Department of Industrial Engineering

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Browsing Department of Industrial Engineering by Author "Andrag, Erich Paul"

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    xAP as an open source communication protocol for health systems engineering : an application in the telemedicine environment
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2011-12) Andrag, Erich Paul; Van der Merwe, A. F.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Engineering initiatives to standardise the communication of health related systems are ineffective and uncoordinated. The extensive advantages of such standardisation could benefit both quality of service and patient turnaround time. Standardisation becomes critical once information and communication technologies (ICT) are implemented. ICT system interoperability is core to ensure the success of telemedicine. Current standardisation of telemedicine systems is led by two standardisation organisations. Health Level Seven (HL7) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) are both leading comprehensive standardisation initiatives. Access to documentation for development of systems according to these standards is restricted, inhibiting third party development and contribution. Telemedicine in Africa requires an open source development platform where privileged users can develop their own extension without the restrictions associated with current standards. Properties of the platform should address specific problems faced in an African context. Problems could include i) a lack of network infrastructure, ii) costly data transmission and iii) a lack of devices able to access the Internet. Recent widespread adoption of mobile devices compatible with cellular networks also provides an opportunity to develop standards supporting telemedicine use on cellular networks. Organisations are already capitalising on the benefits mobile phones offers. Applications for mobile phones, which provide medical related services, are popular. Services include general medical information as well as using the technology of the mobile phone to perform basic diagnoses. A simple heart rate monitoring is one such example. In Africa, a prime example for mobile initiatives is EPurse, capitalising on a successful implementation of mobile banking at the point of sale. This project investigates the application of the eXtensible Automation protocol (xAP) as a communication protocol suitable to the telemedicine environment. The properties of xAP prove favourable for application in the African context. Requirements of a system able to support xAP integrations are determined in relation to the protocol specifications. xAP is further integrated with the Internet Protocol Suite to facilitate Internet communication. A network configuration, representative of a real world operation, is tested in order to determine xAP suitability for telemedicine networks. The network configuration strives to represent telemedicine implementations, where data is communicated between a remote device and an interested party, over the Internet. Restrictions of the telemedicine systems communicating over the Internet were assessed. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) often restrict xAP applications based on the underlying Internet structure it utilises. It is thus suggested that a secondary method of communication, conforming to Hyper Text Transfer Protocol data transfer, is required if a successful communication session cannot be realised given the properties of xAP. Protocols are prescriptive on how communication should be done, as does xAP, whereas standards are an agreed way of operation. In order for telemedicine to be implemented sustainably, a standard for telemedicine networks should be created supporting the xAP framework. Simply put, xAP enabled network communication should be promoted as a standard and not just a protocol. This argument provides guidance to the execution of this project.