Overview
EN ISO 11073-00103:2017 (ISO/IEEE 11073-00103:2015) - Health informatics - Personal health device communication - Part 00103: Overview describes the landscape of transport‑independent application and information profiles for personal telehealth devices. The guide explains how personal health devices exchange and represent data, defines terminology, and frames use cases for communication between devices and compute engines (for example, health appliances, set‑top boxes, cell phones and personal computers). It also provides a definition of personal telehealth devices used for life activity, wellness and health monitoring in domestic, communal and mobile contexts, including professional medical use.
Key topics
- Transport‑independent application profiles: conceptual grouping of device behaviours and services independent of physical transport (wireless, wired, etc.).
- Information profiles: how device data is structured and represented for consistent interpretation across systems.
- Data exchange and representation: guidance on message semantics, units, timestamps and measurement representation to enable interoperability.
- Terminology and definitions: standardized terms for personal health devices, measurements and roles to reduce ambiguity.
- Use cases and environments: scenarios for home health monitoring, mobile wellness tracking and communal care settings that inform profile design.
- Position in the ISO/IEEE 11073 family: overview of how Part 00103 relates to device specializations, nomenclature and transport/interface profiles.
(Note: this overview summarizes scope and topics; specific message formats and technical protocol details are covered in the other parts of the ISO/IEEE 11073 series.)
Applications
EN ISO 11073-00103:2017 is intended to support:
- Manufacturers of wearables, home medical devices and consumer health sensors who need to design interoperable device software.
- System integrators and platform providers that connect personal health devices to gateways, mobile apps or cloud compute engines.
- Health‑IT developers building telehealth solutions, remote patient monitoring and wellness applications.
- Standards bodies and test houses creating conformance tests, certification programs and interoperability profiles.
Practical use cases include remote vital signs monitoring, activity and wellness data collection, medication adherence systems and device-to-smartphone communication for personal health management.
Related standards
Key related parts of the ISO/IEEE 11073 family (for implementation and detailed rules):
- Device specializations (e.g., pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor, glucose meter)
- Nomenclature parts (e.g., 10101)
- Application profiles and transport/interface profiles (e.g., 20101, 20601, 30200–30400)
EN ISO 11073-00103:2017 is a foundational overview for anyone engaged in personal health device communication, interoperability design, and health informatics implementations.
