1. Introduction to Medical Electronics
Day 3: Medical Device Communications - Part 1
May 8, 2013 Charles J. Lord, PE President, Consultant, Trainer Blue Ridge Advanced Design and Automation

2. This Week’s Agenda
5/6 Medical Device Overview 5/7 Safety, Reliability, Regulatory Issues 5/8 Communications Part 1 5/9 Communications part 2 5/10 Medical Data Storage

3. This Week’s Agenda
5/6 Overview 5/7 Safety, Reliability, Regulatory Issues 5/8 Communications Part 1 5/9 Communications part 2 5/10 Medical Data Storage

4. The Challenge Worldwide today: 1 billion adults overweight
860 million individuals with chronic conditions
600 million individuals age 60 or older
75-85% of healthcare spending is on chronic condition management
Many of the above are not close to the needed treatment or management centers

5. Opportunities in Medical Communications
Clustering and tracking fitness or health for the consumer
Remote tracking of fitness goals by a coach or mentor
Remote tracking of medical conditions by caregivers
Independent living

6. Connected Healthcare Pays!
There is increasing evidence to support the value of remote monitoring for individuals with chronic conditions, including:
•35-56% reduction in mortality;
•47% reduction in risk of hospitalization;
•6 days reduction in length of hospital admission and
•65% reduction in office visits;
•40-64% reduction in physician time for checks and
•63% reduction in transport costs

7. Fitness, Wellness, and Weight Loss

8. Chronic Healthcare Management

9. Independent Living

10. Two Basic Levels of Interface
Device to Aggregate (local collection device)
Smart phone
Tablet PC
Specialized medical terminal
Aggregate to Central Repository or direct to Caregiver

11. Local Collection Physical Layer USB (wired) ZigBee BT/LE WiFi
Wired Ethernet
Remaining OSI layers are supported by IEEE standard

12. ISO/IEEE 11073 Personal Health Device Standards Overview
Technical Report - Overview
OSI
Device Specializations
-10404
Pulse
Oximeter
-10407
Blood
Pressure
-10408
Thermo-
meter
-10415
Weighing
Scale
-10417
Glucose
-10441
Cardio
-10442
Strength
-10471
Activity
Data
Phase II …
Layers 5-7
Optimized Exchange Protocol
Layers 1-4
Serial
TCP/IP IrDA
Communication Protocols
Bluetooth
USB
ZigBee

13. Physical Layer - USB
PHC (personal healthcare) profile is established by USB Implementers Forum (usb.org)
Requires direct plug-in to aggregate
Supported by virtually all aggregate
Allows recharge of internal battery (for PC and dedicated, not with tablet and phone)
Free from RF interference
USB connector raises cleaning / environmental issues
May use a charging / USB dock

14. Physical Layer - BlueTooth
Power management an issue (LE compatibility with aggregate)
Best interface for phones
Works with many PCs
No physical connection
Limited range (1-2 m)
Allows for an environmentally sealed device

15. Physical Layer – ZigBee®
ZigBee Healthcare profile well established
Requires a ZigBee device added to aggregate (dongle or custom aggregate)
Low power impact
No physical connection to device
Allows for an environmentally sealed device
Longer range than BT/LE (10+ m)
Startup cost with ZigBee alliance

16. Other Physical Layers (future support)
WiFi
High power consumption
Universal support for aggregate
Long range (10+ m)
Sealed device, no physical connection
Growing support to make part of IoT (Internet of Things)
Wired Ethernet
No phone / tablet support
Ideal for ‘hard wired’ devices that don’t move
Can supply power through PoE
Requires physical connector
Serial, iRDA

17. Tying it all Together
The Continua Alliance was formed as a non-profit by a team of manufacturers and healthcare providers to provide a total structure from device to aggregate to central repository to health providers (from wellness coaches to critical care doctors)
Built on ISO/IEEE 11073
Maintain federal standards (HIPAA, Part 11, etc)

18. Continua Alliance
“Our Mission is to establish an ecosystem of interoperable personal connected health systems that empower individuals and organizations to better manage their health and wellness”

19. Back to 11073
The device (as we have been calling it) is referred to as the “Agent”
The collector of the information (“aggregate”) is the “Manager”
Majority of responsibility for the protocol falls on the Manager (similar to USB, ZigBee, etc)
Allows for less computation, lower power for the portable Agent device
An Agent talks to one Manager, or may be unassociated with any Manager (when not communicating)

20. ISO/IEEE 11073 Personal Health Device Standards Overview
Technical Report - Overview
OSI
Device Specializations
-10404
Pulse
Oximeter
-10407
Blood
Pressure
-10408
Thermo-
meter
-10415
Weighing
Scale
-10417
Glucose
-10441
Cardio
-10442
Strength
-10471
Activity
Data
Phase II …
Layers 5-7
Optimized Exchange Protocol
Layers 1-4
Serial
TCP/IP IrDA
Communication Protocols
Bluetooth
USB
ZigBee

21. Tomorrow – 11073 in more detail
Overall structure
End-to-end examples of a device (Agent)
Association
Connection
Communications
How each protocol ties together
Physical (USB PHC, ZigBee HC, etc)
ISO/IEEE 11073
Continua

22. This Week’s Agenda
5/6 Overview 5/7 Safety, Reliability, Regulatory Issues 5/8 Communications Part 1 5/9 Communications part 2 5/10 Medical Data Storage

23. Please stick around as I answer your questions!
Please give me a moment to scroll back through the chat window to find your questions
I will stay on chat as long as it takes to answer!
I am available to answer simple questions or to consult (or offer in-house training for your company)