A) TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention generally relates to patient monitoring system. The present invention particularly relates to a device for ensuring optimized debugging in complex systems and more particularly to computer-supported medical diagnostic system.

B) BACK GROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In the health care industry, the provision and maintenance of safe and accurate medical equipment is of the utmost importance. A failure or defect in a medical device can prevent the patient from receiving an accurate diagnosis or proper treatment. In some cases, such failures or defects may cause serious health consequences to the patient, including death. As a result, hospitals and health care providers have developed detailed testing procedures to ensure the safety and integrity of such equipment. The frequency and extent of such tests depends on the type of equipment being tested. The equipment may be evaluated both before it is put into use, and at specified intervals throughout the lifetime of the equipment. In some instances, it may be desirable or necessary to test the equipment after each use.

[0003] Many existing testing technique, however, involve operations which must be performed manually. Typically tests include flow rate, occlusion, or pressure, power supply voltages, system temperatures, system version etc. Currently such tests are performed using calibrated burettes, stop watches and pressure measuring devices. As a result, testing all the equipment in even a small sized facility on a frequent basis can be very time consuming. In the case of large hospitals, manual testing of all of their equipment may be impossible.

[0004] Besides being time consuming, manual testing can also be inaccurate. Errors may be introduced by the test operator during the testing phase due to the various reasons. Errors can also be introduced in the testing phase due to malprogramming operations by the user, or in the reporting phase as a result of the test operator entering incorrect test results. Consequently consistency and accuracy in both the testing and record keeping procedures cannot be ensured.

[0005] In addition to the above, the manual testing/debugging requires the maintenance of considerably sized and highly trained staff. The staff must be trained not only test conducting operation but also on the procedure for operating the equipment being tested. With the medical equipment becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex, the level of such training may be extensive. The cost of maintaining and training such a staff, however, is often prohibitive. As a result, the health care providers often send the testing process to third party testing organization resulting in temporarily equipment out of service.

[0006] Some attempts have been made to develop products that automate the debugging/testing process. One such debugging system involves the medical device being hooked up to the appropriate testing device. The testing device performs the appropriate test on the medical device and records the results. One major setback with this system, however, is that many of the testing steps must still be manually performed.

[0007] Although the above mentioned systems provide debugging/testing devices in patient monitoring systems, one or more of these system use manual testing all the times making the system difficult to mange. Further one or more of these systems deploy external testing devices which are not used easily in everyday life. In light of the above discussion, it is apparent that there is a need among the health care organization to create more automated systems and methods for debugging medical equipments in a simple, accurate, secure, fast and cost-effective manner.

C) OBJECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0008] The primary object of the present invention is to provide an automatic debugging system for a patient monitoring system.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a system with a debugging algorithm to test the basic system functionality before the system power-up operation.

[0010] Yet another object of the present invention is to develop a system for auto debugging and generating an error report after each test.

[0011] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a step by step guide/instructions for solving the errors reported/detected.

D) SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The above mentioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed herein and which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.

[0013] The various embodiments of the present invention provide an auto debugging system for patient monitoring system (PMS) units. It automatically debugs the most common errors in the PMS. The auto debugging system comprises of a patient monitoring system with a slave controller such as a power supply unit (PSU) controller and a main controller, a personal computer loaded with a debugging software program and a standard serial cable connecting the PMS and PC.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an auto debugging system for patient monitoring system has a personal computer communicatively connected to a power supply controller that is provided in a patient monitor. The personal computer has a processor loaded with automatic debugging software to predict the possible errors of the patient monitor and to provide the solutions to the predicted errors using a debugging algorithm. The debugging software is executed in the personal computer to connect the processor in the personal computer to a power supply controller to collect the system data to predict the errors in the patient monitor during a booting process.

[0015] The power supply controller collects all the system data from the motherboard controller of the patient monitor during the boot uptime, when the debugging software is executed. The power supply controller repackages all the system data received from the motherboard controller and forwards the packaged data to the processor in the personal computer for predicting the errors, when the patient monitor is set in debugging mode. The debugging software is executed in the personal computer to provide solutions to the predicted errors by providing the user with a step by step assistance with the help of flow chart and visual data like photographs. The debugging software is executed in the personal computer to provide an automatic debugging process, a guide to debug errors, a system based debugging operation and to generate error reports.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the auto debugging system for PMS in the present invention resolves the system errors or failures by providing the step by step textual information and photographs of the interconnections and system hardware. It provides video demonstration for quick understanding and hence locates and corrects errors in the system. It ensures easier diagnosis and quick resolution of the problems.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the auto debugging software is run in PC and it communicates with the PMS through RS232 port (Com Port). The PMS receives a command through the Central Nursing Station (CNS) port and passes the received command to the slave controller or power supply unit (PSU) controller through transistor to transistor (TTL)-RS232 level converter. The slave or PSU controller formats the command or data received from the PC and sends the formatted data to the motherboard controller through I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) protocol. The PSU controller collects the system data from the motherboard through I2C protocol and also some voltage level data from the ADC line and sends the collected data to the PC through RS232 bus interface. The TTL- RS232 converter allows a motherboard controller to communicate with a PC using a standard serial cable and the RS232 bus interface.

[0018] When the PMS is switched on, the CNS port is switched to the PSU controller and the PSU controller checks for a debugging command from the PC through the CNS port. When the debugging command is received through the CNS port, it sends an acknowledgement to the PC and sets the system to debugging mode. After setting the system to the debugging mode, the PSU controller collects the data fetch command and sends the respective information to the PC. After the completion of the data fetch process, the debugging software sends a completion message to the PSU and the PSU restarts the system. When the debugging command is not received by the PMS during boot-up process, then the CNS port is switched to the motherboard controller to configure the system in real-time mode.

[0019] According to embodiment of the present invention, the auto debugging system communicates with the power supply unit (PSU) controller over RS232 interface provided with PC to gather all necessary system data during boot up time. Then controller sets the PMS unit in debugging mode. When the PMS unit is in debugging mode, the PSU controller repackages all the data collected from the motherboard and transmits the repackaged data to the PC over RS232 bus interface. Finally the debugging software predicts the possible errors of the patient monitor by an intelligent debugging algorithm. The application provides the best possible solution for every predicted error. Additionally the PC debugging software also provides the user with step by step assistance with the help of flow chart and visual data like photographs, to solve the various other errors which are not covered under auto debugging mode.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the automatic debugging system includes a software program which is run on the personal computer.

The connection to the personal computer is established by connecting the CNS port of the PMS unit to the COM port of the PC. The auto debugging system provides a graphical user interface viewer wherein user can edit necessary inputs by going to each field in the display screen. After connecting the PC to the CNS port of the PMS unit, the communication is established by pressing the connection button and successful communication connection is shown by a green indication. The system debugging process is started by pressing the run button. The software continuously polls the PMS with a debugging command until it receives an acknowledgement. After receiving the acknowledgement, PC software sends the first data read command packet to the PMS and check for the receipt of the requested data. When the PC receives the corresponding data, it sends the next command and checks for the receipt of the related data. The process is repeated until all the requested PMS unit data are received by the PC. When the system receives all the debugging data successfully, it intimates the user that the data fetch process is completed and some of the respective data is displayed in GUI.

[0021 ] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the debugging algorithm identifies the errors in the system and displays it in the probable errors field on the main front page of the debugging software. When an error is occurred during the data transfer process, the system intimates the user with a message "Error in Debugging" and waits for the next unit. The user stops the system debugging process either by pressing the soft stop button in the GUI or by closing the application. During the closing of the application, the software saves the present data.

[0022] When the debugging system provides probable errors after fetching the data, the user finds the respective probable solution for the errors by double clicking on each listed error. One new screen is opened to provide detailed solution as well as some audio video guides to solve the problem. The system also generates an error report file for future use.

[0023] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the auto debugging system provides a manual solution guide screen for common problems occurring in the patient monitoring system. It guides the user/service people to find out solution for any problem which is not covered under auto diagnostic algorithm manually. This debugging system provides a web link to the user for finding better solution through internet or connects user to his mail account to send error report file to concerned service or design people for better help through internet.

E) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which:

[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of the auto debugging system for patient monitoring system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart explaining the operation of the auto debugging system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates a user interface window displayed in an auto debugging system according to one embodiment of the present invention for receiving the user input data.

[0028] FIG. 4 illustrates a GUI screen displayed in the auto debugging system according to one embodiment of the present invention, to provide a solution for the identified problem in the PMS.

[0029] FIG. 5 illustrates a manual solution guide screen displayed in the auto debugging system for common problems occurring in patient monitoring system, according to one embodiment of the present invention,.

[0030] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of the working of PMS in the auto debugging system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 7 illustrates a table of the sequence of commands sent from the main board for auto debugging of PMS unit, in the auto debugging system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Although specific features of the present invention are shown in some drawings and not in others. This is done for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the present invention.

F) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which the specific embodiments that may be practiced is shown by way of illustration. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and it is to be understood that the logical, mechanical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense.

[0034] The various embodiments of the present invention provide an optimized debugging in complex systems and in particular in the computer-supported medical diagnostic system. The auto system debugging is a feature provided in the system for easy debugging of the most common errors in the patient monitoring system (PMS). This system is designed for service engineers or professional/operator in production. If generates an error report for the service engineer/operator when interfaced with a personal computer (PC). The system also provides some other information like power supply voltages, system temperature, system version etc. Also it stores the previous errors and gives to the user when it is connected to the PC.

[0035] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an auto debugging system for patient monitoring system has a personal computer communicatively connected to a power supply controller that is provided in a patient monitor. The personal computer has a processor loaded with an automatic debugging software to predict the possible errors of the patient monitor and to provide the solutions to the predicted errors using a debugging algorithm. The debugging software is executed in the personal computer to communicatively connect the personal computer to a power supply controller to collect the system data to predict the errors in the patient monitor during a booting process.

[0036] The power supply controller collects all the system data from the motherboard controller of the patient monitor during the boot uptime, when the debugging software is executed. The power supply controller repackages all the system data received from the motherboard controller and forwards the packaged data to the processor in the personal computer for predicting the errors, when the patient monitor is set in debugging mode. The debugging software is executed in the personal computer to provide solutions to the predicted errors by providing the user with a step by step assistance with the help of flow chart and visual data like photographs. The debugging software is executed in the personal computer to provide an automatic debugging process, a guide to debug errors, a system based debugging operation and to generate error reports.

[0037] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the debugging algorithm identifies the errors in the system and displays it in the probable errors field on the main front page of the debugging software. When an error is occurred during the transfer of the PMS unit data to the PC during a debugging process, the system intimates the user with a message "Error in Debugging" and waits for the next unit. The user stops the system debugging process either by pressing the soft stop button in the displayed GUI or by closing the application. During the closing of the application, the software saves the present data.

[0038] According to one embodiment of the present invention, when debugging system provides probable errors after the fetching of the system data form the PSU of the PMS unit, the user finds the respective probable solution for the errors by double clicking on each listed error. One new screen is opened to provide detailed solution as well as some audio video guides to solve the problem. The system also generates an error report file for the future use. The auto debugging system provides a manual solution guide screen for common problems occurring in the patient monitoring system. It guides the user/service people to find out the solution for any problem which is not covered under the auto diagnostic algorithm manually. This debugging system provides a web link to the user for finding a better solution through the internet or connects the user to his mail account to send an error report file to the concerned service or design people for better help through internet.

[0039] Thus the auto debugging system for PMS in the present invention resolves the system errors or failures by providing the step by step textual information and photographs of the interconnections and system hardware. It provides video demonstration for quick understanding and hence quick resolution of the issues. It ensures easier diagnosis and quick resolution of the problems. It displays critical system information parameters for better system diagnosis.

[0040] The auto debugging system initially communicates with power supply unit (PSU) controller over RS232 interface provided with PC to gather all the necessary system data during the boot up time. Then the PSU controller sets the PMS unit in debugging mode. When the PMS unit is in debugging mod, the PSU controller repackages all the system data collected from the motherboard and transmits the collected system data to the PC over RS232 bus interface. Finally the debugging software predicts the possible errors of the PMS unit using an intelligent debugging algorithm. The application provides the best possible solution for every predicted error. Additionally the PC debugging software provides step by step assistance for the user with the help of a flow chart and visual data like photographs, to solve the various errors which are not covered under the auto debugging mode.

[0041] FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of the auto debugging system for patient monitoring system according to one embodiment of the present invention. With respect to FIG. 1, the auto debugging software is run on the PC 101 and the PC 101 communicates with the PMS 104 through RS232 port (Com Port) 103. The PC 101 sends a debugging command to the PMS 104. The PMS 104 receives this command through the Central Nursing Station (CNS) port 106 and passes this command to the slave controller or power supply unit (PSU) controller 109 through transistor to transistor (TTL)- RS232 level converter 107. The slave or PSU controller 109 formats the command and send the formatted command to the motherboard controller 111 through I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) protocol 110. The PSU controller 109 collects the data from the motherboard controller 111 through I2C protocol 110 and also some voltage level data from ADC line and sends the collected system data and voltage data to the PC 101 through RS232 bus interface 105. The TTL-RS232 converter 107 allows a motherboard controller 111 to communicate with the PC 101 using a standard serial cable and the RS232 bus interface.

[0042] Accordingly the auto debugging system has the PC 101 to communicate with the power supply unit (PSU) controller 109 over RS232 interface 105 to gather all the necessary system data during boot up time. Then the PSU controller 109 sets the PMS unit 104 in the debugging mode. When the PMS unit 104 is in debugging mode, the PSU controller 109 repackages all the system data collected from the motherboard controller 111 and transmits the collected system data to the PC 101 over RS232 bus interface 105. Finally the debugging software predicts the possible errors of the patient monitor unit 104 by using an intelligent debugging algorithm. The application provides the best possible solution for every predicted error. Additionally the PC debugging software also provide the user with step by step assistance with the help of flow chart and visual data like photographs, to solve the various other errors which are not covered under the auto debugging process.

[0043] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart explaining the operation of the auto debugging system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly an auto configuration software is loaded in the personal computer and the system will load the GUI with the previous settings during the software start-up operation (201). In the main GUI, there are several windows to enable the user to edit the necessary inputs by going to each field. Then the system waits for the reception of a connect command from the PC for communicatively connecting the PC with the PMS unit to be tested (202). When the connect command is received, the CNS port of the PMS unit is connected to the COM port of the PC to establish a communication between the PC and the PMS unit. The connection is established by pressing the connection button and successful communication connection is checked (203). The successful communication connection is shown by a green indication (204). When the communication is not established then the system waits for the connect command and the process is repeated again (202). When the PC is communicatively connected to the PMS unit, the system debugging operation is started by pressing the run button. Then the system debugging software loaded in the PC continuously polls the PMS with a debugging command (205) until the PC receives an acknowledgement for the sent debugging command (206). After receiving the acknowledgement, PC software sends the first system data fetch command packet to the PMS (207) and check for the receipt of the requested data (208). When the PC receives the requested system data, then the PC sends the next command for receiving the next data and waits for the receipt of the next requested data. This process is repeated and continued until all the system data and the voltage data are received successfully by the PC from the PMS unit. When all the debugging data are received by the system successfully, the PC intimates the user that the data fetch process is completed. All the received system debugging data from the PMS unit are stored in a data buffer (209). Then the system performs a debugging operation based on the collected system data to estimate probable error. When all the system data are not received completely or there is an error during the data collection operation, then the system forwards an error in debugging message to the user (210). The received data are displayed in GUI (211). The operator presses stop button to stop the debugging process (212). The user can stop the system debugging process either by pressing soft stop button provided in the GUI or by closing the application. The software saves the present data during the closing of the application.

[0044] FIG. 3 illustrates a user interface window 301 of auto debugging software in an auto debugging system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The auto debugging software is executed on the PC to display GUI 301 to enable the user to input the data. The used goes to each filed shown in the GUI to edit the data. Once the debugging process is complete, the debugging algorithm identifies the probable errors present in the system and displays it in the probable errors field 302. For example, the probable error may be fan failure, inverter failure, ECG communication error, SP02 communication error, etc. when an error is occurred during the system data transfer process from the PMS unit to the PC, the GUI notifies the user with a message "Error in Debugging" and wait for the next unit. The user can stop the system debugging process either by pressing soft stop button provided in the GUI or by closing the application. The software saves the present data during the closing of the application.

[0045] In the main GUI 301, the user can edit the necessary inputs like product type 303 etc by going to each field. The user inputs a connect command by pressing the connect button 304. The connect command is provided by pressing the button. Then the system connects the PC with the PMS communicatively for performing the debugging process based on the input connect command. After connecting to the CNS port of the PMS unit, the connection will be established by pressing the connect button 304 and successful communication connection is shown by a green indication 305. The system debugging process is started by pressing the run button 306. The user interface window also displays various other information's like all voltages, unit temperature, PSU S/W Ver, step-by-Step guide to resolve communication related issues in modules, step-by-Step guide to resolve failures related to motherboard failures (related to voltages), symptom based debugging, unit tripping, module communication issue or module failures or loose connection, no display or low brightness, no battery backup etc. The find errors button is pressed after the collection of system data to display the list of errors. When the error list button is pressed all the probable errors detected based on the analysis of the collected system data and the voltage data are displayed on the probable error display window. The application is closed by pressing the exit button.

[0046] FIG. 4 illustrates a GUI screen displayed in the auto debugging system to provide a solution for the errors identified in the PMS during a debugging process. As shown in FIG .4, the GUI screen 401 displays the solution for the probable errors occurred during debugging. When debugging system provides probable errors after the completion of the data fetch operation, the user finds the respective probable solution by double clicking on each listed error. One new screen is opened to provide detailed solution as well as some audio video guide to solve the problem. The system also generates an error report file for future use.

[0047] FIG. 5 illustrates a manual solution guide screen 501 displayed in the auto debugging system for common problems occurring in patient monitoring system, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The solution guide screen 501 provides a guide to the user/service people to find out solution for any problem which is not covered under the auto diagnostic algorithm manually. The debugging system provides a web link to the user for finding better solution through internet or connects the user to his mail account to send error report file to the concerned service or design people for getting better help through internet.

[0048] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart explaining the working of auto debugging system in PMS side according to one embodiment of the present invention. Initially the PMS unit is switched on and connected to the PC (601). When the PMS is switched ON, the CNS port of the PMS is switched to the PSU controller (602) and the PSU controller checks for transmission of a debugging command through the CNS port from the PC (603). When the debugging command is received from the personal computer, the PSU controller sends an acknowledgement to the PC (606) and set the PMS unit in debugging mode (607). When the debugging command is not received from the personal computer, the CNS port is switched to motherboard controller (604). Then the motherboard sets the PMS in normal mode (605). After setting the PMS unit in the debugging mode, the PSU controller reads the data fetch command transmitted from the PC (608). The PSU controller collects the system data and the requested voltage data from the motherboard controller. The system data and the voltage data collected the mother board controller are repackaged by the PSU controller (609). The PSU controller sends the information corresponding to the received data fetch command to the PC (610). After the completion of the data fetch process, the debugging software sends a data fetch process completion message to the PSU. The PSU controller checks whether the data fetch process completion message is received or not from the PC (611). When data fetch process completion message is received by the PSU controller, the PMS unit is restarted (612). When the data fetch process completion message is not received by the PSU controller, the PSU controller is activated to read the data fetch command sent from the PC. When the PMS does not receive the debugging command during boot-up process, the CNS port is switched to the motherboard controller to configure the system in real-time mode.

[0049] FIG. 7 illustrates a table of the sequence of commands sent from the main board for auto debugging of PMS unit. According to the present invention, in order to automatically debug the PMS, the PSU controller and the motherboard controller in the PMS communicate with each other through a standard I2C protocol. All the commands are sent to the PSU in BCD (Binary-coded decimal) format. The sequence of commands are sent to the main board for auto debugging of PMS and each command is assigned with the command number, format, range, number of bytes and encoding scheme. The debugging algorithm identifies the errors in the system and displays it in the probable errors field on the main front page of the debugging software. It also displays probable solution for the errors by double clicking on each listed error.

[0050] The auto debugging system identifies the following errors such as voltage failures, communication error, inverter failure, fan failure, battery failure, over temperature, AC DC failure. It also displays additional information such as all voltage display, unit temperature, PSU S/W version, step-by-step guide to resolve communication related issues in modules, step-by-step guide to resolve failures related to motherboard failures (related to voltages), symptom based debugging, unit tripping, module communication issue or module failures or loose connection, no display or low brightness, no battery backup etc.

[0051] For example, when the command number 40 is sent, then the debug mode is selected. When the command number 1 is sent then the voltage information is selected. When the power is turned ON, the main board controller polls the PSU controller once by sending command 40, to know the status of the debugging mode. When the status responded by the PSU is debugging mode, the auto unit debugging information is transmitted by the main board controller to the PSU controller for the auto debugging process of the PMS units. The sequence of commands sent by the main board controller for auto debugging of various parameters with the command number, format, range, number of bytes and encoding scheme are shown in the table.

G) ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

[0052] The present invention provides an architecture for complete system error debugging which includes two controllers and a PC with an intelligent algorithm and hardware architecture which can diagnose the above listed system failures.

[0053] The system provides a method for resolving system errors/failures by providing step by step textual information and photographs of the interconnections. The system hardware ensures easier diagnosis and quicker resolution of the problems. It provides video demonstration for quick understanding and hence quick resolution of the issues. The system displays other critical system parameters information for better system diagnosis. The system is also provided with a capability to predict hardware failures which can happen over a period of time/usage. The debugging software is executed in the personal computer to provide an automatic debugging process, a guide to debug errors, a system based debugging operation and to generate error reports.

[0054] Although the invention is described with various specific embodiments, it will be obvious for a person skilled in the art to practice the invention with modifications. However, all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the claims.

[0055] It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the present invention described herein and all the statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall there between.

CLAIMS

What is claimed is:

1. An auto debugging system for patient monitoring system including a power
supply controller and motherboard controller, the system comprising:

a personal computer communicatively connected to a power supply controller that is provided in a patient monitor;

wherein the personal computer is loaded with an automatic debugging software to predict the possible errors of the patient monitor and to provide the solutions to the predicted errors using an debugging algorithm.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the personal computer has a processor loaded with the debugging software and debugging algorithm.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the debugging software is executed in the personal computer to connect the processor in the personal computer to a power supply controller to collect the system data to predict the errors in the patient monitor during a booting process.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply controller collects all the system data from the motherboard controller of the patient monitor during the boot uptime, when the debugging software is executed.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply controller repackages all the system data received from the motherboard controller and forwards the packaged data to the processor in the personal computer for predicting the errors, when the patient monitor is set in debugging mode.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the debugging software is executed in the personal computer to provide solutions to the predicted errors by providing the user with a step by step assistance with the help of flow chart and visual data like photographs.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the debugging software is executed in the personal computer to provide an automatic debugging process, a guide to debug errors, a system based debugging operation and to generate error reports.