Personal Health Data Hub Multi-User Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Personal health devices (PHDs) often require association and connection to a specific hub for data collection and sharing, which can be inconvenient for multiple users sharing devices, such as a family using a weighing scale, as it limits accessibility and requires physical movement of non-portable hubs.
Innovation Solution
A personal health data hub (PHDH) with wireless communication technologies and authentication methods, including remote and near-field technologies, allows multiple users to associate and access health data without the need for physical connection, using a wireless collector accessory (WCA) to read data from near-field enabled PHDs and authenticate users, enabling secure storage and forwarding to external databases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If PHDs are associated and connected to a specific hub using wired or wireless technologies, then data collection and sharing are enabled, but accessibility is limited for multiple users and physical movement is required for non-portable hubs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical wired connections and close-proximity wireless connections with remote wireless communication capabilities. The hub can communicate with PHDs through standard wireless protocols (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular) allowing users to access health data from any location without physical connection or proximity requirements, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining data security through authentication mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The hub is designed to support multiple users and multiple PHD devices simultaneously through a single authentication credential (such as a smartphone). This universal access capability allows any authorized user to access any PHD in the system without requiring separate associations or connections, enabling family members to share weighing scale data or other health metrics seamlessly.
2Reliability
If a PHD is connected to a specific hub, then data sharing is enabled, but the PHD becomes accessible only to the owner of the hub device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary authentication mechanism (such as a smartphone with authentication credentials) that mediates between multiple users and the hub. Instead of directly associating each user with each PHD, the authentication credential acts as an intermediary that grants temporary access to the hub, allowing multiple users to access multiple PHDs securely without creating direct associations between them.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic access control where user permissions and associations are not fixed but can be temporarily activated and deactivated. When a user presents their authentication credential (such as a smartphone), the hub dynamically creates a temporary association for the duration of the authentication session, allowing flexible multi-user access while maintaining data security and user privacy.
Data Source
AI summary
In various embodiments, a personal health data hub (“PHDH”) may include a device that receives health data from personal health devices (“PHDs”), stores the health data, and sends them to personal health records. Health data may be received by PHDH using multiple communication technologies, such as Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, ANT+, USB, etc. The PHDH may be used by different users such as multiple user sessions. Users may access and control the PHDH through different UI mechanisms. The PHDH may interact with users, such as by indicating states and/or events using light and/or sound indicators. The PHDH may use a wireless collector accessory enabled peripheral device to receive health data from a PHD. The WCA-enabled device may communicate personal health data to the PHDH on behalf of the PHD. Other embodiments are described and claimed.