AI Virtual Health Assistants: The Future of Remote Patient Monitoring

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Nirmal Suthar
Associate Director of Software Engineering
January 11, 2026

Key Takeaways 

  • The global Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Market Outlook is exceptionally strong, projected to reach over $88 billion by 2030, driven by the aging population and the rise of chronic conditions.
  • AI Virtual Health Assistants are the critical technology transforming RPM from a data collection tool into a proactive, personalized care system.
  • AI enables predictive analytics to spot early health deterioration, significantly improving patient outcomes and reducing hospital readmissions.
  • These AI-powered tools enhance patient engagement through 24/7 conversational support and tailored health guidance, making care more accessible.
  • Successful implementation requires robust data integration, strong security measures, and a strategic roadmap from experienced healthcare innovators.

The healthcare industry stands at the precipice of a revolution, shifting away from reactive, hospital-centric care towards proactive, personalised, and remote management. At the heart of this transformation is Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), a system that uses connected digital health technologies to gather and transmit patient physiological data outside of traditional clinical settings.

While RPM offers tremendous value, it generates a massive, continuous stream of data. Simply collecting this data is not enough; the sheer volume can easily overwhelm clinical teams, leading to delayed interventions and clinician burnout. 

This is where AI Virtual Health Assistants step in, offering the essential intelligence layer needed to transform raw data into immediate, actionable insights.

AI Virtual Health Assistants are not just simple chatbots; they are sophisticated, constantly learning systems leveraging machine learning algorithms to monitor, interpret, communicate, and even anticipate patient needs. This integration is not merely an upgrade; it represents a fundamental change that transforms remote monitoring from a technological novelty into the future of scalable and effective chronic disease management and telehealth delivery.

The convergence of RPM's data streams with the analytical power of AI is creating a new era of care, ensuring patients receive the proper support exactly when they need it, regardless of where they are.

To understand why they are gaining so much momentum, let’s explore the dynamic growth of the RPM market and the compelling numbers driving this digital transformation.

Market Insights: Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Market Outlook

The market for Remote Patient Monitoring is experiencing explosive growth, propelled by global demographic shifts and a pressing need for cost-effective healthcare delivery. This widespread adoption is a clear indicator that the foundation for AI Virtual Health Assistants is already established and scaling rapidly.

  • Market Valuation and Growth: According to a recent study by Wissen Research, the global Remote Patient Monitoring market was estimated at approximately $40 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach around $88 billion by 2030, reflecting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of roughly 12% during this forecast period.
  • North American Dominance: North America continues to lead the market, holding over 40% of the market share in 2024, due to its robust healthcare infrastructure and favourable reimbursement policies, according to a report by Global Market Insights.
  • The AI Component: The specialised market for AI in Remote Patient Monitoring is a significant growth driver, estimated to be valued at approximately $1.22 billion in 2022 and is projected to skyrocket to over $6.89 billion by 2031, growing at an aggressive CAGR of 21.3%. This surge highlights the increasing reliance on AI for processing the vast quantities of data generated by RPM devices, as suggested by Insightace Analytic.

These numbers paint a clear picture: RPM is a high-growth sector, and the integration of AI is the definitive pathway for maximising its impact, transforming it from a monitoring service into an intelligent care coordination system.

With market dynamics firmly established, let's now delve deeper into what an AI Virtual Health Assistant is and how it functions. 

Understanding AI-Powered Virtual Health Assistants

AI Virtual Health Assistants are sophisticated software applications designed to mimic human-like healthcare interactions, utilising advanced technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML), and speech recognition. Unlike basic symptom checkers, these assistants are deeply integrated into the patient's care ecosystem, offering a personalised, two-way conversational experience.

These tools serve as a critical bridge between the massive volume of data generated by Remote Patient Monitoring devices and the human clinical team. Their primary function is not just to talk to patients, but to apply predictive analytics to real-time health data. 

  • Core Capabilities: An effective AI Virtual Health Assistant can interpret patient inputs, analyze complex physiological data (such as blood pressure, heart rate, or glucose readings), offer personalised guidance, and automate routine administrative and clinical tasks.
  • Contextual Intelligence: By constantly learning from millions of patient interactions and data points, the assistants provide context-aware responses. They adapt to the patient's specific health journey, making them highly effective for managing long-term chronic diseases.
  • The Power of Natural Language: Utilising NLP, the assistant can understand and respond to conversational input, whether written or spoken, which significantly improves patient engagement and makes the technology accessible, especially for elderly populations or those who are less tech-savvy.

In short, the assistant provides a 24/7 personalised layer of care, moving the focus from passive data collection to proactive, intelligent support.

The actual value of these systems becomes clear when considering the inherent limitations of traditional RPM. Let's examine why Remote Patient Monitoring depends on AI to realise its full potential. 

Why Remote Patient Monitoring Needs AI

While RPM technology is excellent at data collection, the sheer volume of information can quickly become a liability without an intelligent processing layer. Historically, traditional RPM faced several critical bottlenecks that AI Virtual Health Assistants are specifically designed to solve. 

1. Overcoming Data Overload and Alert Fatigue

A patient with a chronic condition can generate hundreds of data points daily. Without AI, it would be difficult for human clinicians to sift through these massive datasets. This can lead to alert fatigue and this is where the critical anomalies are missed amid a constant stream of minor notifications. 

The AI Solution

AI uses machine learning algorithms to filter noise, prioritise critical alerts based on historical patient trends, and surface only the most urgent, clinically significant deviations. This significantly reduces the burden on nurses and doctors, enabling them to concentrate on high-risk cases. 

2. Shifting from Reaction to Prediction

Traditional monitoring is inherently reactive; a clinician only intervenes after a reading crosses a pre-set threshold. Actual value in remote care lies in preventing health crises before they occur. 

The AI Solution

Predictive analytics models in AI Virtual Health Assistants analyze patterns across time, not just individual data points. They can detect subtle, multi-variable changes that signify an early risk of deterioration, such as a slight but consistent rise in blood pressure coupled with a decrease in activity. This enables proactive intervention, a crucial element in preventing hospital readmissions. 

3. Enhancing Scalability and Cost Efficiency

Dependence on a human staff to monitor thousands of patients remotely is not scalable and even expensive. The time spent on routine check-ins, medication reminders, and simple triage quickly consumes clinical resources.`

The AI Solution

By automating routine communication and administrative tasks, AI assistants scale the capacity of the care team. They allow a small team of clinicians to manage a significantly larger patient population, driving down the overall cost of care while improving its accessibility. This is foundational for the future of widespread telehealth services. 

4. Ensuring Data Interoperability and Structure (New Point)

RPM data comes from different sources, such as patient portals, various medical devices, and often  in different formats. Integrating this fragmented information into a cohesive, useful structure for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a major manual hurdle. 

The AI Solution

The AI Virtual Health Assistant acts as a data harmonisation layer. It automatically normalises, cleanses, and structures the incoming data, mapping it to standard clinical terminologies. This ensures seamless interoperability with existing hospital systems, a key necessity for long-term chronic disease management.

The integration of AI is the force multiplier that transforms raw RPM data into a high-functioning, personalised, and scalable patient care platform. 

Now that we understand the necessity of this integration, it becomes essential to understand how AI Virtual Health Assistants actually operate within RPM ecosystems.

How AI Virtual Health Assistants Work in Remote Patient Monitoring

One of the main functions of the AI Virtual Health Assistant is to create a seamless system of care. It helps to bridge the gap between the raw data collected by the Remote Patient Monitoring devices and the actionable decision-making of the human clinical team. 

1. Real-Time Triage and Intelligent Escalation

The assistant operates a 24/7 continuous monitoring and decision-making cycle. However, it does not simply pass along every alert. 

  • Automated Verification: When an anomaly is detected (e.g., a blood glucose spike), the assistant first uses its machine learning algorithms to cross-check the reading against the patient's individual, learned baseline and their current medications. 
  • Hierarchical Triage: It instantly classifies the event:
    • Level 1 (Routine): when the anomaly is minor and temporary. The AI generates a customised, in-app notification to the patient (e.g., "Your bp is slightly high, consider the low-carb diet"). 
    • Level 2 (Urgent/Semi-Critical): The anomaly is concerning but non-life-threatening. The AI initiates a conversational chat with the patient to gather more subjective data ("Are you experiencing any new symptoms?"). 
    • Level 3 (Critical): The anomaly is high-risk (e.g., an extremely low SpO2 reading). The AI bypasses the patient chat and immediately escalates the alert to the human care team, providing a synthesised clinical summary. 

2. Personalised Behavioural Nudging and Adherence Coaching

For successful long-term management of chronic diseases, staying in touch with the patients consistently is crucial. The AI is designed to initiate motivational texts, turning generic reminders into personalised nudges. 

  • Context-Aware Reminders: The assistant reads the data (like RPM vitals, calendar data, geolocation, and patient-reported entries) to ensure adherence. Instead of a generalised text like "Take medication at 8 AM," the assistant may send a message like, "Your blood pressure reading was great this morning! Don't forget to take your medication now before your 9 AM walk." 
  • Adaptive Content Delivery: By using Natural Language Processing (NLP), the assistant adjusts its tone, language difficulty, and focus to the patient's history of adherence and their communication style, ensuring is practical and not perceived as overly intrusive or scripted.  

3. Clinical Data Fusion and Actionable Insights

One of the most valuable functions of AI assistants is reducing clinician burnout by organising and paraphrasing complex information into simple summaries. The assistant transforms raw data overload into decision support.

  • Continuous Data Fusion: The AI automatically pulls and correlates data from all connected sources: the RPM device, the patient's Electronic Health Record (EHR), and patient-reported symptoms.
  • Predictive Insight Generation: Instead of showing a graph of vital signs, the assistant's predictive analytics engine gives a prioritised, high-level summary for the human clinician's dashboard. 

Key Use Cases of AI Virtual Health Assistants in RPM

The implementation of AI Virtual Health Assistants within Remote Patient Monitoring  spans the entire spectrum of healthcare, yielding transformative results, particularly in areas with high costs and high readmission risks. 

1. Chronic Disease Management and Lifestyle Coaching

AI assistants are indispensable for managing conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), where adherence to complex protocols is crucial for achieving positive outcomes. 

  • Personalised Feedback Loop: For a patient with diabetes, the assistant analyses real-time glucose readings, insulin intake logs, and meal records. It then follows up with a specific guidance, such as adjusting a meal or recommending an additional walk, leveraging advanced techniques in chronic disease management. 
  • Compliance and Adherence: The assistant sends tailored reminders not just for medications, but for lab appointments and follow-up care, significantly boosting patient engagement and treatment compliance. 

2. Proactive Post-Discharge and Post-Surgical Care

Patients are more vulnerable to complications and prone to readmissions immediately following hospital discharge.

  • Symptom Monitoring and Triage: The assistant conducts automated, daily voice or text check-ins, asking about specific post surgical symptoms, pain levels, and medication side effects. 
  • Early Complication Detection: The By monitoring vital signs and symptom reports, the AI can detect subtle signs of infection, fluid retention, or other post operative complications days before a patient might recognize them, enabling a timely intervention and reducing costly readmissions. 

3. Mental and Behavioral Health Support

AI assistants are 24/7 availabile and have a non judgmental nature which make them effective for supporting mental health patients.

  • Sentiment Analysis: Using the power of Natural Language Processing, the assistant can analyze the tone and content of patient messages to detect signs of spiralling anxiety or depression.
  • Immediate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Tools: The assistant can offer immediate access to digital relaxation techniques, journaling prompts, or short CBT exercises, serving as a first line of support and escalating to human therapists when necessary.

4. Predictive Risk Assessment 

Moving care entirely into the preventative realm is one of the most advanced use case

  • Early Sepsis Detection: In high risk patients, AI algorithms can analyze a combination of subtle changes in heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature trends to flag the early onset of sepsis risk, an outcome nearly impossible for humans to track consistently.
  • Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Monitoring: Wearable data is continuously scanned for irregular heart rhythm patterns, alerting patients and clinicians to potential AFib episodes in real time, long before they lead to a stroke or other severe events.

These tangible use cases highlight the basic transition that AI give us, shifting healthcare resources to where they are needed the most.

Next, let's summarize the comprehensive benefits that healthcare organizations and patients realize from adopting these AI-powered systems.

Benefits of AI-Powered Virtual Health Assistants

The integration of AI Virtual Health Assistants holds multiple benefits, impacting clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, and the overall patient experience.

For Healthcare Organizations and Clinicians

  • Reduced Readmission Rates: By using predictive analytics and real-time monitoring for early intervention, AI virtual assisstant significantly lowers preventable hospital readmissions. This leads to substantial cost savings and improved quality metrics.
  • Increased Clinician Efficiency: Automating routine tasks- such as medication reminders, and data logging, save a lot of time for nurses and doctors to focus their time and expertise on complex, high-touch care. This ensures availability of the staff and prevents clinical burnout. 
  • Enhanced Scalability: One AI Virtual Health Assistant can efficiently manage hundreds or even thousands of patients. It allows healthcare systems to expand  their RPM programs without having to increase staff, making comprehensive telehealth truly scalable.
  • Richer and Actionable Data: AI converts scattered RPM data into structured, clinically relevant insights and dashboards, leading to faster clinical decisions.

For Patients

  • Improved Health Outcomes: Personalized monitoring and timely intervention can help the patients have better control of their conditions, leading to a higher quality of life.
  • 24/7 Accessibility: Patients receive support and answers to common questions immediately. Patients dont have to wait for clinic hours to get their answers which reduces anxiety and improves patient engagement.
  • Empowerment and Personalization: The care delivered is specific to the individual’s physiological baseline and behavioral patterns, helping patients feel more in control and better educated about their own health journey.
  • Greater Convenience: Fewer non essential in office visits are required, saving patients time and travel costs.

The strategic deployment of these systems ensures a future where care is not only smarter and more cost effective, but also fundamentally more accessible and tailored to the individual.

To achieve these benefits, it is crucial to understand the underlying technological components that power these intelligent systems. Let's delve into the enabling technologies.

Technologies Enabling AI-Based Virtual Health Assistants

AI Virtual Health Assistants depend on a powerful blend of advanced technologies that work together to deliver real time, intelligent, and context-aware patient support. These basic elements make remote monitoring more accurate, personalized, and clinically meaningful. 

1. Natural Language Processing and Understanding

NLP and NLU enable assistants to understand patient conversations, interpret symptoms described in natural language, and respond with medically relevant guidance. This allows patients to interact naturally through voice or text without needing technical terminology.

2. Machine Learning and Predictive Analytics

ML models learn from historical and real time patient data to detect anomalies, predict health risks, and personalize recommendations. Predictive analytics helps identify trends that may indicate deterioration, allowing clinicians to intervene early. 

3. Computer Vision

Computer vision supports image based diagnostics, such as wound healing assessment, swelling detection, or visual confirmation of medication adherence. It enhances RPM programs where visual context is critical.

4. IoT and Wearable Device Integration

Integrations with wearables, home medical sensors, and IoT devices gives continuous streams of data that includes heart rate, oxygen saturation, sleep quality, glucose levels, blood pressure, and respiratory patterns. This data becomes the foundation for accurate AI driven insights.

5. Cloud Computing and Edge Processing

Cloud platforms store, process, and analyze massive patient data volumes at scale. Edge computing reduces latency by running AI models closer to the device, ensuring real time alerts even with limited connectivity.

6. Generative AI and Large Language Models

GenAI adds contextual reasoning, personalized coaching, empathetic conversation flows, and advanced summarization capabilities. It improves the assistant’s ability to function as a human like support companion for patients.

Together, these technologies create the backbone of AI powered virtual health assistants, enabling smarter remote care and seamless patient engagement.

Understanding the technology is the first step; the next is laying out a clear plan for how healthcare providers can successfully deploy these complex systems.

Implementation Guide for Healthcare Organizations

Successfully deploying AI Virtual Health Assistants within an existing Remote Patient Monitoring framework needs a strategic approach that prioritizes data integrity, compliance, and user adoption. Rushing implementation without a clear roadmap is the single greatest cause of failure in digital health transformation. 

Phase 1: Strategic Alignment and Use Case Definition

The initial focus should be on finding the intersection of organizational goals and AI capabilities.

  • Define High-Impact Use Cases: Do not try to automate everything. Select one or two high-value areas, such as reducing readmissions for a specific cohort (e.g., CHF or COPD) or streamlining patient onboarding for chronic disease management. This focused approach ensures measurable ROI.
  • Assess Data Infrastructure Readiness: AI Virtual Health Assistants are only as good as the data they consume. Conduct a thorough audit of data quality, standardization, and flow. Ensure systems are ready for high-volume, real time data ingestion and that all patient data can be consolidated into a unified format for the machine learning algorithms. 

Phase 2: Technical Development and Integration

This phase focuses on building and securely connecting the AI intelligence layer to the clinical ecosystem.

  • Prioritize Interoperability: The chosen AI solution must integrate seamlessly with existing Electronic Health Records (EHR) and other core clinical systems. Utilizing modern standards like FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is non negotiable to ensure data can move securely and bidirectionally, supporting both RPM data collection and clinical documentation.
  • Establish Governance and Compliance: Given the sensitivity of health data, stringent measures are required. Implement robust encryption, access controls, and audit trails to ensure compliance with regulations like HIPAA. Crucially, establish a framework for model validation and auditing to monitor the AI’s accuracy and prevent algorithmic bias continuously.

Phase 3: Pilot, Validation, and Workflow Integration

The most advanced technology won't work if clinicians do not trust it or if it complicates their daily work.

  • Run a Controlled Pilot Program: Deploy the AI Virtual Health Assistant with a small, representative patient cohort and a dedicated group of volunteer clinicians. This allows for real world testing, model fine-tuning, and the identification of workflow friction points before a full scale rollout.
  • Integrate into Clinical Workflow: The AI should augment, not disrupt. Ensure that the alerts generated by the predictive analytics are presented in a concise, actionable format within the existing clinical dashboard, rather than requiring clinicians to log into a separate system. Comprehensive training for all clinical and administrative staff is essential for high adoption and successful telehealth operations.
  • Monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Track performance beyond just technical accuracy. Critical KPIs include reduced hospital readmission rates for the target cohort, average time to clinical intervention, and, most importantly, patient and provider satisfaction scores.

Following this structured roadmap minimizes risk and maximizes the transformative potential of AI Virtual Health Assistants in making Remote Patient Monitoring a scalable reality.

Understanding this implementation strategy sets the stage for envisioning the revolutionary potential of these tools in the near future. Let's look ahead.

Future of Virtual Health Assistants in Remote Patient Monitoring

The future of AI Virtual Health Assistants is set to redefine how healthcare organisations deliver continuous care beyond hospital walls. As technologies mature and patient expectations evolve, virtual assistants will transition from supportive tools into proactive, intelligent care companions that shape the entire remote monitoring ecosystem.

1. Hyper Personalized and Context Aware Care

Next-generation assistants will interpret vitals along with understanding lifestyle, environment, emotional state, and social determinants of health. This context-aware intelligence will allow them to offer more personalised guidance that adapts to each patient’s daily life.

2. Autonomous Care Workflows

AI powered assistants will automate larger portions of care management by triaging symptoms, scheduling appointments, ordering routine labs, and preparing clinical summaries. They will reduce administrative burden and allow clinicians to focus on complex cases.

3. Advanced Predictive Risk Modeling

Future virtual assistants will use more sophisticated predictive models that detect deterioration far earlier. They will analyze multimodal data including voice tone, movement patterns, image inputs, and long term biomarker shifts to forecast risks with higher accuracy.

4. Integration with Agentic AI Systems

Agentic AI will enable virtual assistants to take purposeful actions without waiting for explicit human commands. This includes adjusting care plans, modifying medication reminders, or initiating telehealth sessions when patient conditions appear unstable.

5. More Human Like Patient Interaction

As generative AI and natural language processing continue to evolve, virtual assistants will become more empathetic, conversational, and emotionally intelligent. This will improve patient comfort and reduce disengagement in long term monitoring programs.

6. Hospital at Home Programs Become Mainstream

AI Virtual Health Assistants will serve as the digital backbone of large scale hospital at home initiatives. They will coordinate medical devices, monitor patients round the clock, and keep care teams informed in real time.

7. Expansion Across Every Clinical Specialty

From cardiology and oncology to mental health and maternal care, virtual assistants will expand into specialty workflows. Their adaptability will make them indispensable in personalized chronic care and preventive medicine.

8. Regulatory Recognition and Standardization

As adoption increases, regulatory agencies will establish guidelines for AI powered virtual assistants, leading to standardized frameworks for validation, safety, and clinical performance.

In this future landscape, AI Virtual Health Assistants evolve from reactive tools into intelligent health companions that support patients continuously, enhance clinician efficiency, and make remote care more predictive and personalized.

How Zymr Can Help Healthcare Innovators

Building AI Virtual Health Assistants for remote patient monitoring is complex and requires more than algorithms. It requires a deep understanding of the healthcare domain, secure engineering practices, scalable cloud engineering, along with the ability to translate clinical workflows into intelligent digital experiences. This is where Zymr partners with healthcare innovators.

Zymr helps healthcare organizations build AI powered virtual health assistants that fit easily into existing remote patient monitoring systems. We collaborate with providers and digital health teams to deliver solutions that are practical, reliable, and user-friendly.

Custom AI and ML Solution Development

  • Tailored Predictive Analytics: We develop predictive models tailored to your specific patient populations and clinical data. This helps identify health risks earlier and supports better management of chronic conditions.
  • Secure Data Integration Pipelines: Zymr connects data from wearables, medical devices, and electronic health records into a secure, HIPAA-compliant cloud environment. This creates a reliable data foundation for AI Virtual Health Assistants.

Conversational AI and Patient Engagement Platform

  • Intuitive Patient Experiences: We design AI assistants that patients find easy to talk to and trust. Using advanced NPL, we create simple conversations, voice-based interactions, and multilingual support that feel natural and supportive.
  • Telehealth and Workflow Optimization: Our AI assistants integrate directly with existing telehealth tools and clinical workflows. This ensures clinicians receive meaningful insights without added complexity, making remote care easier to manage and scale.

Conclusion

FAQs

What are AI Powered Virtual Health Assistants?

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AI-powered virtual health assistants are smart digital tools that help patients manage their health by interpreting data, answering health-related questions, reminding them about medications, monitoring symptoms, and escalating concerns to clinicians when needed. They use natural language understanding, machine learning, and clinical logic to deliver personalised support.

Are AI virtual health assistants safe for clinical use?

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Yes, when designed with medical-grade algorithms, evidence-based frameworks, and robust data security, AI virtual health assistants are safe for clinical use. They undergo validation testing and operate under clinician oversight, ensuring they follow approved care pathways and maintain patient safety.

Do virtual health assistants replace doctors or nurses?

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No, AI assistants do not replace healthcare professionals. They complement clinician workflows by automating routine tasks, analysing large volumes of data, thereby improving patient engagement. The clinical team still makes final decisions, while the assistant helps them work more efficiently.

What data is needed for AI-powered RPM systems?

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AI-powered RPM systems typically require data from wearable devices, IoT sensors, electronic health records, patient-reported information, and behavioural patterns. This includes vitals such as heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels, oxygen saturation, and daily activity metrics.

How do hospitals integrate AI assistants into existing workflows?

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AI-powered virtual health assistants are smart digital tools that help patients manage their health by interpreting data, answering health-related questions, reminding them about medications, monitoring symptoms, and escalating concerns to clinicians when needed. They use natural language understanding, machine learning, and clinical logic to deliver personalised support.

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About The Author

Harsh Raval

Nirmal Suthar

Associate Director of Software Engineering

Nirmal Suthar, a proficient Java developer with 14+ years of experience, demonstrates authority in crafting major products from scratch, including framework development and protocol implementation.

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