  4  such as the Internet. 
     The parent facility  3  is provided with a server apparatus  60  and an information system  80  and manages medical data in the plurality of child facilities  2 . The server apparatus  60  and the information system  80  are installed in the same time zone. The information system  80  may be provided with picture archiving and communication systems, radiology information systems, hospital information systems, etc. and may be provided with functions to manage medical service in each child facility  2 . The server apparatus  60  manages data transmission and reception between a medical device  10  in the child facility  2  and the information system  80 . 
     The child facility  2  is a medical institution such as a hospital and is provided with a plurality of medical devices  10  and a relay apparatus  30 . The plurality of medical devices  10  and the relay apparatus  30  are connected by an intra-facility local area network (LAN). The medical device  10  is an examination apparatus or a treatment apparatus such as an endoscopic examination apparatus and a radiation therapy apparatus provided in the respective departments in the child facility  2 . The medical devices  10  and the relay apparatus  30  in one child facility  2  belong to the same time zone. Therefore, data processing in the child facility  2  is executed by using the local time information of the child facility  2 . 
     In the medical system  1 , the child facility  2  and the parent facility  3  are provided in different time zones, and there is a time difference between the local time in the child facility  2  and the local time in the parent facility  3 . In the medical system  1 , data processing between the child facility  2  and the parent facility  3  is executed based on the UTC time for the purpose of eliminating an impact from the time difference in data processing between facilities. 
     The UTC time is derived from the local time (a time in a given time zone) and the UTC offset (the time difference between the time zone and UTC (the time at zero longitude)). UTC-8 is the standard time delayed from Universal Time Coordinated by 8 hours (the UTC offset is −8 hours) and is employed as Pacific Standard Time in the United States. For example, (T10:00−8:00) means that the local time is 10:00 and the UTC time is 18:00. Further, UTC-5 is the standard time delayed from Coordinate Universal Time by 5 hours (the UTC offset is −5 hours) and is employed as Eastern Standard Time in the United States. For example, (T13:00−5:00) means that the local time is 13:00 and the UTC time is 18:00. In other words, (T10:00−8:00) in UTC-8 and (T13:00−5:00) in UTC-5 mean the same UTC time (18:00). In the medical system  1 , data processing between facilities is executed by using the UTC time. 
     Data processing between facilities in the medical system  1  actually means data processing between the medical device  10  in the child facility  2  and the information system  80  in the parent facility  3 . That the server apparatus  60  and the information system  80  in the parent facility  3  have the function to handle UTC time is a prerequisite, but the medical devices  10  in the child facility  2  are available in various types so that some types can only handle local time. The medical device  10  not having the function to handle UTC time cannot append a UTC offset to the time information included in transmitted data. This is addressed by this embodiment by configuring the relay apparatus  30  provided with the gateway function to have the function to append a UTC offset to the time information for data transmitted from the medical device  10  not having the function to handle UTC time. 
       FIG.  2    shows functional blocks of the medical device  10 , the relay apparatus  30 , and the server apparatus  60 . Each of the medical device  10 , the relay apparatus  30 , and the server apparatus  60  is provided with a processor that includes hardware. In the embodiment, it is assumed that the child facility  2  uses UTC-8 as the standard time and the parent facility  3  uses UTC-5 as the standard time. 
     The medical device  10  is provided with a verification signal transmission unit  12 , a data processing unit  14 , a data transmission unit  16 , and a data reception unit  18 . The relay apparatus  30  is provided with a verification signal relay unit  32 , a determination result reception unit  34 , a registration unit  36 , a data relay unit  38 , and a device information recording unit  44 . The data relay unit  38  includes an offset appending unit  40  and a local time conversion unit  42 . The server apparatus  60  is provided with a verification signal reception unit  62 , an offset determination unit  64 , a determination result transmission unit  66 , a data transmission unit  68 , and a data reception unit  70 . 
     The features shown in  FIG.  2    are implemented in hardware such as an arbitrary processor, a memory, an auxiliary storage apparatus, or other LSI&#39;s and in software such as a program loaded into a memory. The figure depicts functional blocks implemented by the cooperation of these elements. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the functional blocks may be implemented in a variety of manners by hardware only, software only, or by a combination of hardware and software. The device information recording unit  44  may be a storage or a storage apparatus. 
     When the new medical device  10  is connected to the intra-facility LAN in the child facility  2 , a process of verifying whether the medical device  10  has the function to handle UTC time is performed. As described above, the child facility  2  uses UTC-8 as the standard time, and the parent facility  3  uses UTC-5 as the standard time. 
       FIG.  3    is a sequence chart showing a step of verifying whether the medical device  10  has the function to handle UTC time. When the new medical device  10  is connected to the intra-facility LAN (S 10 ), the verification signal transmission unit  12  generates a verification signal verifying whether the function to handle UTC time is included and including time information indicating the current time (S 12 ). The verification signal transmission unit  12  transmits the verification signal to the server apparatus  60  via the relay apparatus  30  (S 14 ). It will be assumed that the medical device  10  is connected at the local time 12:00 in the child facility  2 . The relay apparatus  30  includes the gateway function, and the verification signal relay unit  32  receives the verification signal temporarily (S 16 ). 
     The verification signal relay unit  32  compares the current time indicated by the time information included in the verification signal with the current time on the relay apparatus  30  in terms of local time (S 18 ). The relay apparatus  30  is provided with accurate time information by connecting to the NTP server. When the current time included in the verification signal and the current time on the relay apparatus  30  do not match in terms of local time (N in S 18 ), the verification signal relay unit  32  transmits a request for correction of the time to the medical device  10  (S 20 ). When the medical device  10  receives the request for correction, the medical device  10  corrects the current time (S 22 ), generates a verification signal including time information indicating the current time (S 12 ), and transmits the verification signal to the server apparatus  60  via the relay apparatus  30  (S 14 ). When the verification signal relay unit  32  receives the verification signal temporarily (S 16 ) and determines that the current time included in the verification signal and the current time on the relay apparatus  30  match in terms of local time (Y in S 18 ), the verification signal relay unit  32  transmits the verification signal to the server apparatus  60  (S 24 ). 
     In the case the medical device  10  has the function to handle UTC time, the verification signal transmission unit  12  includes time information indicating the current time in the form of (T12:00−8:00) in the verification signal in S 12 . 12:00 represents the local time, and −8:00 represents the UTC offset. In the case the medical device  10  does not have the function to handle UTC time, on the other hand, the verification signal transmission unit  12  includes time information indicating the current time in the form of (T12:00) in the verification signal in S 12 . In essence, the time information indicating the current time includes a local time but does not include a UTC offset, provided that the medical device  10  does not have the function to handle UTC time. 
     In the server apparatus  60 , the verification signal reception unit  62  receives the verification signal from the medical device  10  (S 26 ). The server apparatus  60  and the information system  80  in the parent facility  3  are provided with accurate time information by connecting to the NTP server. The offset determination unit  64  in the server apparatus  60  compares the time information included in the verification signal with the current time on the server apparatus  60  in terms of UTC time and determines whether the medical device  10  includes a UTC offset in the time information based on the result of comparison (S 28 ). In this case, the time information for the current time on the server apparatus  60  is (T15:00−5:00), and the UTC time is 20:00. 
     When the time information included in the verification signal is (T12:00−8:00) and includes a UTC offset, the offset determination unit  64  calculates the UTC time for the current time included in the verification signal as being 20:00. In this case, the both UTC times (both points of time in UTC time) match so that the offset determination unit  64  determines that the medical device  10  includes a UTC offset in the time information. The offset determination unit  64  may allow for a communication delay from the medical device  10  to the server apparatus  60  and determine that the both UTC times match even if there is a time lag within a predetermined time (e.g., 15 minutes). It will be noted that 15 minutes is the minimum time difference in standard time in the world. 
     When the time information included in the verification signal is (T12:00) and does not include a UTC offset, the offset determination unit  64  cannot calculate the UTC time from the time information included in the verification signal, and the time information included in the verification signal does not match the UTC time in the server apparatus  60 . Therefore, the offset determination unit  64  determines that the medical device  10  does not include a UTC offset in the time information. 
     The determination result transmission unit  66  transmits the result of determination related to a UTC offset to the relay apparatus  30  or the medical device  10  (S 30 ). In the child facility  2 , the result of determination transmitted to the medical device  10  is received by the relay apparatus  30  before arriving at the medical device  10 . Therefore, the result of determination is ensured to be received by the relay apparatus  30  whichever of the relay apparatus  30  and the medical device  10  is the destination designated by the determination result transmission unit  66 . 
     In the relay apparatus  30 , the determination result reception unit  34  receives the result of determination related to a UTC offset (S 32 ). The registration unit  36  registers information related to the result of determination in the device information recording unit  44 , mapping the information to device identification information (device ID) for identifying the medical device  10  (S 34 ). 
       FIG.  4    shows an example of a recording status in the device information recording unit  44 . The device information recording unit  44  records information related to the result of determination on a UTC offset, mapping the information to the device ID of the medical device  10 . The information related to the result of determination is information indicating whether the medical device  10  has the function to append a UTC offset to the time information, but may be different information (e.g., information indicating whether UTC time can be handled). In the example shown in  FIG.  4   , it is recorded that the medical devices  10  with the devices ID “0004” and “0100” do not have the function to append a UTC offset to the time information. 
     In the sequence chart shown in  FIG.  3   , the result of determination transmitted from the server apparatus  60  is not transferred to the medical device  10 , but may be transferred to the medical device  10 . The medical device  10  can confirm communication with the server apparatus  60  by receiving the result of determination. 
     The process shown in  FIG.  3    may be executed once when the new medical device  10  is connected to the intra-facility LAN, and the information indicating whether the function to append a UTC offset is provided may be registered in the device information recording unit  44 . There are cases where the medical device  10  did not have the function to handle UTC when it first connected to the intra-facility LAN, but may have acquired the function to handle UTC through a subsequent software update. Therefore, the process shown in  FIG.  3    may be executed automatically when the medical device  10  is powered on. After the information indicating whether the function to append a UTC offset is provided is registered in the device information recording unit  44 , the medical device  10  transmits and receives medical data to and from the information system  80 . 
       FIG.  5    is a sequence chart showing a process in which the medical device  10  transmits medical data. When medical data that should be transmitted to the information system  80  arises in the medical device  10 , the data processing unit  14  generates the medical data including time information (S 40 ), and the data transmission unit  16  transmits the medical data to the information system  80  via the server apparatus  60  (S 42 ). The transmitted medical data is received by the data relay unit  38  in the relay apparatus  30  temporarily (S 44 ). 
     When the data relay unit  38  receives the medical data transmitted from the medical device  10 , the data relay unit  38  determines whether to append a UTC offset to the time information in the medical data, based on the information mapped to the device ID of the medical device  10  in the device information recording unit  44  (S 46 ). When the information mapped to the device ID indicates that the medical device  10  does not have the function to append a UTC offset in the device information recording unit  44  (N in S 46 ), the offset appending unit  40  appends a UTC offset to the time information in the medical data (S 48 ). 
     When the medical device  10  does not have the function to append a UTC offset, the time information in the medical data includes a local time, but does not include a UTC offset. By using the offset appending unit  40  to append a UTC offset to the time information in the medical data, the medical data transmitted from the medical device  10  will be handled in the information system  80  in UTC time, which is Coordinate Universal Time. 
     When the information mapped to the device ID indicates that the medical device  10  has the function to append a UTC offset in the device information recording unit  44  (Y in S 46 ), a UTC offset is appended to the time information in the medical data so that the offset appending unit  40  does not append a UTC offset to the time information in the medical data. 
     The data relay unit  38  transmits the medical data including the time information to which the UTC offset is appended to the server apparatus  60  (S 50 ). In the server apparatus  60 , the data reception unit  70  receives the medical data transmitted from the medical device  10 , and the data transmission unit  68  transfers the medical data to the information system  80  (S 52 ). The information system  80  derives the UTC time from the time information in the medical data and executes a process using the UTC time. 
     For example, a description will be given of a case where the medical device  10  requests a list of examinations that start at 10:00 a.m. local time in the child facility  2  from the information system  80 . In this case, the start time 10:00 of the examination is represented by time information (T10:00−8:00), and the medical data (examination list request) transmitted from the data relay unit  38  to the information system  80  via the server apparatus  60  includes the time information (10:00−8:00). 
     The information system  80  has a database of examination schedules in the respective child facilities  2  and manages the start time of the examination in UTC time. When the information system  80  acquires the examination list request, which includes the time information (T10:00−8:00) as the examination start time, from the child facility  2 , the information system  80  searches the database for the examination for which the start time in UTC time is 18:00. More specifically, the information system  80  searches the database for data for the examination (examination data) for which the start time (T13:00−5:00) is set and transmits the data to the medical device  10 . 
       FIG.  6    is a sequence chart showing a process in which the information system  80  transmits medical data. When medical data that should be transmitted to the medical device  10  arises in the information system  80 , the information system  80  generates the medical data including time information with a UTC offset (S 60 ) and transmits the medical data to the medical device  10  via the server apparatus  60  (S 62 ). It is assumed that the medical data is examination data for which the start time (T13:00−5:00) is set. In the server apparatus  60 , the data reception unit  70  receives the medical data including the time information with the UTC offset temporarily, and the data transmission unit  68  transmits the medical data to the medical device  10  (S 64 ). The transmitted medical data is temporarily received by the data relay unit  38  in the relay apparatus  30  (S 66 ). 
     When the data relay unit  38  receives the medical data destined to the medical device  10 , the data relay unit  38  determines whether to convert the time information in the medical data into a local time in the child facility  2 , based on the information mapped to the device ID of the destination medical device  10  in the device information recording unit  44  (S 68 ). When the information mapped to the device ID indicates that the medical device  10  does not have the function to append a UTC offset in the device information recording unit  44  (N in S 68 ), the local time conversion unit  42  converts the time information in the medical data into a local time (S 70 ) and transmits the medical data to the medical device  10  (S 72 ). 
     When the medical device  10  does not have the function to append a UTC offset, the medical device  10  cannot process the UTC offset included in the time information in the medical data. In other words, the medical device  10  cannot convert the time information in the medical data into a local time in the child facility  2 . By using the local time conversion unit  42  to convert the time information into a local time in the child facility  2 , therefore, the medical data transmitted from the information system  80  will be handled in the medical device  10  in local time, which is the standard time in the child facility  2 . 
     When the information mapped to the device ID indicates that the medical device  10  has the function to append a UTC offset in the device information recording unit  44  (Y in S 68 ), on the other hand, the medical device  10  can convert the time information into a local time so that the local time conversion unit  42  need not convert the time information into a local time. 
     Described above is an explanation based on an embodiment. The embodiment is intended to be illustrative only and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications to combinations of constituting elements and processes are possible and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the offset determination unit  64  compares the time information included in the verification signal with the current time on the server apparatus  60  in terms of UTC time in S 28  shown in  FIG.  3   . Alternatively, a comparative determination may be executed in the relay apparatus  30 . In this case, when the server apparatus  60  receives the verification signal, the server apparatus  60  appends UTC time information indicating the current time on the parent facility  3  to the verification signal and returns the resultant verification signal to the relay apparatus  30 . The relay apparatus  30  may execute the determination function of the offset determination unit  64  and determine whether the medical device  10  includes a UTC offset in the time information.