Wireless body sensor networks for health-monitoring applications

This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Physiological Measurement. The publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0967-3334/29/11/R01

A Review of Wireless Body Area Networks for Medical Applications

Recent advances in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology, integrated circuits, and wireless communication have allowed the realization of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). WBANs promise unobtrusive ambulatory health monitoring for a long period of time and provide real-time updates of the patient's status to the physician. They are widely used for ubiquitous healthcare, entertainment, and military applications. This paper reviews the key aspects of WBANs for numerous applications. We present a WBAN infrastructure that provides solutions to on-demand, emergency, and normal traffic. We further discuss in-body antenna design and low-power MAC protocol for WBAN. In addition, we briefly outline some of the WBAN applications with examples. Our discussion realizes a need for new power-efficient solutions towards in-body and on-body sensor networks.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, and 3 tables. In V3, the manuscript is converted to LaTe

A survey: Issues and challenges of communication technologies in WBAN

Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) refers to a group of small intelligent electronic devices placed on the human body to monitor its vital signals. It provides a continuous health monitoring of a patient without any constraint on his/her normal daily life activities through the health care applications. Due to the strong heterogeneous nature of the applications, data rates will vary strongly, ranging from simple data at a few Kbits/s to the video stream of several Kbits/s. Data can also be sent in bursts, which means that it is sent at a higher data rate during the bursts. This study covers the main requirements of communication technologies that are used in WBAN comprise of two major parts. The first part, which presents the short-range classification, gives a specialized outline of a few standard wireless technologies that are short-ranged. These are introduced as contenders for intra-BAN communications for communications inside a Body Area Network (BAN) and between the elements

A survey on short-range WBAN communication; technical overview of several standard wireless technologies

In a healthy environment, a WBAN system is the key component or aspect of the patient monitoring system. WBAN systems allow for easy networking with other devices and networks so that healthcare professionals can easily access critical and non-critical patient data. One of the main advantages of WBAN is the remote monitoring of patients using an Intranet or the Internet. There are two main components to the type of communication technology used in WBAN. This page shows an insight of a variety of short-range standardized wireless devices, as well as a taxonomy of short-range technologies. These are proposed as intra-BAN communication candidates for communication within and between body area network (BAN) entities. This paper also highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the WBAN perspective. Finally, a side-by-side comparison of the basic principles of using MICS frequency bands and preparatory technologies

Wireless Body Area Networks for Healthcare Applications: An Overview

Healthcare systems have been facing various new challenges due to increasing and rising aging population in healthcare. Advance information and communication technologies have introduced Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) for healthcare systems. WBANs provide different monitoring services in healthcare sector for monitoring their patients with more convenience. WBANs are economical solutions and non-invasive technology for healthcare applications. This review paper provides a comprehensive review on WBANs applications, services and recent challenges