ETRI published Key International Standards for Wearable Healthcare

Newswise — ETRI researchers have published key international standards for testing the accuracy of essential health management functions, such as step counting and heart rate monitoring, in wearable devices. This initiative has created a global common criterion for evaluating measurement accuracy in wearable devices.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced that two international standards related to the 『Performance Testing of Wearable Devices for Healthcare and Wellness』 were officially published¹⁾ in January. The publication of these international standards is expected to set quality criteria and improve measurement accuracy, which will not only contribute to enhancing public health but also stimulate the related equipment and service industries.
^{1) International Electrotechnical Commission IEC TC 124 Wearable Electronic Devices and Technologies Committee}

The international standards that were published are the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)’s “Test Method²⁾ for Step Counting” and “Test Method³⁾ for Heart Rate Measurement” These standards contain the methods and procedures for testing the measurement accuracy of fitness wearable devices that offer step counting and heart rate monitoring functionalities.
^{2) IEC 63203-402-2:2024 Wearable Electronic Devices and Technologies - Part 402-2: Performance Measurement of Fitness Wearables - Step Counting (Editor: Jeon Jonghong)
3) IEC 63203-402-3:2024 Wearable electronic devices and technologies - Part 402-3: Performance measurement of fitness wearables - Test methods for the determination of the accuracy of heart rate (Editor: Lee Jung-Chul)}

The research team pointed out that although over 500 million wearable devices such as smart bands, watches, and rings are sold annually for health management, there have been no standardized test methods for the accuracy of basic physical activity measurements like step counting and heart rate monitoring. This lack made it impossible to objectively compare performance and accuracy, which was a key reason for the publication of these international standards.

ETRI, in collaboration with major domestic companies, embarked on developing standards for testing the accuracy of step counting and heart rate monitoring. The research, which began in 2019, led to the proposal of international standards and culminated in their final publication six years later.

With the publication of these international standards, ETRI can now set performance criteria for wearable devices used in health management, and manufacturers are able to officially present the results of performance verification tested according to international standard methods. This is expected to not only expand the global wearable industry but also stimulate the related testing, evaluation, and certification markets.

ETRI is actively working on discovering and standardizing new international standardization issues such as sleep monitoring and diagnosis of sleep disorders applications, wearable applications combined with artificial intelligence technology, and wearable electroencephalogram applications. To this end, ETRI proposed the formation of a new working group (ahG7), with ETRI’s Jeon Jonghong serving as the chair, to drive these standardization efforts.

ETRI’s assistant vice president of Standards & Open Source Research Division, Lee Seung-Yoon, stated, “It is of great significance that our country has led the publication of two key standards for performance testing of core health management functions applicable to all wearable devices.”

Professor Park Jae-Young⁴⁾ from Kwangwoon University also said, “Since the biggest application area for wearable devices is in healthcare and wellness, we will further strengthen the development and cooperation of international standards, focusing on healthcare wearables under the Wearable Electronic Devices and Technologies (TC 124) to lead international standards in this field.”
^{4) International Secretary of IEC TC 124 (Wearable Electronic Devices and Technologies) International Standard Technical Committee}

ETRI explained that based on these achievements, it plans to continue collaborating with domestic industry, academia, research, and medical experts to establish new international standards for health management areas, such as wearable device sleep monitoring and diagnosis applications.

1. International standards

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ETRI mentioned that the establishment of these standards was supported by the National Standards Technology Enhancement Project and the Cross-Ministerial Full Cycle Medical Device Development Project of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards. Furthermore, ETRI highlighted the collaborative efforts led by ETRI’s principal researcher Jeon Jonghong, along with Professor Lee Jung-Chul from KAIST, in achieving the outcomes related to this standard development.

About Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)

ETRI is a non-profit government-funded research institute. Since its foundation in 1976, ETRI, a global ICT research institute, has been making its immense effort to provide Korea a remarkable growth in the field of ICT industry. ETRI delivers Korea as one of the top ICT nations in the World, by unceasingly developing world’s first and best technologies.