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Wireless Sensor Networks: A Key Enabling Technology for Remote Healthcare

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Systems Design for Remote Healthcare

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Abstract

Recent advances in ICT and sensing technologies have created exciting options for individualised sensing and health monitoring. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) that are built of lightweight and autonomous devices called sensor nodes are a concrete example of such technologies. Each sensor node typically combines individual sensing, processing and wireless communication features into one small device. This chapter motivates the use of WSN as a key enabler for remote health care by introducing the manifold facilities and use cases of that technology. Based on that, it discusses the architectural basics and provides insights into practical system design issues, especially in view of reliability, energy efficiency and security of the system. After that an assessment of design goals and most critical challenges for applying WSN in health care is given. The chapter finally closes with presenting several selected solutions that successfully tackle introduced challenges.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.eupha.org/repository/publications/EU_HPF_Answer_to_Consult_on_CDs_Jan12.pdf.

  2. 2.

    http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/pdf/active-healthy-ageing/steering-group/operational_plan.pdf and European Chronic Disease Alliance, WHO Europe.

  3. 3.

    United Nations General Assembly 19 May 2011 Report by the Secretary-General on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (A/66/83).

  4. 4.

    http://derstandard.at/1259281485986/Neuer-Gesundheitsbericht-Risiko-einer-Schlaganfall-Krise-in-Europa.

  5. 5.

    See http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/43/9/48245231.pdf and “The future of healthcare in Europe”, The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2011.

  6. 6.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/features/noncommunicable-diseases-report.html.

  7. 7.

    Policy Exchange, The Cost of Cancer, Featherson and Whitman, 2010.

  8. 8.

    www.strokeback.eu.

  9. 9.

    www.cupid-project.eu.

  10. 10.

    Designers should be aware of the simple fact that an increased number of features and capabilities provided by the device directly lead to a more complex certification procedure.

  11. 11.

    www.aet-projekt.de.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IHP GmbH—Innovations for High-Performance Microelectronics, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

    Steffen Ortmann, Peter Langendoerfer, Marcin Brzozowski & Krzysztof Piotrowski

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  1. Steffen Ortmann
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  2. Peter Langendoerfer
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  3. Marcin Brzozowski
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Correspondence to Steffen Ortmann .

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  1. University of Southampton School of Electronics & Computer Science, Southampton, United Kingdom

    Koushik Maharatna

  2. FIMI S.r.l., Saronno, Italy

    Silvio Bonfiglio

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Ortmann, S., Langendoerfer, P., Brzozowski, M., Piotrowski, K. (2014). Wireless Sensor Networks: A Key Enabling Technology for Remote Healthcare. In: Maharatna, K., Bonfiglio, S. (eds) Systems Design for Remote Healthcare. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8842-2_7

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