Mobility parameters in health applications--a literature review.

Independent mobility is linked to self-determined life and quality of life. [1] Since human mobility follows reproducible pattern [2], it may be useful to assess mobility in health applications. This article represents a literature review which considers the question which parameters represent mobility, how they are assessed (are tracking technologies used?) and their relation to health. There are several mobility parameters which were grouped into quantitative, qualitative and combined parameters. Especially combined parameters seem to be useful in health applications, which should motivate further research.

Gamification for mHealth - A Review of Playful Mobile Healthcare.

Mobile technology is an everyday companion, which can be utilized to support and even to enable prevention, diagnostics and therapy in healthcare. Repetitive tasks, particularly when managing unwanted circumstances such as coping with chronic diseases, could be exhausting. Nevertheless, the patients' compliance is needed especially in context of these diseases. Therefore, gamification as a tool for transforming bothersome tasks into rewarding experiences could help to overcome this burden. In this paper the authors present a literature review, which examines the state of the art of gamification in mobile healthcare.

Rollende arztpraxis - first results of an ambulant mobile care model for rural areas.

German medical care is going to suffer from a decreasing number of general practitioners due to demographic change. We study if ambulatory care in rural areas can be complementary ensured by a mobile care unit. A medical care van - the "rolling medical practice" (RMP) - has been constructed based on care scenarios created for rural communities in northern Germany. Performance and acceptance of the RMP is evaluated by constant monitoring of anonymized medical documentation and questionnaires. The RMP is visiting six villages on two days a week in a three-week interval. It is constructed from a standard van with a custom box body fully equipped for general care needs. Actually treated care cases meet expectations and are acute as well as chronicle symptoms. Case numbers range from 6 to 50 visits in 5 month. We showed that almost full ranged mobile medical care, as supplement to general medical supply is possible.

Possibilities and acceptance of mobile information technologies for the elderly - first results of an empirical study.

This paper summarizes the results of a questionnaire-study conducted for the project "Safe and mobile through accompanying assistance systems" (SIMBA) founded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The study analyzes the mobility requirements and obstacles of the 55 yearold and older seniors in three age-groups (N=210) to develop suitable health-enabling technologies. It focuses on the mobility of the elderly on foot, by public transport, by bicycle and by taxi. The usage and the acceptance of existing mobile devices are determined, to select a suitable terminal for assistance systems. The results show, that although public transport is a very important way of travelling for seniors, its role decreases with higher age. Above the age of 65 years only a small fraction of seniors uses new communication technologies. This implies that smartphones as mobility aids are only suitable for the youngest group of seniors and for future, perhaps more technology-friendly generations.

Disease patterns addressed by mobile health-enabling technologies--a literature review.

Health-enabling technologies can contribute to a better living with diverse disease patterns, especially at home. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) provides security and convenience at the main place of residence, but usually cannot be taken on the road. Mobile health-enabling technologies could overcome this barrier of immobility and enable its' users to take advantages of assistive technology with them. The presented literature review examines disease patterns, which can be addressed by mobile health-enabling technologies. Especially chronic diseases, like diabetes, are very responsive for continuous support by portable support technology.

Design and implementation of the standards-based personal intelligent self-management system (PICS).

Against the background of demographic change and a diminishing care workforce there is a growing need for personalized decision support. The aim of this paper is to describe the design and implementation of the standards-based personal intelligent care systems (PICS). PICS makes consistent use of internationally accepted standards such as the Health Level 7 (HL7) Arden syntax for the representation of the decision logic, HL7 Clinical Document Architecture for information representation and is based on a open-source service-oriented architecture framework and a business process management system. Its functionality is exemplified for the application scenario of a patient suffering from congestive heart failure. Several vital signs sensors provide data for the decision support system, and a number of flexible communication channels are available for interaction with patient or caregiver. PICS is a standards-based, open and flexible system enabling personalized decision support. Further development will include the implementation of components on small computers and sensor nodes.

Health information systems for home telehealth services--a nomenclature for sensor-enhanced transinstitutional information system architectures.

Home telehealth services for elderly people promise to contribute to a more efficient health care in the future. Though isolated services at a patient's home might make sense for some applications, the full potential of home telehealth only arises through its integration into existing health information systems (HIS) and care processes. We know about traditional HIS architectures. However, so far no models exist, helping us to understand and describe the upcoming sensor-enhanced transinstitutional information system architectures for home telehealth services. To develop a nomenclature for sensor-enhanced transinstitutional health information system architectures. We conducted two systematic literature reviews, assessing typical services and users of home telehealth and key characteristics of transinstitutional health information system architectures. The information retrieved from both reviews was integrated to build the nomenclature sought after. We present a nomenclature of information and communication technology (ICT) architectures for home telehealth services. The developed dimensions provide an overview on typical users, services, operating organisations, information flow, geographical reach and architectural paradigms of sensor-enhanced transinstitutional health information systems. The developed nomenclature helps us to better understand the upcoming ICT architectures. However, we are still in need of further experiences with their application.