INSTRUMENT AND SUPPLYING APPARATUS OR APPARATUS GROUP AND METHOD FOR OPERATION THEREOF

Abstract

Instruments having plugs with data carriers containing codes identifiable as being correlated. The codes can be individual identifiers that are individually provided to the plugs. If plugs identical in construction of instruments of identical types are connected with apparatus or an apparatus group, e.g., a first plug of a used instrument and a second and third plug of a new instrument that replace the used instrument, the three inserted plugs are determined as not being part of the same instrument and an operation of the apparatus and thus the instruments is blocked.

Claims

1. An instrument for medical treatment of a human or animal patient, comprising: a first plug configured for connection with an apparatus; a second plug configured for connection with the apparatus or another apparatus; wherein the first plug comprises a data carrier having a first identifier; and wherein the second plug comprises a data carrier having a second identifier different from the first identifier.

2. The instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the first identifier comprises an instrument identifier as well as an individual identifier.

3. The instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that each of first and second plugs comprise data carriers with individual identifiers that are coordinated with one another.

4. The instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the data carrier of the first plug comprises the individual identifiers of the second plug or a calculation parameter based thereon.

5. The instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the data carrier of the first plug comprises a hash code or a check identifier of individual identifiers of the second plug.

6. The instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the data carrier of the first plug comprises a hash code or a check identifier of the individual identifiers of the second plug.

7. The instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second plugs are respectively connected with a communication device configured to transmit the individual identifier to an apparatus to be connected.

8. The instrument according to claim 7, characterized in that the communication means is a radio module.

9. The instrument according to claim 7, characterized in that the communication means is a contact module.

10. The instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the first plug and the second plug are configured for transmission of different media.

11. An apparatus or apparatus group for supply of an instrument according to claim 1, further comprising sockets that are configured for insertion of the first and second plugs and detection of the first and second identifiers, and a control device that is configured to check the correlation of the plugs.

12. The apparatus or apparatus group according to claim 11, characterized in that the control device is configured to check the correlation of the first and second plugs based on the first and second identifiers of the first and second plugs.

13. The apparatus or apparatus group according to claim 11, characterized in that the control device is configured to only allow the operation of the instrument, if the first and second plugs of the instrument connected with the apparatus or the apparatus group are determined as being correlated.

14. A device for treatment of a human or animal patient comprising the apparatus or apparatus group according to claim 11.

15. A method for operation of a device according to claim 14, characterized in that after the connection of the first and second plugs with the sockets the first and second identifiers stored in the first and second plugs are correlated to determine whether the plugs are part of the same instrument and the operation of the instrument is only allowed, if the plugs are part of the same instrument.

Description

[0024] Further details of advantageous embodiments of the concept according to the invention can be derived from the claims, as well as the drawing and the respective description. In the drawing embodiments of the invention are illustrated. The drawings show:

[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic overview of an apparatus system with a connected instrument in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

[0026] FIGS. 2-5 illustrate different embodiments of data structures of plugs of the instrument in accordance with embodiments described herein.

[0027] A device 10 for treatment of human or animal patients is illustrated in FIG. 1. This device 10 comprises at least one medical or surgical instrument 11 and one or more apparatuses 12, 13, 14, to which it is connected. The apparatuses 12-14 are connected to one another by a bus 15 and therefore form an apparatus system. The apparatus system serves for supply of instrument 11 with the required operating media. For this purpose, instrument 11 is connected to the apparatus 12, 13, 14 by multiple plugs, e.g., a first plug 16 as well as at least one additional plug 17, 18. The apparatus 12, 13, 14 comprise respective sockets 19, 20, 21 for this purpose at which the plugs 16, 17, 18 receive the associated operating media. The plugs 16, 17, 18 are connected by lines with the instrument 11 to supply the operating media to the instrument 11.

[0028] The first plug 16 comprises a data carrier 22 that consists of one or more memory chips. On the data carrier 22, an identifier K is stored that can be read by an apparatus control 23. For this purpose, a communication module 24 is provided on the socket 19 on the side of apparatus 12. A communication module 25 matching thereto is comprised by plug 16, the communication module 25 being able to establish a data connection with communication module 24. The data connection between both communication modules 24, 25 is illustrated in FIG. 1 by a dashed line.

[0029] In similar manner the apparatus 13 comprises an apparatus control 26 having a communication module 27. It is configured to connect with a communication module 28 of plug 17. The communication module 28 is connected to a data carrier 29 on which an individual identifier IK2 is stored. Via the data connection between the communication modules 27, 28 the individual identifier IK2 can be read by apparatus control 26.

[0030] In accordance therewith apparatus 14 comprises an apparatus control 30 that can establish a data connection with a communication module 32 of plug 18 by a communication module 31. The communication module 32 is connected to a data carrier 33 of plug 18 on which an individual identifier IK3 can be stored.

[0031] In the extremely simplified depicted embodiment, the identifier K stored on the data carrier 22 of plug 16 consists of an instrument type designation, here by way of example I01, as well as in addition of an individual identifier IK1, here the number 0001. In the additional plugs 17 and 18 the data carrier 29 and 33 is respectively provided with the individual identifier IK2 and IK3 that are here also the number 0001 in the simplified example. According to this concept, the correlated plugs 16, 17, 18 of one and the same instrument 11 have corresponding individual identifiers IK1=IK2=IK3.

[0032] If such an instrument 11 is connected to the apparatus system consisting of apparatus 12, 13, 14, the control device 34 consisting of the apparatus controls 23, 26, 30 checks whether the individual identifiers IK1, IK2 and IK3 of plugs 16, 17, 18 correspond. If yes, the control device 34, shown as part of apparatus 12 for exemplary purposes only, allows the operation of apparatus 12, 13, 14.

[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates a modified embodiment in which only the data carriers 22, 29 and 33 of plugs 16, 17, 18 are illustrated for sake of simplification. Again, on the data carrier 22 the instrument type, here by way of example I01, is stored in the context of the stored identifier K. In addition, the data carrier 22 can contain the individual identifier IK1 of the first plug 16. The data carrier 22 contains the individual identifiers IK2 and IK3; the data carriers 29 and 30 of additional plugs 17 and 18 contain individual identifiers as well. In such a system, the control device 34 checks prior to allowing operation of apparatus 12-14 whether the sockets 18 and 19 have the correct identifiers IK2 and IK3 and can be read from the first plug 16 on socket 19. If this is the case, the control device is configured to allow operation. It is in addition configured to block operation as long as this is not the case.

[0034] In the embodiments mentioned above, data carriers 22, 29, 33 are required on the plugs 16, 17, 18 that are provided individually and coordinated with one another and that are provided with data coordinated with one another. It is, however, also possible to provide at least the data carriers 29, 33 with arbitrary or randomly defined individual identifiers IK2 and IK3 or to use data carriers 29, 33 provided in this manner. In doing so, numbering chips taken from a series production can be used on which consecutive numbers are non-variably stored. When using the embodiment according to FIG. 2, then the individual identifiers IK2, IK3, as they randomly result from the current production, for example, are copied on the data carrier 22. The operation of the system is carried out according to the description above.

[0035] Instead of copies of individual identifiers IK2, IK3 it is in addition possible to only store a calculation value formed therefrom on data carrier 22 of plug 16, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The data carrier 22 there again contains an instrument identifier I01 and at least optionally an own first individual identifier IK1. The data carriers 29, 33 contain in turn individual identifiers IK2, IK3 that can be different from the individual identifier IK1. Particularly, they can also be different from one another. From the two individual identifiers IK2, IK3 of plugs 17 and 18 the calculation value P(IK2, IK3) is calculated during provision of first plug 16. For example, this calculation value can be a check sum, e.g. a CRC check sum, hash value or the like.

[0036] In operation, after insertion of first plug 16, the control device 34 checks whether additional plugs are inserted in the additional sockets 20, 21 and if this is the case, whether the readable individual identifiers IK2 and IK3 from the plugs 17 and 18 used there result in the check sum P(IK2, IK3) that is readable from first plug 16. If this is the case, the operation of apparatus 12-14 is allowed.

[0037] Largely similar is the embodiment according to FIG. 4 in which the check sum P(IK1, IK2, IK3) is formed in addition from the first individual identifier IK1 of first plug 16. Apart therefrom, the method operates as described above in relation to FIG. 3.

[0038] A further configuration is apparent from FIG. 5 in which data carriers 29, 30 of additional plugs 17, 18 contain the individual identifiers IK2 and IK3 as in all of the previous examples. The individual identifier IK1 stored on data carrier 22 of first plug 16 and includes only a check sum P(IK2, IK3). The consistency check whether the three plugs 16, 17, 18 connected with the apparatus 12, 13, 14 are part of one and the same instrument 11 is also reliably possible according to this simplified embodiment.

[0039] In all embodiments described above the instrument identifier I01 serves for identification for the instrument type. The apparatus 12, 13, 14 can be configured to adjust their operating parameters or ranges for the operating parameters according to the instrument type. In any embodiment presented here the instrument type identifier I01 can also be omitted, if it is not desired or not necessary.

[0040] An instrument 11 according to the invention comprises plugs 16, 17, 18 with data carriers 22, 29, 33 that contain codes identifiable as being correlated. Such codes can be individual identifiers IK1, IK2, IK3 that are individually provided to the plugs. If plugs identical in construction of instruments of identical types are connected with apparatus or an apparatus group, e.g., a first plug of a used up instrument and a second and third plug of a new instrument that shall replace the used up instrument, the three inserted plugs are determined as not being part of the same instrument and an operation of the apparatus 12, 13, 14 and thus the use of the instruments is blocked. In doing so, the operation safety is remarkably increased when using the embodiments described herein.