A.1: Tech Foundation
Context and goals
Contact: Dr. Christian Russ
The Tech-Foundation provides the technical basis for the application projects of the Flagship project. It ensures end-to-end data availability, data security and interoperability. Thus, subproject A.1 supports seamless data exchange between the wearables, IoT devices and the backend systems of the hospitals used in the overall project.
The Tech Foundation is intended to provide data access to the application projects in Pillars B, C, and D. Access is to be structured and standardized via a uniform central interface (REST API) so that the application developers do not have to worry about the details of data procurement and can concentrate on the representation, creation or mutation of data in their applications. It is also intended to achieve synergies and avoid redundancies (data access is implemented only once and can be used by all projects). In order to be able to use existing definitions of data models and taxonomies, the central interface is to be based on the HL7 FHIR standard, which is becoming increasingly popular in the healthcare sector.
Technical Solution Bundle IoMT Device Hub & Data Health Engine The first objective involves the composition of an IoMT device hub and a data management engine. This will enable connectivity between medical wearables and applications as well as use within hospital IT systems. A standardized front-end API is used to connect applications and devices, while the back-end API serves as an interface for the hospital IT system.
- iPaaS - Secure & reliable Hybrid Cloud & IT Operations With a hybrid cloud architecture that combines the advantages of the "private" and "public" cloud models, the Tech Foundation follows a strategic IT approach. On the one hand, this architecture facilitates the continuous integration and development of software applications and systems between local and cloud-based resources according to DevOps procedures. On the other hand, control over sensitive patient data is maintained, and the "public" cloud infrastructure ensures a scalable and cost-effective solution for hospitals, taking into account strict medical regulations.
- Health Data Models & Connectivity with leading Standards The third goal of the Tech Foundation is to develop a universal data and information model to enable interoperability and sharing of patient data between different systems and stakeholders. A unified approach to data exchange and storage will be achieved using leading standards such as OpenEHR and HL7 FHIR.
- Regulatory & Compliance in Health Industry The regulatory hurdles regarding the strict rules and regulations in the healthcare industry, such as MDR and nDSG, will be addressed with the Tech Foundation. The architecture takes into account the regulatory aspects to ensure the security and privacy of patient data while enabling seamless data flow between hospital IT systems and applications.
- Health Data & App Integration Process Best Practices The Tech Foundation's fifth goal is to establish best practices for integrating new digital applications into hospital IT systems. To achieve low-threshold integration of newly developed applications, the Tech Foundation will provide a set of criteria that encompasses/includes all necessary requirements. With the help of clear guidelines, healthcare organizations can ensure that new applications are effectively integrated into existing systems to increase the efficiency of patient care and treatment.
- Real world applications & use cases Realworld applications and use cases will demonstrate the effectiveness of the Tech Foundation and its iPaaS approach to interoperable use of medical applications and wearables in healthcare. Examples such as remote patient monitoring (Hospital@Home) will validate the iPaaS approach as middleware between applications and hospital IT systems.
Contribution to overall innovation
The Tech Foundation provides common, standardized access to the relevant data as well as identity management and thus forms the technical data and integration backbone. It enables basic technical functions that support the other subproject partners in their activities and innovations. Through the use of the A.1 Tech Foundation, the overall concept of the project is significantly supported.
