Numed
Building a Secure AWS Cloud Microservice for Next-Generation Diagnostic Device Integration
Get in touch
Background
Numed Healthcare is a trusted supplier of innovative medical products and digital solutions that simplify clinical workflows, reduce costs, and improve patient care. With over two decades of experience, Numed’s flagship product, I3, has become an essential desktop application for thousands of GP practices across the UK.
I3 integrates a range of diagnostic devices, including ECG, blood pressure, and spirometry, directly with GP systems such as EMIS, SystmOne, and Vision. By automating patient data retrieval and report filing, the platform reduces administrative overhead and enhances clinical efficiency. Today, between 3,000 and 5,000 clinicians use I3, with each sending between 5 and 10 ECG reports every week.
As device manufacturers evolve, Numed continues to adapt its platform to ensure seamless integration, maintain compliance, and deliver the highest standards of usability to healthcare providers.
The Need
When GE Healthcare announced the discontinuation of Numed’s existing ECG device, the company faced a pressing challenge: the replacement model, MAC 5, no longer supported USB connections and required a cloud-based integration pathway. Without a rapid solution, clinicians using I3 risked losing the ability to seamlessly upload and file ECG results into patient records.
Numed needed a new cloud service to sit between I3 and MAC 5, enabling secure, bi-directional data exchange. The system had to support four key workflows: I3 pushing patient details to the service, MAC 5 retrieving those details, MAC 5 uploading diagnostic report PDFs, and I3 retrieving those reports for filing in GP systems. Given the volumes involved — tens of thousands of reports per month — scalability, reliability, and compliance were paramount.
The solution also had to adhere to NHS DTAC, GDPR, ISO 27001, and NHS Open API standards, while incorporating modern interoperability protocols such as HL7 FHIR. In addition, it needed to be built quickly, with a focus on prioritising the delivery of ECG report handling to avoid disruption to clinicians.
The Solution
6B partnered with Numed to design and implement a robust, cloud-based microservice hosted on AWS. Built using ASP.NET Core and designed as a JSON RESTful API, the microservice acts as a secure intermediary between I3 and MAC 5, facilitating reliable data flows while decoupling device integration from the I3 desktop environment.
The architecture leverages AWS Transfer Family sFTP for secure file transfer, Amazon S3 for partitioned storage of diagnostic reports, and Amazon RDS for audit and application data. Security is enhanced with AWS Key Management Service for encryption, OAuth 2.0 for programmatic authorisation, and TLS for secure communications. JSON Web Tokens provide stateless authentication, while security headers and data masking mitigate common vulnerabilities.
Scalability is addressed through elastic AWS resources, load balancing, and asynchronous processing, ensuring the system can handle fluctuating workloads. CloudWatch provides real-time monitoring, diagnostic logging, and auditing, delivering visibility and compliance across all transactions.
The service includes comprehensive audit logging accessible through dedicated endpoints, enabling I3 to query events or subscribe to updates on report transfers. Reports are retained for a limited period before being automatically deleted, aligning with data minimisation principles. By design, the microservice is stateless and does not store patient data beyond temporary audit and diagnostic logs.
6B also ensured that the solution was future-proof: its modular structure allows other Numed products, or additional diagnostic devices, to integrate via the same cloud service. Optional extensions such as GP Connect integration were considered, enabling diagnostic reports to be sent directly to patient EHRs without clinician intervention.
The Impact
The launch of the new AWS microservice will mark a major milestone for Numed Healthcare. With the transition to MAC 5 now supported, clinicians using I3 can continue to generate, transfer, and file ECG diagnostic reports seamlessly, with no disruption to their workflows.
By moving from USB-based integration to a cloud-based architecture, Numed has future-proofed its diagnostic device strategy while maintaining full compliance with NHS and international security standards. Reports are now transferred securely, quickly, and at scale, with audit logs providing transparency and assurance.
For clinicians, the impact is significant: instead of dealing with complex manual transfers, ECG results appear within their existing clinical systems in the same streamlined way they always have. For Numed, the decoupled microservice architecture provides flexibility to support future devices, integrate with additional services, and expand its product ecosystem with minimal re-engineering.
This project demonstrates how Numed and 6B worked together to adapt to technological change, delivering a cloud-based solution that upholds clinical safety, ensures compliance, and sustains Numed’s reputation as a leader in medical technology integration.