PISCATAWAY, N.J., USA, 2 January 2007 The IEEE has begun work on
10 telehealth device standards for controlling information exchange to and from
personal telehealth devices and cell phones, personal computers, personal health
appliances and other compute engines. These standards, a part of the ISO/IEEE
11073 family of health informatic standards, will provide clear definitions of
what is needed to implement common communication features for personal telehealth
devices.
The new standards will define a common core of communication functionality
for these devices and specify the use of term codes, formats and behaviors in
a telehealth environment to favor plug-and-play interoperability. This effort
aims to foster market growth for these devices and help people become better informed
in managing their health.
The new telehealth standards projects are:
·
IEEE P11073-00103(TM), "Health informatics - Personal Health Device
Communication - Technical report – Overview", which will describe the
landscape of transport-independent applications and information profiles for personal
telehealth devices. These profiles will define data exchange, data representation
and terminology for communication between personal telehealth devices and compute
engines. · IEEE P11073-10400(TM), "Health informatics -
Personal Health Device Communication - Device Specialization - Common Framework",
which will establish a normative framework of communication between personal telehealth
devices and compute engines. It will include common ways of receiving information
and managing devices and allow vendor to access non-standard features. ·
IEEE P11073-10404(TM), "Health informatics - Personal Health Device
Communication - Device Specialization - Pulse Oximeter", which will define
communications between personal telehealth pulse oximeters and compute engines.
· IEEE P11073-10406(TM), "Health informatics - Personal Health
Device Communication - Device Specialization - Heart Rate Monitor", which
will define communications between personal telehealth heart rate monitor devices
(i.e., those based on either the heart’s electrical activity or pulse) and
compute engines. · IEEE P11073-10407(TM), "Health Informatics
- Personal Health Device Communication - Device Specialization - Blood Pressure
Monitor", which will define communication between personal telehealth blood
pressure monitors and compute engines. · IEEE P11073-10408(TM),
"Health Informatics - Personal Health Device Communication - Device Specialization
– Thermometer", which will define communications between personal telehealth
thermometers and compute engines. · IEEE P11073-10415(TM), "Health
Informatics - Personal Health Device Communication - Device Specialization - Weighing
Scale", which will define communications between personal telehealth weighing
scales and compute engines. · IEEE P11073-10417(TM), "Health
Informatics - Personal Health Device Communication - Device Specialization - Glucose
Meter", which will establish a normative definition of communication between
personal telehealth glucose meters and compute engines. · IEEE P11073-20401(TM),
"Health informatics - Point-of-Care Medical Device Communication - Application
Profile - Common Networking Infrastructure", which will focus on the use
of the Internet protocols and encompass various networking technologies for medical
device communication. It will enumerate the mechanisms needed for real-time,
plug-and-play interoperability and define comprehensive protocols and services
for medical devices in networked operating contexts. · IEEE P11073-20601(TM),
"Health Informatics - Personal Health Device Communication - Application
Profile - Optimized Exchange Protocol ", which will define a common framework
for creating an abstract model of personal health data available in transport-independent
transfer syntax. Such syntax will provide logical connections between systems
and presentation capabilities in communication tasks.
This body of standards
will serve a wide range of audiences, including: medical device and system developers;
those who deploy and manage healthcare systems and who regulate their use; personal
telehealth device and compute engine vendors and users; and institutions that
use data from these devices.
The above standards are sponsored by the IEEE
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.
About the
IEEE Standards Association The IEEE Standards Association, a globally
recognized standards-setting body, develops consensus standards through an open
process that brings diverse parts of an industry together. These standards set
specifications and procedures based on current scientific consensus. The IEEE-SA
has a portfolio of more than 870 completed standards and more than 400 standards
in development. For information on IEEE-SA see: http://standards.ieee.org/.
About the IEEE The IEEE has more than 375,000 members in approximately
150 countries. Through its members, the organization is a leading authority on
areas ranging from aerospace, computers and telecommunications to biomedicine,
electric power and consumer electronics. The IEEE produces nearly 30 percent of
the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering, computing
and control technology fields. This nonprofit organization also sponsors or cosponsors
more than 300 technical conferences each year. Additional information about the
IEEE can be found at http://www.ieee.org.
