Case Study: A BLE Communication Design of Glucose Monitor based on x73-PHD Standards and Continua Design Guidelines

Abstract

The ISO/IEEE 11073 (a.k.a. x73) specifications adopted by the Continua Health Alliance constitute the international personal healthcare device (PHD) communication standards. These standards allow medical devices to intercommunicate and exchange measurement data within a single system. The Bluetooth special interest group (SIG) introduced a Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) technology with reduced power consumption. The Bluetooth LE can be used in medical devices with low data transmission rates. The research aims to identify a practical solution for the Continua BLE glucose monitor. Based on the Bluetooth LE standards as well as the Continua design guidelines and x73-PHD standards, the proposed Continua BLE glucose monitor is developed. The Continua BLE glucose monitor takes glucose measurements from the user and transmits these data to the gateway via the Bluetooth LE interface, in compliance with the Bluetooth GATT-based data format and protocol standards. Our results show that glucose measurements can be successfully transmitted to an Android-based gateway and Continua-compliant gateway through the Bluetooth LE interface. The practical solution is also feasible for other medical devices, for instance, blood pressure monitor or thermometer.