Healthcare – a procrastinated market ready to explode

Bluetooth wireless technology already is a de facto standard and one of the measures that brought it here is the regulation for car drivers to have a hands free connection to the mobile phone while driving. I mention this because Bluetooth Low Energy has a similar faith. As I mentioned before, its chances of making it into the real world seemed slim at the beginning, but as soon as it was adopted by the Bluetooth SIG and the focus market shifted to healthcare products, there was only one tiny step left for it to be introduced in a regulation of some sort. And it was; Continua Alliance included it as a standard for certified healthcare products.

The winner takes it all

Wireless is highly employed nowadays in various setups. The boom is partly due to the available technologies developed: Wireless LAN, Classic Bluetooth, IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee, and Wireless HART serve different purposes. I mentioned in my last post the possible interfaces in the healthcare products ecosystem. The PAN devices (sensors and actuators) require a cheap, low energy, fast, reliable wireless connection method. Bluetooth low energy wireless technology, the hallmark feature of the v4.0 Bluetooth Core Specification, solves all problems.

Bluetooth Low Energy – The technology

The main advantage of Bluetooth Low Energy as its name has it is low power consumption. This is due to features like sleep mode, less than 15mA peak and 1uA average power consumption, which in turn were achievable through very fast connection time and very short message lengths. Therefore, BT LE can be up to 10 times more energy efficient than Bluetooth. I keep looking at the big brother when analyzing the performance tests of BT LE not because this newer standard is supposed to replace the older one but because it gives assessment criteria.

The Global Architecture of Interrelated Devices

In this attempt to learn more about the standards and the standardization process, let’s take a closer look at the architecture of what is referred to as “ecosystem” of devices so as to better understand the capabilities and requirements a standard should satisfy.

Design Guidelines – The process

In 2009 the Version One Design Guidelines was published. These guidelines focus exclusively on the interoperability features of devices and not on particular functionalities. The method of coming up with these results was based on analyzing the interoperability requirements from different use cases submitted by the members of the alliance. The guidelines on their own, however, revolve around already existing industry standards. The process kicks off by receiving use cases from member companies on interoperability issues regarding one of the three target areas: Living Independently, Disease Management, Health & Wellness. Based on all use cases, a generalized list of problems is formulated, which in turn is used to prioritize capabilities, interfaces and requirements. The next step is to search the industry and the standard bodies for standards which answer questions related to the capabilities and requirements. Aspects like how well the standards address the capabilities in under discussion, is the standard international and can if not can it be made so, what is the relation between the standard under scrutiny and other standards in the same area, what is the associated intellectual property claims, what are the specification access and control mechanisms, what is the level of adoption and maturity, are analyzed. All these issues narrow down the possible standards available to meet the initial requirements. The final decision is taken according to a performance comparison between candidates with respect to the requirements.

The buzz about E-Health

The aging population of the West has opened a new booming profitable market: E-health. Nevertheless, it’s not only about the elderly, there are chronic diseases (diabetes, heart diseases, etc.), where 24/7 monitoring is of utmost importance, and also staying fit equipment for those striving to improve their figure. However, e-health has proven to be an ongoing crusade for the healthcare policymakers. While attempts are being made to achieve an integrated European e-health market, since the technology is available so as to secure state-of-the-art user friendly products, the actual results are far from ideal – a few independent solutions introduced by remote companies.

And there was the need for interoperability

Technology is a hot buzz nowadays with so many smart phones emerging the market and hybrid cars developing characteristics comparable to a Ferrari. While all this technology development is going on at supersonic speeds, there aren’t so many people interested in reading about what goes behind the curtains, how a certain motor is devised or how a standard is introduced.

This blog will try to look a bit deeper into the plot that takes places behind closed doors before certain standards are adopted. I am only a Telecom Master student, but the academic environment has brought me into contact with standards, thus nudging me to search further and discover the reasons why certain technologies are adopted into standards. I wanted to make this quest for the truth public so that other people get the chance to accompany me in this adventure I am embarking on. I do believe that there are others like me, wretched with the need to know and the desire to discover hidden details in the technology world, but at the same time also be willing to share their vision on this particular topic: INTEROPERABILITY STANDARDS IN THE MEDICAL WORLD. Thus, if you are one of those people, and find my blog the least bit interesting, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment and I will reply, for sure.