Associating an information reader and a medical device

What is this patent about?

’520 is related to the field of medical device integration and data management systems. It specifically addresses the technical challenges of reliably routing data from peripheral input devices, such as barcode scanners or RFID readers, to specific clinical hardware like infusion pumps or ventilators in a dynamic hospital environment.

The underlying idea behind ’520 is the creation of a flexible, software-mediated link between a scanner and a medical device that is not dependent on a permanent physical connection. By scanning a specialized association barcode or tag, the scanner captures both the unique identity of the target medical device and the routing parameters for a device agent, effectively “pairing” the two units logically so that all subsequent data captures are directed to the correct clinical context.

The claims of ’520 focus on a device agent that manages the lifecycle of this connection by processing association information that includes a specific data element, such as a cookie. This data element is appended to all subsequent scans to ensure the system can uniquely identify which medical device is the intended recipient of the data, while also providing mechanisms to automatically terminate the link based on specific workflow events.

In practice, the invention allows a single handheld scanner to be moved between different bedside units by simply scanning a setup code displayed on or near the target machine. The device agent acts as a traffic controller, using the appended data element to route medication or patient information to the active device, and can even process scans that were stored in memory before the association was finalized to ensure no data is lost during the transition.

This approach differs from prior solutions by moving away from rigid, one-to-one hardware tethering or centralized systems that lack device-specific routing logic. By incorporating automatic disassociation triggers—such as the completion of a drug administration sequence, a timeout, or a physical distance limit—the system ensures that a scanner does not remain accidentally linked to the wrong device, thereby preventing critical medication errors.