Designing an Embedded Electronic-Prescription Application for Home-Based Telemedicine Using OSGi Framework?

The combined benefits of Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) and Smart card technologies in embedded devices have made the two technologies suitable for developing middleware applications for home appliances. In this paper, we describe an electronic-prescription (eRx) system currently under development for home-based telemedicine. The eRx system is intended to support a home cared patient who would like to order a refill of prescription by sending a request to the doctor via a home gateway without making direct phone call to the office. The design of the eRx system is based on the OSGi environment, which serves as the service framework between the home gateway (a set-top box) and the external wide area network that provides services to the home. The set-top box allows the patient to communicate to the doctor at the hospital or the pharmacist at the pharmacy stores. The system, if successfully deployed, will eliminate the waiting and frustration endured by home-cared patients, in particular those who are bed-ridden or not dexterous, for Rx order and refilling. The paper describes aspects or bundles in OSGi, which we are using, XML as a means of data storage format, smart card technology for storing and accessing patient prescription and personal information, and a wireless PDA interface for remote access to the home gateway (set-top box).