Design of context-aware middleware for mobile healthcare services

Abstract

We design and develop a context-aware middleware for various mobile healthcare services, specifically those for preventive medicine. The middleware provides medical status information in a context form and then links such information with medical records. Information is collected by the middleware through the recognition of diverse environmental data that affect patients’ health. Information-to-information-related values are obtained as a measure for effectively categorizing and managing medical-related context information. High-frequency context values are determined using the Bayesian probability formula to manage frequently occurring risk situations. The middleware also allows for real-time analysis of information, as well as the calculation of risk frequency via a real-time sensor and recognition of radio frequency identification tag information. It is designed to transmit calculated and preventive care-related information to mobile devices. Using the unique target application program of the ubiquitous healthcare system, the general environment and preventive medicine environment are set as the primary paradigms for generating and managing practical medical context information. This research presents methods for providing automated preventive medical services under a ubiquitous healthcare system. The proposed middleware is expected to present new interactive concepts for preventive medicine-related environments, consequently satisfying the demands of user-oriented ubiquitous healthcare.