A Common Interface for Bluetooth-based Health Monitoring Devices

Due to the late introduction of relevant communication standards, Bluetooth-based health equipment manufacturers often use proprietary data structures and protocols. Monitoring a particular disease typically requires to keep track of multiple vital parameters, often measured by many independent devices. In practice, these devices are provided by different vendors, which causes the need to use separate, dedicated software to exchange data. Therefore, there is a need for a common interface for Bluetooth-based health monitoring equipment. In order to enable unified control over various sensors, we developed an adapter service for Android-based mobile devices. It provides a secure protocol, based on JSON and HTTPS, which relays the measurements from the sensors to a central medical server. Collected data records can be exported to the HL7 standard, which facilitates cooperation with existing services. Our medical data exchange interface was tested on various Android-based smartphones, from the most popular vendors. The experimental setup involved several monitors and sensors, both CHA-compliant and not. The described solution allows for multiple, concurrent connections with several medical devices. It eliminates the need to use independent software for each of the sensors.