Communication architecture for AAL. Supporting patient care by health care providers in AAL-enhanced living quarters.

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 individual events supported by an event classification model, raw and aggregated data from the personal home area over a telemedicine center to health care providers is possible.