Baha Fitting Software (BFS)

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	Baha Fitting Software functions as a hearing and fitting software solution for in-situ threshold measurements and adjustments. The technology features several programming applications designed to assist in the fitting of bone conduction implants in patients. The software also contains a data logging dashboard that monitors the sound levels of the patient`s implant and provides insights for professionals to utilize during follow-up visits. Baha Fitting Software contains a Bluetooth wireless accessory dashboard that allows professionals to pair, un-pair, and view an overview of accessories that may have been paired to the sound processor since the last visit. Additionally, this technology can perform a feedback analysis and save the patient`s information for future reference. This technology stores data in NOAH`s centralized database. NOAH uses a Microsoft Structured Query Language (SQL) Server database to transmit and store data. The NOAH software is where patient data is actively maintained and saved. Note: There is no specific product page for this technology and thus the vendor webpage is used in its place.
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v24.1
Decision Date:	01/17/2024 at 19:24:39 UTC
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Vendor Name:	Cochlear

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
4.x	02/07/2014
5.1
5.2	06/30/2016
5.3	01/22/2018
5.4.x	10/09/2018
6.0.x
6.1.x

Current Decision Matrix (01/10/2024)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

<Past

CY2018

CY2019

CY2020

Future>

Release

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

4.x

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5, 6]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

5.1

Divest
[3, 4, 5]

Unapproved

5.2

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5, 6]

Divest
[3, 4, 5, 6]

Unapproved

5.3

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5, 6]

Divest
[3, 4, 5, 6]

Divest
[3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

5.4.x

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5, 6]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

6.0.x

Unapproved

6.1.x

Unapproved

Decision Constraints


[1]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[2]	Per the May 5th, 2015 memorandum from the VA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) FIPS 140-2 Validate Full Disk Encryption (FOE) for Data at Rest in Database Management Systems (DBMS) and in accordance with Federal requirements and VA policy, database management must use Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant encryption to protect the confidentiality and integrity of VA information at rest at the application level. If FIPS 140-2 encryption at the application level is not technically possible, FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption (FOE) must be implemented on the hard drive where the DBMS resides. Appropriate access enforcement and physical security control must also be implemented. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. It is the responsibility of the system owner to work with the local CIO (or designee) and Information Security Officer (ISO) to ensure that a compliant DBMS technology is selected and that if needed, mitigating controls are in place and documented in a System Security Plan (SSP).

[3]	Per the May 5th, 2015 memorandum from the VA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) FIPS 140-2 Validate Full Disk Encryption (FOE) for Data at Rest in Database Management Systems (DBMS) and in accordance with Federal requirements and VA policy, database management must use Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant encryption to protect the confidentiality and integrity of VA information at rest at the application level. If FIPS 140-2 encryption at the application level is not technically possible, FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption (FOE) must be implemented on the hard drive where the DBMS resides. Appropriate access enforcement and physical security control must also be implemented. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. It is the responsibility of the system owner to work with the local CIO (or designee) and Information Security Officer (ISO) to ensure that a compliant DBMS technology is selected and that if needed, mitigating controls are in place and documented in a System Security Plan (SSP).

[4]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[5]	This product includes a Bluetooth capability. If that capability is leveraged, the implementer must conform to the Bluetooth Standard. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[6]	Technology must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security policies and guidelines in order to mitigate known and future security vulnerabilities.

[7]	Users must ensure that Microsoft .NET Framework is implemented within VA-approved baselines.

Note:

There are two standards developed by the DDE team for this application. At the time of writing, the standard version is 5.4.22558.4, and version 5.4.22823.5 is under testing and development for six weeks from 1/2/2024. Version 6.1.10552.6 remains the same at this time.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
Other	Baha Software Update Blog Post		This professional blog post from Cochlear announces the release of version 6.0 of the Baha Fitting Software.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions	This component is a system within the software that is designed to help users hear and communicate.
Cochlear Fitting Software	This is a fitting software to enhance the fitting process for clinicians and patients.
Microsoft SQL Server Compact	Microsoft SQL Server Compact is the database included within the installation package for the Baha Fitting Software technology.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Health Care Health Services	Rehabilitation Services

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Windows Client - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Server - Approved w/Constraints

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

At the time of writing, no National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) vulnerabilities had been reported and no VA Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) bulletins had been issued for the latest versions of this technology.
This technology provides proprietary functionality for vendor`s associated hardware.
This is a well-documented technology.
This technology may improve productivity for specific staff whose responsibilities include configuring and adjusting fittings for cochlear implants.

Adoption Risks

There are other approved solutions that provide similar functionality available on the TRM. The use of several similar solutions may increase organization requirements for support and maintenance.
This technology involves the use Universal Serial Bus (USB) connections and proper security precautions must be taken when used.
This technology can integrate with and alter database technologies.
Due to the rapid release schedule of this technology, the VA may be unable to update to the most recent patch and may require a deployment model requiring the use of specific versions.
This technology can utilize Bluetooth technology and proper security precautions must be taken when used.
There is no indication based on available vendor documentation that this technology is Federal Information Processing (FIPs) 140-2 compliant.
The potential exists to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and/or VA Sensitive data and proper security standards must be followed in these cases.
The potential for vendor lock-in exists due to this software`s sole compatibility with proprietary vendor-supplied equipment.
In order to access full software support and information regarding recent software updates, users must first register with the myCochlear Clinic web portal.

Architectural Risks

This technology is not portable as it runs only on Windows platforms.

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Current Decision Matrix (01/10/2024)

Decision Constraints

References

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.3

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (01/10/2024)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Risks

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