Heart rate display on a watch worn on the wrist

Building block

Building block – Datico® Wearable Cloud

Keep using your existing wearables – the data arrives automatically in your own database.

How the data flows

From the wearable via the manufacturer cloud into your database

  1. Wearable on the wrist or chest strap
  2. Manufacturer cloud e.g. Polar Flow
  3. API automatic synchronisation
  4. Datico® Life Hub your database, hosted in Germany
  5. Your team dashboards and reports

Ideal when participants already use their wearable with the manufacturer’s app.

The problem

Many organisations already use wearables. The data, however, sits in the manufacturer’s cloud, which is designed for end users, and every brand has its own format. There is no access for a joint analysis alongside diagnostics and questionnaires.

The solution

Datico® Wearable Cloud connects the manufacturer’s platform to the Datico® Life Hub via API. The data is synchronised, standardised and imported into your own database, assigned to the right person and the right time, on servers in Germany.

Example

A prevention practice supports its clients between appointments. Clients keep wearing their Polar wearables as usual; their heart rate and training data arrives automatically in the Datico® Life Hub via Polar Flow and sits in the same timeline as the measurements taken at the practice.

How Datico® Wearable Cloud works

With consumer wearables, the path the data takes is fixed: the device measures, the manufacturer’s app pulls the data onto the smartphone via Bluetooth and uploads it to the manufacturer’s cloud. This is exactly where Datico® Wearable Cloud comes in. Through the manufacturer’s interface, the platform is synchronised with the Datico® Life Hub via API. The data is imported, converted into a uniform format and automatically assigned to the right person and the right point in time. For participants, hardly anything changes: they keep using their device and their usual app. In the Datico® Life Hub, the wearable data then sits alongside diagnostic data, assessments and questionnaires and can be analysed together over longer periods.

Wearable data and GDPR compliance: what the manufacturer’s cloud means

With the cloud route, the manufacturer’s cloud remains part of the data chain. As a rule, each person needs their own account with the manufacturer, and the manufacturer processes the data there under its own terms of use and privacy policy. If the manufacturer or its cloud provider is based outside the EU, the rules on transfers to third countries also apply. Datico® adds controlled processing to this chain: from the moment of import, the data is held in a separate database for each customer on servers in Germany, transferred via TLS and covered by a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR. Participants’ consent can be obtained verifiably via double opt-in. Datico® does not replace a review of the manufacturer’s terms; with this route, that review belongs in your data protection concept.

Which wearables are connected

Polar, among others, is connected via the cloud route through Polar Flow. Heart rate and training data from Polar wearables such as sports watches or Polar Loop then appears in the same timeline as all other data in the Datico® Life Hub. The overview of compatible systems shows which other manufacturer platforms are currently connected. If a platform you already use is missing, we are happy to check whether its interface can be connected. The advantage of the cloud route: it works with the devices and accounts your participants already have and does not require an additional app.

Who the cloud route is for

Datico® Wearable Cloud fits wherever wearables are already in use and the effort for participants should stay low: in prevention, in sport and in workplace health management. Practices and coaches can use it to support their clients and athletes between appointments too, without handing out new devices. In workplace health management, roles and permissions let you ensure that the employer only sees aggregated analyses while individual values stay with the professionals providing care. If the manufacturer’s cloud is not acceptable in the data flow, for example in studies with strict regulatory requirements, Datico® Wearable Bluetooth is the better route.

Cloud, Bluetooth or Swarm: the comparison

Datico® offers three routes for wearable data. Wearable Cloud imports the data via API from the manufacturer’s cloud and uses existing devices and accounts. Wearable Bluetooth transfers the data via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) directly to the Datico® Life App and from there, encrypted, into the Datico® Life Hub, with no manufacturer cloud at all. Wearable Swarm uses a Bluetooth mesh on site to capture a very large number of sensors at once and displays them live, for example on testing days or at events. Whichever route you choose, the data ends up in the same structured database. You can therefore combine the routes and switch later without rebuilding your analyses.

Frequently asked questions

What is Datico® Wearable Cloud?

A building block that imports wearable data via API from the manufacturer’s cloud into the Datico® Life Hub. There it is standardised, assigned to the right person and combined with other data such as diagnostics and questionnaires.

Which manufacturer clouds can be connected?

Polar, among others, is connected via Polar Flow. You will find the current list in the overview of compatible systems. We check further platforms on request.

Do participants need an account with the manufacturer?

As a rule, yes, because the data is first stored in the manufacturer’s cloud. If you want to avoid this, use Datico® Wearable Bluetooth: no manufacturer account is needed there.

Is the cloud route GDPR compliant?

From the moment of import into the Datico® Life Hub, the data is held in a separate database on servers in Germany, with a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR. The manufacturer’s cloud, however, remains part of the chain; review its terms and any possible transfer to third countries with your data protection officer.

How up to date is the data in the Datico® Life Hub?

The data is synchronised with the manufacturer’s platform. It is available in the Datico® Life Hub as soon as the wearable has transferred it to the manufacturer’s cloud and the synchronisation has run.

More later?

Wearable Cloud is part of the Datico® Life Hub. Where the manufacturer’s cloud is not an option, you add Datico® Wearable Bluetooth without changing your database.

View the Datico® Life Hub

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