Mission and Scope

The mission of the Phoenix Project is to make an ambulatory blood monitor that is inexpensive, unobtrusive, and easy to use, and that collects a week of blood pressure measurements.

The purpose of this subproject is to:

• Document how to develop the Phoenix Ambulatory Blood Pressure System
• Build out the project's infrastructure

The Phoenix Project faces some interesting process challenges:

• The product is complex. It is a system:

  An interacting combination of elements to accomplish a defined objective. These include:

  • Hardware (the monitor)
  • Software (analysis applications)
  • Firmware (monitor OS, monitor applications)
  • People (clinical and laboratory roles)
  • Information
  • Techniques (clinical protocols)
  • Facilities (the Halberg Chronobiology Center)
  • Services
  • Other support elements

  (International Council on System Engineering, System Engineering Handbook)

• The product is free and open-source. It is the work of a virtual team whose composition varies over time and is separated by distance and timezones.
• The product is a medical device. Its development process must be guided by a an auditable quality system.