METHOD FOR COUPLING A MEDICAL DEVICE WITH A NETWORK

Abstract

A system and method for establishing a secure communication connection between at least one medical device and a network. The system includes a first communication channel and at least one second communication channel out of a plurality of second communication channels. The method includes the steps of sending a connection request by the at least one medical device to a control unit, registering the at least one medical device via the first communication channel in the network, and encoding and establishing the communication connection via the at least one second communication channel from the plurality of second communication channels. The at least one second communication channel is selected depending on the data type and/or prioritization of data.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a secure and trustworthy communication connection between at least one medical device and a network, having a first communication channel and at least one second communication channel, the method comprising the following steps: sending a connection request by the at least one medical device to a control unit; registering the at least one medical device via the first communication channel in the network; and encoding and establishing the communication connection via the at least one second communication channel, wherein the at least one second communication channel is selected depending on the data type and/or prioritization of data.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first communication channel is a registration channel and the registering step is a one-time method step per medical device, wherein in the registering step, the at least one medical device is configured for the communication connection via a verification step.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein in the verification step, the control unit specifies a connection mode, which includes an optical verification, a manual verification, or no verification.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein multiple use of a key for multiple medical devices is provided in the method step of encoding.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one second communication channel comprises a plurality of second communication channels configured to provide a plurality of keys, each key being different, wherein the keys fulfil different criteria depending on the data type and/or prioritization of the data.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the encoding step, the control unit confirms the establishment of the communication connection, wherein the communication connection is encoded with a network key and a network key ID.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the at least one medical device receives the network key and the network key ID and stores the network key and the network key ID in a persistent memory.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one second communication channel is configured to provide a key that is known to the at least one medical device.

9. A communication system for providing a communication connection between at least one medical device and a network, the communication system comprising: the at least one medical device; the network; a control unit configured to receive a connection request of the at least one medical device; a first communication channel configured for registering the at least one medical device in the network; and at least one second communication channel configured to encode said communication connection, the at least one second communication channel being selectable depending on a data type and/or prioritization of data.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] FIG. 1 is a representation illustrating a connection/coupling establishment according to the present disclosure; and

[0052] FIG. 2 is a representation illustrating a communication system according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] The following describes configuration examples of the present disclosure based on the accompanying figures.

[0054] FIG. 1 is a representation illustrating a secure and trustworthy connection/coupling establishment according to the present disclosure. In a first step S1, a connection/coupling is initiated by at least one medical device 1 via a user 6 or automatically. Here, a connection request is sent by the at least one medical device 1 to a control unit 5 according to a second step S2. In particular, a connection request according to S2 is sent to a topic T1 ‘ais.register.<client>’ and an access secret/a key is used for encoding. In a further step S3 the connection request is processed. Here, the control unit 5 processes messages from topic T1 and displays a list of medical devices 1 that have requested pairing/connection/coupling according to S2. The user 6 can decide to accept or reject the connection request.

[0055] In a step S4, the control unit creates a Topic T2 ‘ais.<client>.<client_identifier>’, wherein the at least one medical device 1 periodically attempts to subscribe to Topic 2 until it is created. The control unit 5 generates a temporary ephemeral EC-key pair and, provided the user 6 has accepted the connection request, the control unit 5 sets the corresponding access-control levels at Topic T2 for the identity of corresponding certificates. Meanwhile, a display of the at least one medical device indicates that the connection/coupling is in progress.

[0056] In a fifth step S5, after the connection/coupling is approved/recognized, the control unit 5 generates a coupling command to the at least one medical device 1 of topic T2 using a key/access secret for encoding. The at least one medical device 1 is now in a coupling/connection mode and processes a command from topic T2. The command from topic 2 indicates the type of verification. One of the three commands can be selected: ‘pairing_qrcode’, ‘pairing_code’ or ‘pairing:simple’. The at least one medical device 1 and the control unit 5 can now calculate a common secret ‘z’.

[0057] The control unit 5 forwards at least one certification signing request for the EC-key pair of the at least one medical device 1 to an internal certification infrastructure and receives a signed certificate. In a step S6, the control unit 5 adds corresponding access-control levels for the identity of the certificates to a topic T3 ‘ais.command.<client>’. Depending on the connection/coupling mode, a key confirmation with the command ‘connection verified’ is transmitted to the topic T3 with the secret ‘z’ for encoding according to a step S7.

[0058] Provided that the key confirmation has been checked by the control unit 5, the control unit 5 changes the access-control levels for the topic 2 according to step S8 and removes the corresponding identities of the corresponding certificate. In a step S9, the control unit 5 sends a ‘connection confirmed’ command to the topic T2 and uses the secret ‘z’ for encoding. Thereupon, a live load, that is, the communication data between the at least one medical device 1 and the control unit 5, has a platform key and a platform key ID for further encoding. The at least one medical device 1 receives the command ‘connection confirmed’ and stores the received platform key and platform key ID in a persistent/non-volatile memory.

[0059] In a penultimate step S10, the at least one medical device 1 sends a ‘connection completed’ command to the topic T3 and uses the platform key for encoding. Here, the at least one medical device 1 indicates ‘connection successful’. The control unit 5 adds corresponding access-control levels for the identity of the certificate to a fourth topic T4 ‘ais.meta.<client>’ and the control unit 5 publishes a message to the topic 4 with the corresponding certificate. Thereupon, the communication connection between the at least one medical device 1 and the network 2 is established.

[0060] FIG. 2 is a representation illustrating a communication system 8 according to the present disclosure. Here, four medical devices 1 are shown as examples. Each of the medical devices 1 shown can perform the registration step according to S4 to S7 via a first communication channel 3. Furthermore, three second communication channels 4 are shown by way of example in FIG. 2. Each of the medical devices 1 shown is configured and provided to establish an encoded communication channel to a network 2 via at least one of the second communication channels 4 shown. The selection of the second communication channel 4 is made by a control unit 5 depending on the data/information to be transmitted.