Remote Medical Devices: How to Design for IoMT Connectivity and Security Features

Today, the use of consumer health devices, like smart watches and mobile apps is fairly normal, but the use of in-home or mobile medical devices may still be relatively new. However, as we stand at the intersection of modern medicine and the Internet of Things (IoT), one might conclude that we’re entering the age the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), and with it come a few challenges. 

The majority of remote or wearable medical devices lack secure connectivity features. This makes it difficult to assess if these devices are working properly when a patient is away from the hospital or a physical therapy clinic. Plus, patient-use compliance has become a major issue for many therapeutic technology products. To overcome liability concerns, healthcare providers can’t have an immense amount of data surrounding their patients.

How to Address the Challenges of Remote Medical Devices

Microchip has been active in the world of wireless connectivity and IoT for many years. And as our customers envision new capabilities for diagnostic devices and physical therapy solutions, we’re often called upon to share our expertise. Recently, a leading developer of wearable medical devices approached us with a concept for a home therapy solution that incorporates IoMT connectivity features, like intelligence and security, to help combat these challenges.

The key requirements for this new-generation IoMT device included:

Device Functionality

• Support and execute the proper functions for the appropriate therapy

• Include reliable wireless connectivity so the patient can move freely throughout the day

• Require device battery to be re-charged no more than once per day

• Ability to remotely service and fix issues including updating the device’s firmware

Device Intelligence 

• Know if the patient put the device on correctly

• Sense and record if the patient put the device on, takes the device off and at what time

• Monitor if the patient is using the device correctly throughout the day

• Detect any problems with the device that may compromise patient safety, and implement a safe state situation

Device Security

• Support a secure wireless connection not susceptible of being hacked

Device Communication

• Detect any problems with the device and transmit the problem data to the cloud server

• Constantly report data to demonstrate that it is working correctly

Microchip’s Approach to Smart Medical Device Design

Adding a new tier of device intelligence is native to our Microchip team, and our unmatched portfolio of microcontroller (MCU) solutions is a key foundational building block for any smart device. For this design, a 32-bit MCU was chosen to perform the complex functions of the device. The firmware design required a complier qualified to the IEC 62304 medical software development standard. Functional safety firmware libraries based on international standards such as IEC 61508 also needed to be available for the MCU. 

Having a robust solution set for the wireless connectivity aspect of the design, our team significantly reduced time to market for the customer. Our low power IEEE 802.11 b/g/n IoT Wi-Fi module met the target requirement for battery life. There was no need for the customer to subcontract Radio Frequency (RF) engineering experts for the project. In addition, the device needed to properly interface with one of the major cloud service vendors. From our portfolio of support tools, we supplied Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud connectivity, which further reduced R&D costs.

Providing solutions for the high-level security requirements, a key consideration for any medical device, is one of Microchip’s flagship areas of expertise. Our customer mandated that the security features of the new device should be implemented in a hardware-centric mode, hence less firmware. Microchip’s embedded solution protects the wireless data transmission by preventing unauthorized access to the device. The new design is securely provisioned to authenticate to any of the major cloud platforms.

A new, smart wearable product was introduced into the physical therapy market offering a variety of features that greatly improve the practice of remote physical therapy while providing practitioners new data insights to optimize the quality of patient care.

The Microchip team collaborated on the new design by delivering three fundamental IoMT enabling technologies:

• A 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 MCU with floating point unit

• A global agency certified, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n IoT Wi-Fi module

• A secure element CryptoAuthentication™ device

With an industry leading MCU as the engine driving the demanding smart capabilities of the new product, and Microchip’s advanced solutions for secure communication and data protection onboard, Microchip delivered a total system solution for our customer’s smart medical device design. 

Click here to learn more about how Microchip can support your medical device design.