Design of a RESTful Middleware to Enable Web of Medical Things

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the design methodology of a mobile patient hub for the remote self-management of COPD patients. The patient hub design forms a part of the WELCOME system. WELCOME is a current EU project that aims to design and develop a new mobile health system to provide integrated care for COPD patients with comorbidities. The approach adopted for this research is based on the Web of Things architecture with RESTful principles as the enabler of communications. The proposed patient hub architecture design is based on three layers: an application layer, a middleware layer and the sensors layer. This paper presents the detail of the initial design of the middleware and an analysis of the architecture in the context of the system's requirements.

Risk Assessment Framework of mHealth System Vulnerabilities: A Multilayer Analysis of the Patient Hub

“…For mHealth systems, there are three network layers that impact mHealth systems. These layers are the application layer, middleware layer and sensory layer [3]. While the application layer manages web applications hosted on the network, the middleware layer manages networking communication and the sensory layer manages wireless communication.…”

“…The middleware later is a software platform that provides networking communication services, ranging from access control and data filtering to device discovery and semantic data analysis. The sensory layer supports all wireless communication, including data encryption and signal detection [3]. Patient IoT applications rely on the sensory layer to gather and analyse large amounts of health data.…”

“…Despite the potentially reliable nature of wireless communication in mHealth devices, they can simultaneously create numerous challenges, such as high risk of system attacks and vulnerabilities associated with data security and privacy [21]. Some of the well-known privacy concerns for users of IoT applications stem from cyber-attacks, eavesdropping, data confidentiality, location privacy, disclosure of privacy and threats to data storage [3] [22]. The most significant types of security threats affecting mHealth systems are explained below.…”

“…This has raised many concerns regarding the potential vulnerabilities and threats that can disclose a user's or organisations sensitive data [2]. With respect to healthcare, restrictions on patient privacy in healthcare organisations (HCOs) become a greater risk [3] owing to the introduction of healthcare devices that are supposed to facilitate patient care and recovery. Given that potential network attacks have a greater impact on healthcare devices, such as sensors and patient applications, such technology can limit patients' ability to communicate their doctors and nurses.…”

Meaningful Integration of Data from Heterogeneous Health Services and Home Environment Based on Ontology

“…The aforementioned systems, devices, and applications record a huge amount of health data from the patients. The collaborative use of the various health data has the potential to support chronic disease patients with more effective and convenient self-management [12,13]. Combining and collaborating the data of personal health management with home environment and indoor exercise can provide a comprehensive overview and an increased understanding, which encourage the caring of one’s health management and lead to focused behavior changes [14].…”