Wearable telemonitoring systems designed with interoperability in mind

Human and animal state-of-health monitoring can improve dramatically in the next ten years if spurred by the development and subsequent adoption of standards-based technologies that facilitate the rapid assembly of wearable systems. Far more flexible than traditional "telemedicine" products, component-based infrastructures can be put in place that allow monitoring systems to be configured \´on-the-fly.\´ This paper describes recent efforts in the Medical Component Design Laboratory at Kansas State University to develop wearable physiologic monitoring platforms that utilize interoperability standards such as Bluetooth wireless technology and the medical information bus (IEEE 1073). These prototype systems have provided starter platforms for undergraduate honors research projects and material for engineering courses.