Summary
Introduction: This article is part of the Focus Theme of Methods of Information in Medicine on “Using Data from Ambient Assisted Living and Smart Homes in Electronic Health Records”.
Background: Concepts of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) support a long-term health monitoring and further medical and other services for multi-morbid patients with chronic diseases. In Germany many AAL and telemedical applications exist. Synergy effects by common agreements for essential application components and standards are not achieved.
Objectives: It is necessary to define a communication architecture which is based on common definitions of communication scenarios, application components and communication standards.
Methods: The development of a communication architecture requires different steps. To gain a reference model for the problem area different AAL and telemedicine projects were compared and relevant data elements were generalized. The derived reference model defines standardized communication links.
Results: As a result the authors present an approach towards a reference architecture for AAL-communication. The focus of the architecture lays on the communication layer. The necessary application components are identified and a communication based on standards and their extensions is highlighted.
Conclusion: The exchange of patient in -dividual events supported by an event classification model, raw and aggregated data from the personal home area over a tele-medicine center to health care providers is possible.
Keywords
Communication architecture - ambient assisted living - long-term health monitoring - assistive technology - living quarters
