Development Kit

IEEE 11073 Evaluation Kits and Development Kits

Interoperable, standards-based telecare and telehealth devices are essential if the costs of telecare and telehealth are to be brought under control. We can help you quickly bring to market devices that are complaint with Continua Alliance and IEEE 11073.

Acute Technology – in partnership with Brunel University – is offering two kits:

  • An Evaluation Kit that will allow rapid evaluation of the technology
  • A Development Kit to speed the development of your own standards-based personal health devices.

In addition we offer our standard ZigBee radio module for inclusion in your own products, or we can design a module optimised for you. For further information and pricing please contact Charles Palmer charles.palmer@acutetechnology.com.

Key features of our technology are:

  • Compliant with IEEE 11073 Personal Health Device standards.
  • Compliant with ZigBee Healthcare Profile.
  • Compliant with HL7 messaging standards.
  • Already used with a wide range of personal health devices:
    • Blood pressure monitor
    • Weighing scales
    • Pulse oximeter
    • Medicine dispenser
    • Bed and chair sensors
    • PIR motion detector
    • Others can be easily added
  • Both agents and managers are implemented, as well as ZigBee range extenders.
  • Hardware for the agents (the sensors) is the HZM – a small PCB with a ZigBee radio, packed with features to allow easy interfacing to a wide range of sensors.
  • Hardware for the manager (the gateway from the home to the Internet) is a module that plugs into a PC  (alternative managers are available).
  • Manager software converts from IEEE11073 messages to IHD-PCD01 HL7 messages.
  • PC-based software allows the HL7 messages to be inspected as they are transferred from the home to a database on a remote server.
  • Server-side software allows HL7 messages to be displayed graphically on a web interface, and extracted for further processing.
  • ZigBee range extenders are available

Contents of the Evaluation Kit:

  • A&D blood pressure monitor fitted with a Hydra ZigBee Module (HZM) (IEEE11073 agent).
  • A further HZM board, in a plastic enclosure, to act as a second IEEE11073 agent. Battery powered or powered through serial ports.
  • A further HZM board, in a plastic enclosure and with a USB interface, to act as an IEEE11073 manager.
  • Cable assemblies for the above provide serial port communications and to power the boards.
  • HL7 Gateway software that runs on a PC and allows messages to be inspected, and transferred through the Internet to servers.
  • An account on the Acute Technology development server, to view incoming messages both as text and graphically.
  • Comprehensive documentation for the Evaluation Kit.
  • Batteries.
  • Packaging.

Contents of the Development Kit:

  • Everything that is in the Evaluation Kit
  • HZM software, delivered partly as source code and partly as object code libraries, sufficient to develop new personal health devices.
  • Comprehensive documentation for the Development Kit.
  • Technical support

Ongoing Development Programme
Acute Technology and Brunel University are committed to an on-going development programme. Over the next few months we will continue to refine both the hardware and the software. Companies who purchase the IEEE 11073 Development Kit will benefit from the results of this development programme, highlights include:

  • Revised HZM ready for volume production, cost-optimised and pre-qualified for relevant approvals processes
  • Manager software running on USB stick with a ZigBee radio
  • Mains-powered ZigBee to GPRS gateway module as an unobtrusive IEEE 11073 manager and WAN gateway in a patient’s home or as a ZigBee repeater
  • Sub-GHz versions of the HZM (868MHz and 915MHz), for improved RF propagation

Support
Acute Technology is also able to offer consultancy services for companies wishing to launch their own Continua Alliance compliant personal health devices.