Ecosystem analysis in the design of open platform-based in-home healthcare terminals towards the internet-of-things

In-home healthcare services based on the Internet-of-Things (IoT) have big potential in business. To exploit this opportunity, an ecosystem should be established first. Technical solutions should aim for a cooperative ecosystem by addressing the interoperability, security, and system integration. In this paper, we propose an ecosystem-driven design strategy and apply it in the design of an open-platform based solution. In particular, a cooperative ecosystem is formulated by merging the traditional healthcare and mobile internet ecosystems. Utilizing the existing standardization efforts, the interfaces between actors can be simplified. To balance the control and avoid monopoly, ecosystem-driven security schemes are proposed including the public-based authentication, repository-based credential management, SE-based cryptography, and non-invasive message handover. In order to achieve the economy of scale, an open platform-based in-home healthcare station is proposed. The proposed methodology and solution are demonstrated in implemented prototype system and field trials.