THE-MUSS: Mobile u-health service system

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a mobile u-health service system called THE-MUSS. THE-MUSS supports the development and running of u-health services with functions, modules, and facilities that are commonly required for various mobile u-health services. Aiming to achieve reusability and evolvability design goals, basic modules to support bio-signal capturing, processing, analysis, diagnosis, and feedback are developed and stacked in the layered architecture of THE-MUSS. A U-health service platform, design tool, portal, and matrix-based disease group identification method are the major components constituting the THE-MUSS architecture. We confirmed that THE-MUSS is practically useful for mobile u-health services by developing mobile stress and weight management services on THE-MUSS. The more u-health services are developed in THE-MUSS, the better services it can provide in the future.

Introduction

A ubiquitous health (u-health) service is a health service in a ubiquitous environment using broadband and wireless mobile technologies. It enables us to receive health services in mobile situations with or without the intervention of medical experts. Bio-signals and symptom information of a user are captured and gathered by mobile bio-sensors and delivered to a remote server for analysis, and the results of the analysis are returned to the user for treatment. A mobile u-health service is a u-health service in which a mobile phone plays a key role, such as relaying captured data or information to a remote server as a gateway and providing user interfaces at the same time [1], [2].

With the wide spread use of mobile phones and the announcement of new mobile bio-sensors attached to them, there are many attempts for the development of mobile u-health services on mobile phones both in research and commercial areas [1], [3]. Diverse forms and types of mobile u-health services will be available on mobile phones in the near future. However, most u-health services on current mobile phones have been developed conforming to specific sensors or devices. That is, when new bio-sensors become available, services for them should be developed from scratch, and thus the functions and modules developed for one service are difficult to reuse in other services.

If services are developed on a commonly available u-health service platform, a more efficient and systematic u-health service development will be possible [4]. In this paper, we introduce a mobile u-health service system called Total Health Enriching-Mobile U-health Service System (THE-MUSS), which supports u-health service development and execution, with functions, modules, and facilities that are commonly required for various mobile u-health services. Basic primitive modules and services for bio-signal capturing, processing, analysis, diagnosis, and feedback are prepared and provided in the system in a highly sharable manner. Ordinary u-health services are developed by integrating the modules and services equipped in the system.

Understanding u-health services is essential for the setting of design goals for a u-health service system. For example, the understanding that u-health services may look different from a service point of view, they often share many common features at various levels such as service structure, unit service, and data. This leads us to emphasize the reusability design goal. Thus, we analyze the characteristics of u-health services to elicit the design goals of THE-MUSS. Evolvability is also set up as another primary design goal for THE-MUSS after understanding the u-health service characteristics.

A business process management system [5], [6] (BPMS)-based u-health service platform, u-health ontology incorporated u-health service design tool, matrix-based disease group identification framework, mobile client, and u-health portal are the major components constituting THE-MUSS's layered architecture. Each of the components has some roles and functions to achieve the reusability and evolvability design goals.

THE-MUSS has several unique features. First, it interprets and treats mobile u-health service as a service process and extends the BPMS to the healthcare service area. Business process management (BPM) is a field of management aligning workers and organizations to achieve their business goals [7]. Process or workflow automation is often involved in a BPM. A BPMS is a software system to support such BPM activities [6]. Process definition tool, process enactment service module, process monitoring and administration tool are the typical components of a BPMS. Unlike health areas, BPMS has been extensively used in general business sectors such as banks, insurance companies, etc. to improve the productivity of general service processes. Consequently, THE-MUSS provides the general functions and facilities of a BPMS. Regarding the u-health service process, we define a typical mobile u-health service process template and deploy it on THE-MUSS.

Second, THE-MUSS is equipped with a very unique matrix-based patient group identification method. Statistical data of patient and normal groups are accumulated in the matrix for learning. When we consider that we can gather less precise bio-signals more frequently via mobile sensors from a large number of users in a u-health environment, the method can be used effectively for mobile u-health services. Third, the platform provides several advanced features and functions by incorporating ontology technologies [8] in defining mobile u-health services and inferring or analyzing diseases.

We implemented THE-MUSS and then developed mobile stress and weight management services on it to confirm and evaluate its usefulness in developing mobile u-health services. Especially we implemented the mobile stress service twice with and without THE-MUSS, respectively. The implementation time is drastically reduced and much less effort is required on THE-MUSS. We confirmed that the matrix-based disease group identification method and BPMS-based service platform were very useful in developing the stress and weight management services. In addition, many functions and modules developed for the mobile stress service were reused for the weight management service as well. This indicates that THE-MUSS was successful in achieving the evolvability and reusability design goals that occupy the core software quality attributes of a u-heath service system [9].