Patent Publication Number: US-11382159-B2

Title: Temporary emergency access to arbitrary network for medical implanted device

Description:
The present invention relates in general to data processing systems, in particular, to allowing temporary emergency access to an arbitrary network. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Internet of Things (IoT) implanted medical devices (IMD) are increasingly being deployed in patients to improve delivery of patient care. These devices have the potential to reduce healthcare costs by being able to continuously monitor and immediately respond to changes in the patient&#39;s metrics. In case of an emergency, either with the patient or with the device itself, the IMD must be able to contact a monitoring center to report the emergency. In some cases the IMD may connect to an open cellular (cell) service, if one is available. Similarly, the IMD may connect to an open WiFi hotspot without a password. However, if the only available WiFi networks that the IMD detects are private and, for security, are password protected, the IMD will not be able to report the emergency to a monitoring center. It is a challenge to preserve the integrity and security of a network, such as an arbitrary WiFi network, balance the patient&#39;s safety and yet ensure the ability of the IMD to reach assistance in an emergency. Therefore, it would be advantageous to enable the IMD to have a one-time, temporary, restricted access to a WiFi network on an emergency basis, while maintaining the integrity and security of the network. 
     SUMMARY 
     A method, system, and program product are provided for temporary access to a network. In response to an IoT medical device (IMD) detecting a failure, the IMD sends a request for a connection through a router of a network to a monitoring center. Based on the router rejecting the connection request, the IMD retries the connection request, whereby the retried connection request includes a one-time use token. Based on the connection to the monitoring center being successful, the IMD sends an emergency message to the monitoring center. The IMD receives an indication from the monitoring center that an emergency responder is dispatched to a location of the IMD. In response to the IMD acknowledging to the monitoring center receipt of the indication, the monitoring center invalidates the one-time use token. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the following, embodiments of the invention are explained in greater detail, by way of example only, making reference to the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a schematic of an example of a networked computer environment  100 , providing the IoT medical device, according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  depicts a flowchart of the IoT medical device having an emergency; and 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system in which the present invention may be implemented. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Internet of Things (IoT) implanted medical devices (IMD have the potential to reduce healthcare costs by being able to continuously monitor and immediately respond to changes in the patient&#39;s metrics. In case of an emergency, either with the patient having an immediate health issue, or with a failure in the device itself, the IMD must be able to contact a monitoring center to report the emergency. The challenge becomes making the connection between the IMD and the monitoring center. In some cases the IMD may connect to an open cellular (cell) service, if one is available. Similarly, the IMD may connect to an open WiFi hotspot without a password. However, if the only available WiFi networks that the IMD detects are private and, for security, are password protected, the IMD will not be able to report the emergency to a monitoring center. 
     In the drawings, like elements are referred to with equal reference numerals. The drawings are merely schematic representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. Moreover, the drawings are intended to depict only typical embodiments of the invention and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary IoT Implanted Device (IMD) is shown as a networked computer environment  100 . The networked computer environment  100  may include the IMD  102  that includes a processor  104  and a data storage device  106 . The data storage device  106  stores a one-time use token  108  that the IMD  102  uses to connect to an arbitrary, i.e., any available, WiFi network. The data storage device  106  also stores an IP address by which the emergency communication program  110   a  can attempt a connection with a monitoring center  112 . The data storage device  106  includes device diagnostics program  109  that the IMD  102  periodically executes to determine the health of the device and to determine whether the patient wearing the device experiences an emergency. The data storage device  106  also includes an emergency communication program  110   a  that the IMD  102  uses to attempt to connect to the monitoring center  112 , either directly through a cell service  118 , or through an arbitrary WiFi network  116 . The emergency communication program  110   a  also monitors and stores the patient&#39;s location, using, for example, the IMD  102  GPS. However, GPS may not be useful or accurate indoors. In that case, the emergency communication program  110   a  may perform geolocation using the IMD  102  IP address, a hardware embedded serial number, or any similar identifying entity that can be used for the purpose of triangulating and approximating the location of the IMD  102 . The frequency of the monitoring and storing of the patient&#39;s location may be configurable. When connecting through the network  116 , the emergency communication program  110   a  may send the one-time use token  108  to gain access to the network  116 . The network  116  may have has one or more routers between the IMD  102  and the monitoring center  112 . The router  117  represents the gateway router to the network  116 . If the router  117  allows restricted temporary access, then that router can forward the message through other routers that may exist along the path to the monitoring center  112 . As will be described with reference to  FIG. 2 , the router  117  firmware may or may not be enabled to require a security token from the IMD  102 . The networked computer environment  100  also includes the monitoring center  112  that executes the emergency communication program  110   b . The emergency communication program  110   b  receives communications from the emergency communication program  110   a  on the IMD  102  that either a patient emergency or diagnostic failure is occurring, and in response, sends an acknowledgement to the emergency communication program  110   a  that help, such as an ambulance, is being dispatched. The connection to the monitoring center  112  may be by an IP address or website URL, shown as  119 . Connection by website has the advantage of not being geographically limited, so long as there is cell or WiFi connectivity available. 
     In other words, the connection is automated by the program and does not rely on a phone connection or human intervention, although representatives may monitor the actions of the IMD  102  and the emergency communication program  110   a ,  110   b  for additional security. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 1  provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environments may be made based on design and implementation requirements. For example, although only one monitoring center  112  is shown, there may be multiple monitoring centers  112  available for redundancy. As will be discussed with reference to  FIG. 3 , the IMD  102  may include internal components  902   a  and external components  904   a , respectively, and the monitoring center  112  may include internal components  902   b  and external components  904   b , respectively. 
       FIG. 2  depicts a flowchart of the IMD  102  attempting to connect to a monitoring center. During the manufacturing process, a one-time use token (token)  108  is installed in the IMD ( 210 ). The token  108  may be stored in the data storage device  106 . 
     At  215 , the IMD  102  periodically executes a series of diagnostic tests. The frequency of executing the diagnostic tests may be configurable. One set of tests may be provided by the IMD manufacturer to ensure the IMD  102  is operating within the limits of design, for example, testing circuitry and battery level. The physician treating the patient having the IMD  102  may define a separate set of diagnostics to ensure that the patient&#39;s metrics are within tolerances. For example, the physician may set tolerances for blood pressure. A range of blood pressures considered normal for the patient may be defined and monitored according to one frequency. Another abnormal range of blood pressures may be defined that trigger increased frequency of monitoring. Finally, if the patient&#39;s blood pressure reaches a defined emergency threshold, the IMD  102  initiates an emergency call to a monitoring center. The physician may define similar diagnostics and thresholds for other metrics, such as blood sugar, depending upon the patient and the type of IMD  102 . The physician may modify the metric to be monitored and the thresholds, based on changes in the patient&#39;s health, such as an improved condition. 
     At  220 , when the IMD  102  detects that one or more of the diagnostic tests failed, the IMD  102  attempts to connect to a monitoring center  112 . The failure may be a partial, non-fatal malfunction or failure in the IMD  102 , itself, or the patient may be experiencing a health emergency. 
     At  225 , the IMD  102  attempts to connect using a cell service. The cell service may be preferred because it is ubiquitous and does not require proximity to a particular WiFi network for connectivity. 
     At  227 , if the IMD  102  successfully connects to a monitoring center  112  using a cell service, at  257  the IMD  102  sends its emergency message to the monitoring center  112  to which it is connected, where it is received by the emergency communication program  110   b . The monitoring center  112  also knows the token  108 , and the emergency message can have a digital certificate to establish a circle of trust for the IMD  102 . The emergency message includes the patient&#39;s location so that the emergency responder can find him with a minimum of searching. The location information may be provided by a GPS on the IMD  102 . 
     The emergency message may include a code associated with the type of failure, and any data included in the emergency message. There may be a separate set of codes from the manufacturer for device related issues, and another set of codes for patient health emergencies. For example, a code may indicate a low battery condition. In response, the emergency communication program  110   b  may take one of several actions that are defined for the code in the database  114 . In response, at  260 , the emergency communication program  110   b  may dispatch an ambulance and notify the patient&#39;s physician to what hospital the ambulance is going. 
     If at  225 , the IMD  102  cannot connect to a cell service, at  230  the IMD  102  searches for a nearby active WiFi network. 
     To ensure the security of their networks, administrators typically require the requestor of the connection to provide identification before receiving authorization and access, such as through including a password. Some administrators of these secure private networks may allow limited, restricted, temporary access to their networks only for emergency purposes through a one-time temporary token  108 . During manufacture, the token  108  is installed in the IMD  102 . The router  117  has special firmware installed that will allow the IMD  102  limited, restricted, temporary access to that router&#39;s network. The router  117  is configured to allow the IMD  102  access only to a restricted list of monitoring centers  112 . The emergency message the IMD  102  sends is strictly restricted to a specific format, and no other access is given to any internal or external network that is not part of the emergency communication. The limited access is granted through the IMD being installed with a token  108 , and a router  117  having firmware enabled to accept it. The router  117  verifies the authenticity of the token  108  on-line against a registrar that can answer whether the token  108  is both authentic and valid. Both the restricted emergency message format and the restricted list of monitoring centers may be enforced by enhanced validating by the router  117  firmware, as well as by the emergency communication program  110   a  and  110   b . In this way, although the router  117  is granting temporary guest access to its network, the restrictions on the emergency message format and the restricted list of monitoring centers ensures no other access is given to a network not involved with sending the emergency communication. 
     Having detected an active nearby network, at  235  the IMD  102  attempts to connect to the network&#39;s router  117  without using the token  108 . A connection between the IMD  102  and the monitoring center  112  may be possible over a WiFi network. This may be the case where the WiFi network is an open or public network that is not password protected, or a private network that is not password protected. If at  240  the connection is successful, then at  127  the emergency communication program  110   a  sends an emergency message to the monitoring center  112  over the WiFi connection. The emergency message may include a code associated with the type of emergency, a description of the emergency that is associated with the code, and the location of the IMD  102 . The emergency communication program  110   b  at the monitoring center  112  receives the emergency message, and may use some of the information, such as the code, to determine the patient&#39;s location, the type of the emergency, and the required response. Based on this determination, the emergency communication program  110   b  initiates a dispatch of the appropriate emergency responder. The emergency communication program  110   b  may also send an acknowledgement to the emergency communication program  110   a  on the IMD  102  and an indication that the emergency responder is on the way. 
     However, if at  240  the connection is not successful, the emergency communication program  110   a  attempts to connect to the router  117  of the same WiFi network using the token  108  ( 245 ). This is because it is likely that the connection issue is the need for a password to access this network. The connection may not be successful ( 250 ) if the router  117  is not enabled due to lacking the required firmware, for example. In this case, the router  117  may simply reject the connection request. In response, the emergency communication program  110   a  returns to  230  to attempt a connection to the next active WiFi network. The IMD  102  attempts a connection using any active network until a connection is made or the IMD  102  exhausts all the available networks. 
     At  250 , if the emergency communication program  110   a  successfully connects to the router  117  of the WiFi network, then the router  117  is likely a “one-time use token”-enabled router. At  255 , the router  117  completes the connection between the IMD  102  and the monitoring center  112 . The router  117  accepts the emergency message from the IMD  102  ( 257 ) and forwards it to the monitoring center  112 . At  260 , the emergency communication program  110   b  responds in a similar manner to that described above, i.e., determining the assistance required and dispatching the appropriate responder. The patient, however, is not notified unless the patient can connect a device, typically a smartphone, to the internet. 
     When the IMD  102  receives the notification from the monitoring center  112  that help is dispatched to the location of the IMD  102 , the IMD  102  sends to the monitoring center  112  an acknowledgement that the “help is on the way” message is received. Once this exchange is completed, at  265  the monitoring center  112  invalidates the token  108  by pushing an invalidation request for the token  108  to the on-line central registrar of the one-time use tokens. 
     Once the token is invalidated, a new token must be installed on the IMD  102 , however it is not necessary to remove/replace the IMD  102 . For example, if the patient is at an emergency facility as a result of the process of  FIG. 2 , a person who has been properly cleared for security purposes can install a new token. This may be a doctor, personnel from the monitoring center  112 , or personnel from the device manufacturer. The doctor is considered an authorized person for this purpose. The authorized person, having the required security role, can authenticate to the IMD  102 , since the IMD  102  has a wireless enabled interface. This is to ensure as best as possible that the IMD  102  is not hacked and that the patient&#39;s health and security are not compromised. This enhanced authorization is only required for installing the token. To ensure security, the security process can be periodically reviewed and modified as needed. The token is not stored outside of the device because of security concerns that the token may be discovered and used to harm the patient. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a block diagram of components of an example computing device  600  that may provide the form of the IMD  102 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 3  provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made. 
     Computing device  600  can include one or more processors  602 , one or more computer-readable RAMs  604 , one or more computer-readable ROMs  606 , one or more computer readable storage media  608 , device drivers  612 , read/write drive or interface  614 , and network adapter or interface  616 , all interconnected over a communications fabric  618 . Communications fabric  618  can be implemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/or control information between processors (such as microprocessors, communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any other hardware components within the system. 
     One or more operating systems  610 , and application programs  611 , such as the device diagnostics program  109 , and emergency communication program  110   a  are stored on one or more of the computer readable storage media  608  for execution by one or more of the processors  602  via one or more of the respective RAMs  604  (which typically include cache memory). In the illustrated embodiment, each of the computer readable storage media  608  can be a magnetic disk storage device of an internal hard drive, magnetic disk, optical disk, a semiconductor storage device such as RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory, or any other computer readable storage media that can store a computer program and digital information, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. 
     Computing device  600  can also include a R/W drive or interface  614  to read from and write to one or more portable computer readable storage media  626 . Application programs  611  on computing device  600  can be stored on one or more of the portable computer readable storage media  626 , read via the respective R/W drive or interface  614  and loaded into the respective computer readable storage media  608 . 
     Computing device  600  can also include a network adapter or interface  616 , such as a TCP/IP adapter card or wireless communication adapter. Application programs  611  on computing device  600  can be downloaded to the computing device from an external computer or external storage device via a network (for example, the Internet, a local area network or other wide area networks or wireless networks) and network adapter or interface  616 . From the network adapter or interface  616 , the programs may be loaded into the computer readable storage media  608 . 
     Computing device  600  can be connected to a display screen  620 , a keyboard or keypad  622 , and a computer mouse or touchpad  624 , particularly when the user of the IMD  102  is undergoing a medical procedure performed by a physician needing connectivity to the IMD  102 . Device drivers  612  interface to display screen  620  for imaging, to keyboard or keypad  622 , to computer mouse or touchpad  624 , and/or to display screen  620  for pressure sensing of alphanumeric character entry and user selections. The device drivers  612 , R/W drive or interface  614 , and network adapter or interface  616  can comprise hardware and software stored in computer readable storage media  608  and/or ROM  606 . 
     The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. 
     The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein. 
     The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
     Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. 
     Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention. 
     Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. 
     These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special-purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions.