FR2673790A1 - Method and system for transmitting information and apparatus for implementing the method - Google Patents

Abstract

After acquisition of the information to be transmitted and of data for identifying a destination site, the information is coded according to codes which are independent of the selected destination site; then the coded information is enciphered by an algorithm using the said identification data. This enciphered information is sent by a telecommunications network (T) to the destination site equipped with an appliance (8). The appliance (8) preferably comprises a box (10) containing a modem (12), a processor (16) for controlling the reception and the processing of the information, a read-only memory (18) for storing the data for identifying the destination site, the deciphering algorithm and the coding tables, a memory (20) for temporary storage of the information and connectors (22, 26) for connecting a visual display device (24, 28). Use particularly for communicating results of medical analysis.

Description

 The present invention relates to a method and a system for transmitting information between at least one transmission site equipped with an information processing system connected to a telecommunications network, and at least one destination site equipped with a receiver connected to this telecommunications network. The invention also relates to an information transmission device for implementing the method at a destination site.

 The invention is particularly suitable for the transmission of medical analysis results between a medical analysis laboratory and a prescriber (medical or clinical office). However, those skilled in the art will understand, on reading this memo, that the invention can also be used for the transmission of other types of information of a confidential nature.

 The transmission of medical analysis results must generally obey the requirements imposed on the practitioner which pose difficult technical problems if one wishes to communicate them remotely via telecommunication lines. This is why these results are generally transmitted in written form, which constitutes a particularly slow mode of transmission and involving complicated management in laboratories.

 First of all, the solutions requiring a dedicated communication line between a prescriber and a laboratory have the generally unacceptable drawback that the prescriber can then only collaborate with the laboratory or laboratories to which he is connected by a dedicated line, being understood that the creation of a network of dedicated lines between all laboratories and all prescribers is an unrealistic solution for obvious reasons of cost. However, the choice of analysis laboratories generally belongs to the patient and not to the prescriber. Using dedicated lines would therefore reduce the patient's choice, which is generally prohibited by regulations.

 If an existing telecommunications network (for example a telematic network) is used to transmit the analysis results, it certainly avoids the use of dedicated lines, but there is however another drawback, linked to the confidentiality of the information transmitted. In fact, the information transmitted by the analysis laboratory must only be accessible to the prescriber for whom it is intended. If, to preserve confidentiality, a conventional encryption algorithm is used, a prescriber not concerned by the information transmitted is likely to receive them by means of this algorithm, which it must nevertheless hold in order to be able to decipher the information intended for it.

 An object of the present invention is therefore to propose a method and a system for transmitting information, in particular results of medical analysis, which overcome the technical problems mentioned above.

 The invention thus relates to a method for transmitting information between at least one transmission site equipped with an information processing system connected to a telecommunications network and at least one destination site equipped with a receiver connected to said telecommunications network.

According to the invention, this process is characterized by the following steps, carried out at the emission site
- acquisition of information to be transmitted and of data relating to the destination site
- coding of the information to be transmitted in the form of codes independent of the destination site
- encryption of information coded according to an algorithm using said data relating to the destination site; and
- formatting and transmission of coded and encrypted information on the telecommunications network to the destination site,
and by the following steps, carried out at the destination site
- reception of information on the telecommunications network
- decryption of the information received according to an algorithm using said data relating to the destination site; and
- decoding of the decrypted information in the form of codes independent of the destination site.

 Thanks to the method according to 1 invention, the information transmitted can only be decrypted at the destination site to which it is addressed because the encryption involves the data relating to the selected destination site (for example username and password assigned to this site. destination), this data not being available at a destination site other than the one that has been selected. Furthermore, the use of coding of the information to be transmitted in the form of codes independent of the selected destination site avoids any error of interpretation of the information transmitted and makes it possible to reduce the volume of information conveyed by the telecommunications network and therefore reduce the cost of communication.

 The use of a telecommunications network to transmit information eliminates the disadvantages encountered with dedicated lines, in particular the high cost of cabling and the limitations of the freedom of choice of the analysis laboratory by a patient consulting a medical office or a clinical.

 According to another aspect of the present invention, the information transmission system is characterized in that it comprises, at the transmission site means for coding the information to be transmitted in the form of codes independent of the destination site, means for encrypting the information encoded according to an algorithm using data relating to a selected destination site and a modem for formatting and transmitting the encoded and encrypted information over the telecommunications network to the selected destination site and in that it comprises , at each destination site, a modem for receiving information on the telecommunications network, a read-only memory for the storage of data relating to said destination site, a decryption algorithm using said data relating to the destination site to decrypt the information received and coding tables for decoding decrypted information es, and a processing unit connected to the modem and to the read-only memory for controlling the reception, decryption and decoding of the information transmitted.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus for transmitting information for the implementation of the above method at a destination site is characterized in that it comprises
- a modem connected to means of connection to a telecommunications network for receiving information transmitted over this network
- a read only memory for the storage of data relating to said destination site, of a decryption algorithm using said data relating to the destination site to decrypt the information received and of coding tables for the decoding of the decrypted information; and
- a processing unit connected to the modem and the read-only memory to control the reception, decryption and decoding of the information transmitted.

 This device is designed for the implementation of the process defined above. It is advantageously included in a box connecting to the telecommunications network and, where appropriate, to a printer and / or to a terminal such as a microcomputer. It can thus be linked to IT equipment held by the prescriber, which allows a two-way exchange of information between the issuing site and the destination site. If, on the other hand, the destination site is not equipped with IT means, the above device is also suitable, by simply associating it with a printer, the cost to be borne in order to equip the destination site thus being relatively reduced. . In a preferred version of the device according to the invention, it further comprises a random access memory for storing the information received and decrypted under control of the processing unit. This arrangement makes it possible to receive information on the telecommunications network even when the peripheral display device (printer or terminal) is not ready to display or save it. This therefore avoids unnecessarily prolonging the communication or making it fail when this circumstance is encountered. Furthermore, the prescriber thus has the possibility of controlling the display of this decoded information simply by monitoring the operating state of the display device. Furthermore, the memory space required is reduced because the information is stored before the decoding step.

 In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the read-only memory of the device is an electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). It is thus possible to download the read-only memory, for example from a laboratory (issuing site), to update the coding tables stored in this read-only memory, or to modify the data relating to the destination where the device is installed (for example to change the password).

Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear in the detailed description below, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which
- Figure 1 is a diagram of an installation usable at a destination site to implement the method according to the invention;
- Figures 2A to 2C are diagrams illustrating the system according to the invention and its use in different stages of the process; and
- Figure 3 is a flowchart representing steps of information transmission according to the method of the invention.

 In the description below, the invention is presented in its preferred but nonlimiting application to the transmission of medical analysis results. In this example, the information transmission sites are medical analysis laboratories equipped with an information processing system 2 (FIG. 2A) connected to the telephone network T via a modem 4 and d 'a telephone set 5, and the information destination sites are the prescribers of the analyzes, namely medical offices or clinics, equipped with a telephone receiver 6 connected to the telephone network T.

Each destination site is also equipped with a communication device 8 included in a box 10 connected to the telephone receiver 6. The device 8 comprises a multistandard modem 12 connected to the receiver 6 via a modem port 14. A processing unit 16, such as a microprocessor associated with a read only memory (ROM) 18 and with a random access memory (RAM) 20, is connected to the modem 12. Furthermore, the microprocessor 16 is connected to an interface connector monodirectional parallel 22 for the connection of a printer 24, for example to the CENTRONICS standard, and to a bidirectional serial interface connector (IEEE standard
RS 232) 26 for the connection of a microcomputer 28.

Thus, depending on the equipment at its disposal, the prescriber can choose to connect to the communication device 8 either a printer 24 or a microcomputer 28.

 All or part of the connections to the microprocessor 16 are for example made in a known manner by data buses and address buses associated with respective controllers. Of course, it will be understood that, in the context of the present invention, the microprocessor 16 can be part of a microcontroller, in which case the memories 18, 20 can also belong, in whole or in part, to this microcontroller.

 Advantageously, the read-only memory 18 can be an electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). In this read-only memory 18 are stored data relating to the destination site where the device 8 is installed. This data comprises a character string forming an identifier of this destination site and a character string forming a password associated with this identifier. The read-only memory 18 also contains a decryption algorithm, which the processor 16 uses to decrypt the information received by the device 8. This decryption algorithm is the same for all the destination sites, but it uses as key some of the data relating to the destination site, in particular the password. The read-only memory 18 also contains coding tables, which are the same for all the destination sites, and which are used by the processor 16 to decode information previously decrypted using the decryption algorithm.

 The information transmission system according to the invention is illustrated completely schematically in FIG. 2A. It can be seen that the computer system 2 of each laboratory is associated with a communication software module 30, which includes an encoding / decoding module 32 and an encryption / decryption module 34, as well as with the modem 4, which can for example be arranged according to the V22 standard to transmit the encrypted information at a speed of 1200 bits per second in synchronous duplex mode. We will now describe the operation of this system, which will highlight the steps of the method according to the invention (see FIG. 2B).

The first step 102 is the acquisition of the analysis results to be transmitted in the computer system 2 of the laboratory and the selection of the prescriber for whom these results are intended. This selection consists in acquiring the identifier and password of the selected prescriber which are stored in a memory of the laboratory computer system. Then, the analysis results are coded by the coding / decoding module 32. At the coding step 132, a code which is independent is associated with each piece of information (type of analysis, results, etc.). of the selected destination site. The coded information is put into the form of data packets, each corresponding to an elementary sequence of information (analysis results) and also including control characters concerning the syntax of the coded information. Thus, each message or data packet can have the following structure
packet number - length in bytes of the packet
command word (indicating the nature of the data)
- element 1 code - element 1 format
element 1 (name, date, result ...) - code of
element 2 - format of element 2 - ...
end of packet character - character of
control (LRC, of "longitudinal redundancy
check ").

 In the next step 134, the coded information is encrypted by the encryption / decryption module 34. This encryption 134 is carried out according to an algorithm using the data relating to the selected destination site, in particular its password, the acquisition of which has was done in step 102. Thus, the subsequent decryption of the transmitted messages is only possible if the password of the selected specifier is known.

 In the next step 104, the coded and encrypted data are formatted by the laboratory modem 4 and transmitted over the telephone network T, intended for the selected prescriber. This step 104 comprises the composition of the prescriber's telephone code, which is stored in the memory of the computer system 2 in correspondence with its identifier. It is of course possible to provide for an automatic redialing of this code in case of occupation of the telephone line of this prescriber or in case of detection of a transmission error.

 The reception and processing of information by the communication device 8 shown in FIG. 1 is illustrated by the diagram in FIG. 2B and by the more detailed flow diagram in FIG. 3. The corresponding steps are carried out under control of the microprocessor 16 .

 When the apparatus 8 in standby mode detects a ringing 150 from the receiver 6, translating a telephone call arriving at the destination site, the transmission standard used by the calling modem is first tested at 152. For this, the speed and parity of transmission of the information received as well as the mode of transmission (duplex or semi-duplex, synchronous or asynchronous) are tested in a known manner. If the transmission standard detected is not the V22 standard (used by laboratory modems 4), the modem 12, which is adapted to receive signals according to different communication protocols, adapts its reception mode (for example V23) in step 154 to operate as a conventional modem. This makes it possible to use the communication device 8 like a conventional modem in the case where the prescriber is equipped with a computer 28 capable of generally exchanging information by modem.

Of course, communication protocols other than V22 and V23 can be supported by modem 12.

If a single modem is not sufficient to receive signals according to all the communication protocols that one wishes to be able to use, one can add to it in the apparatus 8 a second modem 13 (FIG. 1) making it possible to transmit and receive signals according to other communication protocols. If no information transmission standard supported by the modems 12, 13 is identified in the test step 152, the telephone communication is interrupted.

 If the test step 152 reveals that the communication meets the V22 standard used by the modems 4 of the laboratories, it is then determined, in 156, If the call actually comes from such a laboratory, according to the procedure described above. If the call does not correspond to this procedure, the modem 12 then operates in 158 as a conventional modem with the V22 standard to allow an exchange of information with the possible computer 28. If the call actually comes from a laboratory according to the above procedure, the device 8 enters a logon phase, or "LOGIN" 160 which leads to an exchange of the identifiers and passwords used between the issuing site and the destination. In 162, it is checked that the passwords used at the sending site and at the destination site are in conformity. In the event of non-conformity, the session ends and communication is interrupted. If the passwords are in conformity, the reception of the coded data packets can start at 112. During this reception 112, the modem 12 of the communication device 8 addresses after demodulation each packet of encrypted data to the microprocessor 16.

 The microprocessor 16 then performs processing 116 (FIG. 2) of the encrypted information that it receives. This processing 116 comprises the decryption 116a (FIG. 3) of the data received, a syntactic analysis 116b of the decrypted information and a storage 116c of the decrypted information. The decryption 116a of the data received is carried out using the decryption algorithm stored in the read-only memory 18 and involving in particular the password of the destination site. In the syntactic analysis step 116b, the adequacy of the information received (in coded form) is checked with respect to the format of the coded data packets as defined above. We can thus verify the conformity between the format of each element d information received and its format as defined within the data packet, verify that the effective length in bytes of the data packet corresponds to the length of the data packet announced at the start of it or perform the redundancy tests associated with the LRC control character. If the parsing 116b reveals a transmission error, an error signal is returned, in 164, in the direction of the transmission site which can then return the data packet later. If the parsing 116b does not reveal any transmission error, a packet acknowledgment signal is returned, at 164, towards the transmission site. The decrypted data packet is then stored, at 116c, in the random access memory 20 of the communication device 8. If it is observed, in a step 166, that this stored data packet is followed by other data packets transmitted during from the same session, we return to step 112 to receive and process the following data packets. Once all the data packets have been received and processed, the telephone communication between the destination site and the sending site is interrupted (step 168).

 Depending on the type of display device connected to the device 8, the information will be sent either to the printer interface connector 22 or to the microcomputer interface connector 26.

As long as this display device (printer 24 or microcomputer 28) is not ready to receive information, it remains stored in decrypted form but not decoded in the random access memory 20.

This situation occurs when the printer 24 or the microcomputer 28 is not in use or when the microcomputer 28 is performing other tasks. When the peripheral display device is a printer 24 ready for displaying the information, the microprocessor 16 controls the decoding 170 of the decrypted information according to the coding tables stored in the read-only memory 18. The decoded information is then sent for printing 124 ( Figures 2B and 3) to the printer 24.

When the peripheral display device connected is a microcomputer ready to receive information, this information is sent to the microcomputer and then integrated into its files (step 128).

This information can be sent to the microcomputer 28 in coded form if the latter includes a software resource allowing decoding. If this is not the case, they can be sent to it after decoding by the processor 16. Once the microprocessor 16 has sent all the information received to the peripheral device 24 or 28, they are erased from the RAM 20, and the communication device 8 returns to its standby mode.

Although using a public telephone network
T for the transmission of information, the system of the present invention ensures the confidentiality of the data transmitted. Indeed, the messages transmitted can only be decrypted by the decryption algorithm having the password and the identifier of the prescriber for whom they are intended. These variables are written in read-only memories and are therefore not explicitly available so that an external user can receive information which is not intended for him.

 The use of codes independent of the destination has, in addition to reducing the volume of information to be transmitted, the advantage of eliminating the risk of error that may result from differences in references between the sending site and the destination site. Furthermore, errors that can result from communication faults are generally detected by the system which then sends adequate messages back to the sending site, thanks to the syntax analysis step 116b of the data packets, which is added to the classic checks on the quality of communication.

 The apparatus 8 described above is suitable for a simple and inexpensive implementation of the method according to 1 invention with a prescriber. The modem 12, the processing circuits 16 and the memories 18, 20 are combined in the device 8 which can operate independently of the display device connected to receive information. For better confidentiality of the information transmitted, the prescriber can control the display of the results by deactivating the display device (for example by cutting off its power supply), the information received then being temporarily stored in memory 20. visualization is a printer 24, the entire installation at the prescriber constitutes simple, inexpensive and space-saving equipment when the prescriber is not equipped with computer means. If, on the contrary, it is equipped with a microcomputer 28, the device 8 which has the appearance of a conventional modem box allows the computer to manage the results received.

Furthermore, the multistandard modem 12, and possibly the modem 13, allow, in association with their operating procedure, a conventional data exchange between the microcomputer 28 and an external terminal connected to the telephone network T, without using the procedures decryption and decoding according to the invention.

 The connection of a microcomputer 28 also makes it possible to provide other functions, such as carrying out analysis orders sent by the medical office or the clinic to a selected analysis laboratory.

Such an order is illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 2C. In a first step 228, the prescriber enters on his microcomputer 28 the request for a medical analysis and selects the laboratory to which this request is addressed. The microcomputer 28 then performs the coding of this information according to the coding tables which are the same for all the transmission and destination sites of the system according to the invention. This information is then sent to the device 8 and then encrypted, in 216, by the microprocessor 16 using the encryption algorithm stored in the read-only memory 18 and using as identifier the identifier and the password of the laboratory to which they This encrypted information is then formatted and transmitted over the telephone network by the modem 12 of the device 8 after dialing the telephone code corresponding to the selected laboratory. After reception 204 of this control information by the modem 4 of the laboratory, and after the steps of verification of identifier and password similar to those described with reference to FIG. 3 for the sending of the results, the information received by the laboratory are decrypted at 234 by the decryption module 34 included in the software means 30 of the computer system 2 of the laboratory.

The decrypted information is then decoded, in 232 then integrated in 202 in the files of the computer system 2 of the laboratory, for a further processing of this command. This remote analysis control procedure is therefore symmetrical with the procedure for sending the results previously described. It therefore constitutes a second example of application of the information transmission method according to the invention.

 The fact that the read-only memory 18 is erasable and electrically programmable (EEPROM) makes it possible, using appropriate instructions, to download the coding tables into the read-only memory 18 if these have to be updated, for example to take account of new types of analysis, and also to download the new password from the destination site, when it must be changed. It is also possible to provide for a destruction of the password stored in the read-only memory 18, if several successive connection attempts are made via the telephone network T using an incorrect password, this provision preventing any unauthorized person to access the information transmitted.

 All the procedures described above prohibit any communication from a passive terminal (for example a terminal known as "Minitel"). In addition, it is impossible to receive information such as analysis results by remotely querying the files of the medical analysis laboratory using a patient list only information concerning patients for whom a prescriber has an access right will be transmitted to him to the exclusion of all others.

 Of course, those skilled in the art will understand on reading the above description that the present invention includes embodiments other than those described above by way of examples.

 Thus, although the use of a communication device 8 contained in a housing 10 is preferred for the implementation of the method, other equipment can be used for this purpose. For example, if the destination site is equipped with a computer, it can be provided with a card ensuring the functions of the processing unit 16 and memories 18, 20, by additionally associating it with a modem. conventional type for receiving information transmitted via the telephone network T.

 In another variant of the invention, it is possible to connect a display terminal to the serial interface connector 26 of the device 8.

 Furthermore, although the invention has been described in a version in which it uses a telephone network T as its transmission medium, it will be understood that other types of telecommunications network can be used, for example digital networks.

Claims (17)

 1. Method for transmitting information between at least one transmission site equipped with an information processing system (2) connected to a telecommunications network (T) and at least one destination site equipped with a receiver (6) connected to said telecommunications network (T), characterized by the following steps, carried out at the emission site  - acquisition of information to be transmitted and of data relating to the destination site  - coding of the information to be transmitted in the form of codes independent of the destination site  - encryption of information coded according to an algorithm using said data relating to the destination site; and  - formatting and transmission of coded and encrypted information on the telecommunications network (T) to the destination site,  and by the following steps, carried out at the destination site  - reception (112) of information on the telecommunications network (T)  - decryption (116a) of the information received according to an algorithm using said data relating to the destination site; and  - decoding (170) of the decrypted information in the form of codes independent of the destination site.  2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the information received being intended for a display device (24, 28) r the decrypted information is stored in a memory (20) provided at the destination site as long as the device display (24, 28) is not ready to receive said information.  3. Method according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the coded information comprises data packets each corresponding to an elementary sequence of information and further including control characters concerning the syntax of the coded information.  4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that a syntax analysis (116b) is carried out at the destination site of each data packet received and decrypted on the basis of the control characters which it includes and, we send in direction of the emission site a signal indicative of the result of this syntactic analysis (116b).  5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said data relating to the destination site comprises at least one character string forming an identifier of the destination site and a character string forming an associated password to this identifier.  6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the step (112) of receiving information is preceded by a verification (162) of the password leading to an interruption of the communication in the event of non-conformity between the passwords used at the sending site and at the destination site.  7. Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized, at the destination site, by a prior step (152, 156) of determining the communication protocol used for the transmission of the information received leading to an adaptation of the communication protocol. reception of said communication protocol.  8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the decryption algorithm, the coding tables and the data relating to the destination site being stored in an electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory (18) at destination site, a download is made via the telecommunications network (T) to at least partially modify the content of this read-only memory (18)  9. Information transmission system between at least one transmission site equipped with an information processing system (2), connected to a telecommunications network (T), and at least one destination site equipped with a receiver (6) connected to said telecommunications network (T), characterized in that it comprises, at the transmission site, means (32) for coding the information to be transmitted in the form of codes independent of the destination site, means (34) for encrypting the information coded according to an algorithm using data relating to a selected destination site and a modem (4) for formatting and transmitting the coded and encrypted information on the telecommunications network (T) to the site of selected destination and in that it comprises, at each destination site, a modem (12) for receiving information on the telecommunications network (T), a read only memory (18) for the storage of data relating to the it destination site, a decryption algorithm using said data relating to the destination site to decrypt the information received and coding tables for decoding the decrypted information, and a processing unit (16), connected to the modem (12 ) and in the read-only memory (18), to control the reception (112), the decryption (116a) and the decoding (170) of the transmitted information.  10. Apparatus (8) for transmitting information for implementing the method according to one of claims 1 to 8 at a destination site, characterized in that it comprises  - a modem (12) connected to connection means (6) to a telecommunication network (T) to receive information transmitted over this network (T)  - a read-only memory (18) for storing data relating to said destination site, a decryption algorithm using said data relating to the destination site to decrypt the information received, and coding tables for decoding the decrypted information; and  - a processing unit (16) connected to the modem (12) and to the read-only memory (18) for controlling the reception (112), the decryption (116a) and the decoding (170) of the information transmitted.  11. Apparatus (8) according to claim 10, characterized in that it further comprises a random access memory (20), for storing the information received and decrypted under control of the processing unit (16).  12. Apparatus (8) according to one of claims 10 or 11, characterized in that it further comprises interface means (22) for the connection of a printer (24) intended in particular for printing decoded information.  13. Apparatus (8) according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that it further comprises interface means (26) for the connection of a terminal (28), such as a microphone -computer, intended in particular for viewing the decoded information.  14. Apparatus (8) according to claim 13, characterized in that the modem (12) is adapted to receive signals according to different communication protocols.  15. Apparatus (8) according to one of claims 13 or 14, characterized in that it further comprises a second modem (13) for receiving signals according to other communication protocols.  16. Apparatus (8) according to one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that the read-only memory (18) is an electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory.  17. Apparatus (8) according to one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that it is included in a housing (10), connecting to the telecommunications network (T) and, where appropriate, to the printer (24) and / or at the terminal (28).