Assurance requirements for networked medical sensor applications

Networked medical devices and health information services are becoming increasingly widespread. The requirements for assuring the system's suitability, safety and security are discussed and an example is presented for a networked medical sensor application and the assurance aspects it illustrates. In a workshop that was based on the example, key issues such as distribution of responsibilities, multiple technologies and the dependability of networks were identified as areas requiring further investigation. It was not possible to find clear cut answers to all of the open issues, but some aspects did crystallize out either as potential solutions or as areas for further research.