Health Monitoring Wearable Device and Ecosystem Design

Project in a Nutshell: Promwad developed a health monitoring ecosystem, including a wristband, cloud service, and mobile and desktop applications. The client, a developer of wearable devices and smart home systems, was faced with disparate market solutions that were inefficient and costly to integrate. They were looking for a secure, reliable, energy-efficient and EHR-compliant solution to get to market quickly.  

Promwad's expertise and full development cycle enabled the client to launch a versatile product, strengthen their position in the B2C and B2B markets, and accelerate their time to market. 

Client & Challenge

Our client, a developer of wearable devices and smart home systems, is faced with the growing demand for health monitoring solutions in home and professional healthcare. Existing offerings in the market were fragmented and included wearable devices, cloud services and applications that often required costly and complex integration, resulting in inefficiencies and security risks. 

The client needed a medical monitoring system that met stringent security standards, had easily integrated components, and allowed for rapid time to market. Lacking the necessary resources and expertise, they turned to Promwad for a turnkey solution that included the development of a wristband, apps, cloud platform and integration with healthcare providers' systems.
 

Why Promwad

The client chose Promwad for its expertise in medical and IoT devices, as well as its ability to create complex turnkey systems. We provided a full development cycle, from concept and design to software and testing, offering an energy-efficient, secure and reliable solution. 

The project involved an interdisciplinary team covering all key stages of device development. It included: 

• a circuit engineer, 

• industrial designer; 

• UX/UI designers; 

• Embedded software developer; 

• Qt developer; 

• quality assurance (QA) specialist; 

• project manager. 

Solution

Promwad thoroughly studied the client's wishes and offered a comprehensive ecosystem that included a wrist device, a cloud service, a desktop computer, and a mobile application version. All elements of the system are integrated to ensure a seamless experience. 

How the system works: 

• The wristband continuously collects data about the patient's condition.  

• The data is transmitted to a cloud server via a secure communication channel.  

• The information is processed and displayed in mobile and desktop applications.  

• In case of critical changes in the patient's condition, the system automatically notifies medical staff or relatives. 

The data transfer protocols between the device and the hospital systems strictly comply with the security standards adopted for electronic health records (EHR).
 

1. Hardware Design

The key component of the system is a wristband with inbuilt sensors:  

• heart activity sensor; 

• a motion sensor detects the user's activity, automatically sending an alarm if the user remains motionless for long periods of time; 

• an alarm button to send a help signal in emergency situations. 

_{The bracelet has a built-in speaker that emits a sound signal when critical conditions are detected or the alarm button is pressed, attracting the attention of others}

For long battery life, the wristband uses Nordic Semiconductor's nRF5340 platform, which combines low power consumption, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support and enough power to process sensor data. The platform enables the device to operate in standby mode for up to several weeks with instant activation when needed. 

Locating and Positioning

The bracelet is equipped with a geolocation module and an LPWA Cat M1 modem to track the patient's location in real-time. The device uses GPS for precise positioning and LTE-M base station data in case of no signal (e.g. in a building).
 

2. Software Development

For sensor management and data transfer to the cloud, we developed firmware that processes sensor readings in real-time, filters noise, eliminates false alarms, and uses both BLE and LPWA Cat M1 for wireless communication. This approach ensures reliable data transmission and makes the wristband less dependent on the proximity of gateways. 

We also developed a desktop and mobile version of the applications. 

Mobile App for Families and Nurses

The iOS and Android app shows the patient's vital signs in real time, allowing relatives and nursing staff to respond quickly, while the intuitive interface provides a user-friendly experience for all users. The main functions of the application are: 

• Real-time monitoring of key metrics with minimal latency thanks to data transfer via the cloud. 

• Emergency push notifications that are sent in case of critical indicator changes. 

• Customise notifications and settings for alarms, such as normal heart rate range or immobility time. 

• Multi-profile, which allows relatives or nursing staff to monitor multiple user profiles at the same time. Each profile is individually customisable, including alarm thresholds and notifications. 

• Integration with voice assistants (Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri).

• Offline mode, where data is stored locally and synchronised with the cloud after reconnection.

• Integration with wearable devices to send messages to smart watches (Apple Watch, Wear OS).

_{An example of an emergency alert is a notification of critical heart rhythm changes. Other content options are possible: prolonged immobility or activation of the SOS button. Messages include patient data, emergency contacts and nearest medical centres}

Desktop App for Medical Staff

The desktop application is designed for doctors and nursing staff and is available for Windows and macOS platforms, providing real-time monitoring of hundreds of patients. Easy-to-use filters and categories allow you to quickly find and sort data, while customisable alarm thresholds for each patient help avoid false alarms.

_{The web application integrates with hospital systems, automatically synchronising data and eliminating the need for manual entry, saving time and reducing errors}  

Business Value 

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More of What We Do for Healthcare

• Web Development Services: explore our expertise in developing web apps that are compatible with various systems, including those in the healthcare sector. 

• BLE Beacon-Based Software Development: a case study of developing a software platform for automating business processes in hospitals, including back-end and front-end. 

• Promwad Boosts Businesses with Wearable Devices: check out our research on the applications of wearable devices.