International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=335&year=2011&vol=2&issue=2 Inderscience Publishers Ltd en-uk International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems 1758-728X 1758-7298 © 2011 Inderscience Publishers Ltd editor@inderscience.com https://www.inderscience.com/images/files/coverImgs/ijuwbcs_scoverijuwbcs.jpg http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=335&year=2011&vol=2&issue=2 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44598 The paper describes a survey of the UWB physical layer for body area networks currently in development by the IEEE Standardisation 802.15.6 Task Group. Such UWB PHY consists of impulse radio-based UWB technology as well as CP-2FSK and wideband frequency modulation (FM-UWB) technology. IR-UWB systems employ on-off signalling modulation and FM-UWB modulation for medical and non-medical applications, while differentially encoded PSK modulation for high QoS medical applications. Such systems are optimised for low power consumption and reliable operation, especially in medical applications. Furthermore, the UWB signal power levels are in the order of those used in the MICS band (implant devices like pacemakers), therefore providing safety power levels for the human body and low interference to other systems' devices. UWB systems for body area networks
Marco Hernandez; Ryuji Kohno
International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 58 - 72
The paper describes a survey of the UWB physical layer for body area networks currently in development by the IEEE Standardisation 802.15.6 Task Group. Such UWB PHY consists of impulse radio-based UWB technology as well as CP-2FSK and wideband frequency modulation (FM-UWB) technology. IR-UWB systems employ on-off signalling modulation and FM-UWB modulation for medical and non-medical applications, while differentially encoded PSK modulation for high QoS medical applications. Such systems are optimised for low power consumption and reliable operation, especially in medical applications. Furthermore, the UWB signal power levels are in the order of those used in the MICS band (implant devices like pacemakers), therefore providing safety power levels for the human body and low interference to other systems' devices.

]]> 10.1504/IJUWBCS.2011.044598 International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 58 - 72 Marco Hernandez; Ryuji Kohno Medical Information and Communications Technology Group, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), 3-4 Hikarino-oka, 239-0847 Yokosuka, Japan. ' Division of Physics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Yokohama National University, 240-8501 Yokohama, Japan UWB ultra wideband body area networks BANs wideband frequency modulation medical applications healthcare technology differentially encoded PSK modulation implant devices implants safety energy consumption reliability. 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 2 2 58 72 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44599 Ultra wideband (UWB) has lots of potential in short range wireless communications. One suitable target area is applications for medical and healthcare sector. In this paper, the performances of different UWB receivers are investigated by simulations. The transceiver system was built following the IEEE 802.15.4a UWB physical layer definitions. The standard, launched in 2007, is targeted for low-complexity and low-cost devices operating in wireless personal area networks (WPANs) being therefore an option for wireless body area networks (WBANs). Another UWB standard, IEEE 802.15.6 targeted directly for WBANs, is currently in finalising phase and is assumed to be published by 2012. In this study, a WBAN channel model based on measurements in a real hospital environment is used. This study is contributing to a process in healthcare sector where the costs and the number of elderly people, in developed countries especially, are constantly increasing. IEEE 802.15.4a UWB receivers in medical applications
Ville Niemelä; Matti Hämäläinen; Jari Iinatti
International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 73 - 82
Ultra wideband (UWB) has lots of potential in short range wireless communications. One suitable target area is applications for medical and healthcare sector. In this paper, the performances of different UWB receivers are investigated by simulations. The transceiver system was built following the IEEE 802.15.4a UWB physical layer definitions. The standard, launched in 2007, is targeted for low-complexity and low-cost devices operating in wireless personal area networks (WPANs) being therefore an option for wireless body area networks (WBANs). Another UWB standard, IEEE 802.15.6 targeted directly for WBANs, is currently in finalising phase and is assumed to be published by 2012. In this study, a WBAN channel model based on measurements in a real hospital environment is used. This study is contributing to a process in healthcare sector where the costs and the number of elderly people, in developed countries especially, are constantly increasing.

]]> 10.1504/IJUWBCS.2011.044599 International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 73 - 82 Ville Niemelä; Matti Hämäläinen; Jari Iinatti Centre for Wireless Communications, University of Oulu, Oulu, 90014, Finland. ' Centre for Wireless Communications, University of Oulu, Oulu, 90014, Finland. ' Centre for Wireless Communications, University of Oulu, Oulu, 90014, Finland ultra wideband UWB wireless BANs body area networks WBANs IEEE 802.15.4a rake receivers wireless hospital environments medical applications energy detector healthcare technology simulation elderly. 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 2 2 73 82 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44600 In the last 20 years, a lot of research activity has been carried out on UWB radar in medicine. Over the years, many implementations of medical UWB radars have been presented in literature. An interesting medical application for these devices is the wireless monitoring of vital signs. Heart and breath rate were successfully detected with such devices but in spite of the many working examples presented, the authors are still convinced that a solid explanation of the operation of such radars is lacking. UWB radar output signals are indubitably correlated with the respiration and heart activities but where do they come from? The classic explanation as per the McEwan's patent of 1996 proposes that the signal is due to deep echoes reflections from the heart wall and blood. This fact does not seem a realistic explanation of the phenomenon. On the UWB medical radars working principles
Graziano Varotto; Enrico M. Staderini
International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 83 - 93
In the last 20 years, a lot of research activity has been carried out on UWB radar in medicine. Over the years, many implementations of medical UWB radars have been presented in literature. An interesting medical application for these devices is the wireless monitoring of vital signs. Heart and breath rate were successfully detected with such devices but in spite of the many working examples presented, the authors are still convinced that a solid explanation of the operation of such radars is lacking. UWB radar output signals are indubitably correlated with the respiration and heart activities but where do they come from? The classic explanation as per the McEwan's patent of 1996 proposes that the signal is due to deep echoes reflections from the heart wall and blood. This fact does not seem a realistic explanation of the phenomenon.

]]> 10.1504/IJUWBCS.2011.044600 International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 83 - 93 Graziano Varotto; Enrico M. Staderini IAI Department, HES-SO, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Route de Cheseaux 1 1401 Yverdon les Bains, Switzerland. ' IAI Department, HES-SO, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Route de Cheseaux 1 1401 Yverdon les Bains, Switzerland UWB medical radar ultra wideband attenuation modelling microwaves human tissues FDTD medical applications healthcare technology wireless monitoring vital signs patient monitoring. 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 2 2 83 93 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44601 In this paper, an IR-UWB radar for the detection of water accumulation in human bladder is presented. The goal is to monitor the level of urine in patients who suffer from urinary incontinence. This is achieved by detecting the reflected UWB signals from the boundaries of human tissues such as muscle and bladder. However, the detection ability of the UWB radar system is strongly impaired due to the high attenuation and frequency dispersion of the UWB signal in human tissues. Based on the dielectric properties of the various human tissues, the physics-based propagation characterisations of electromagnetic waves are investigated with respect to their reflection, attenuation and transmission. A model of human bladder with different tissue layers including frequency dependent dielectric properties is proposed. Furthermore, a system concept of UWB radar for the detection of water accumulation in human bladder is introduced. The UWB pulse attenuation and distortion in different human tissues are investigated and evaluated with respect to the system performance. The results show the potential of detection of urine in the human bladder, which may lead to development of new non-invasive sensors locating water accumulations in human body. Physics-based propagation characterisations of UWB signals for the urine detection in human bladder
Xuyang Li; Grzegorz Adamiuk; Elena Pancera; Thomas Zwick
International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 94 - 103
In this paper, an IR-UWB radar for the detection of water accumulation in human bladder is presented. The goal is to monitor the level of urine in patients who suffer from urinary incontinence. This is achieved by detecting the reflected UWB signals from the boundaries of human tissues such as muscle and bladder. However, the detection ability of the UWB radar system is strongly impaired due to the high attenuation and frequency dispersion of the UWB signal in human tissues. Based on the dielectric properties of the various human tissues, the physics-based propagation characterisations of electromagnetic waves are investigated with respect to their reflection, attenuation and transmission. A model of human bladder with different tissue layers including frequency dependent dielectric properties is proposed. Furthermore, a system concept of UWB radar for the detection of water accumulation in human bladder is introduced. The UWB pulse attenuation and distortion in different human tissues are investigated and evaluated with respect to the system performance. The results show the potential of detection of urine in the human bladder, which may lead to development of new non-invasive sensors locating water accumulations in human body.

]]> 10.1504/IJUWBCS.2011.044601 International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 94 - 103 Xuyang Li; Grzegorz Adamiuk; Elena Pancera; Thomas Zwick Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe 76131, Germany. ' Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe 76131, Germany. ' Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe 76131, Germany. ' Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Elektronik, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe 76131, Germany ultra wideband UWB signals UWB radar propagation characterisation impulse radio system dynamic range medical applications water accumulation human bladder human tissues healthcare technology urine detection urinary incontinence modelling. 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 2 2 94 103 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44602 In this paper, several aspects of IEEE 802.15.6 DPSK IR-UWB physical layer for usage in the medical BAN are examined. First, the types of the waveforms used in the standard are given. After that we describe the packet structure. We also provide mathematical analysis of two receiver structures: the duty-cycled sampling receiver and the chirp receiver is provided with suitable digital detection methods definitions and analysis. The paper continues with developing a method of synchronisation for preamble structure described in the standard draft together with the synchronisation frame delimiter (SFD) detection method. Preamble structure itself is discussed together with offering an alternative that has better performance with less computational complexity. The performances of receivers designed according to specifications given in the paper are simulated in multi-BAN environments in order to verify robustness of such BAN devices to interference from co-located BANs, essential for the application of this physical layer in the medical BAN. Application of IEEE 802.15.6 IR-UWB physical layer for medical BAN
Igor Dotli?; Ryuji Kohno
International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 104 - 115
In this paper, several aspects of IEEE 802.15.6 DPSK IR-UWB physical layer for usage in the medical BAN are examined. First, the types of the waveforms used in the standard are given. After that we describe the packet structure. We also provide mathematical analysis of two receiver structures: the duty-cycled sampling receiver and the chirp receiver is provided with suitable digital detection methods definitions and analysis. The paper continues with developing a method of synchronisation for preamble structure described in the standard draft together with the synchronisation frame delimiter (SFD) detection method. Preamble structure itself is discussed together with offering an alternative that has better performance with less computational complexity. The performances of receivers designed according to specifications given in the paper are simulated in multi-BAN environments in order to verify robustness of such BAN devices to interference from co-located BANs, essential for the application of this physical layer in the medical BAN.

]]> 10.1504/IJUWBCS.2011.044602 International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 104 - 115 Igor Dotli?; Ryuji Kohno Dependable Wireless Laboratory, National Institute for Information and Communications Technology, 3-4 Hikarino-oka, Yokosuka 239-0847, Japan. ' School of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan IEEE 802.15.6 body area networks BANs ultra wideband UWB synchronisation detection interference chirp synchronisation frame delimiter SFD medical applications healthcare technology. 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 2 2 104 115 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=44603 The problem of detecting and localising human breath activities in the presence of obstacles using an ultra-wideband radar is addressed in this paper. An extensive measurement campaign performed in realistic environments is presented. A breath activity generalised likelihood ratio detector as well as human distance and breath rate estimators are proposed based on the definition of a novel time-variant channel response model. The robustness of the detector and the ranging accuracy are investigated using experimental data showing that a hidden person can be detected and localised in many of the scenarios considered. Experimental study in breath detection and human target ranging in the presence of obstacles using ultra-wideband signals
Valerio Casadei; Nicola Nanna; Davide Dardari
International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 116 - 123
The problem of detecting and localising human breath activities in the presence of obstacles using an ultra-wideband radar is addressed in this paper. An extensive measurement campaign performed in realistic environments is presented. A breath activity generalised likelihood ratio detector as well as human distance and breath rate estimators are proposed based on the definition of a novel time-variant channel response model. The robustness of the detector and the ranging accuracy are investigated using experimental data showing that a hidden person can be detected and localised in many of the scenarios considered.

]]> 10.1504/IJUWBCS.2011.044603 International Journal of Ultra Wideband Communications and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2011) pp. 116 - 123 Valerio Casadei; Nicola Nanna; Davide Dardari WiLAB, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informatica e Sistemistica (DEIS), University of Bologna, Via Venezia 52, 47521 Cesena (FC), Italy. ' WiLAB, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informatica e Sistemistica (DEIS), University of Bologna, Via Venezia 52, 47521 Cesena (FC), Italy. ' WiLAB, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informatica e Sistemistica (DEIS), University of Bologna, Via Venezia 52, 47521 Cesena (FC), Italy breath detection UWB radar ultra wideband human target ranging breath localisation channel response models obstacles hidden bodies buried bodies human breathing. 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00 2 2 116 123 2011-12-31T23:20:50-05:00