Title: Wireless body area networks towards empowering real-time healthcare monitoring: a survey

Authors: Vivek Kumar; Bharat Gupta; Sravanth Kumar Ramakuri

Addresses: Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, BIT Mesra, Ranchi-Kolkata Campus, Southend Conclave, 4th Floor, 1582 Rajdanga Main Road, Kolkata, 700107, West Bengal, India ' Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, BIT Mesra, Ranchi, 835215, Jharkhand, India ' Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, BIT Mesra, Ranchi-Kolkata Campus, Southend Conclave, 4th Floor, 1582 Rajdanga Main Road, Kolkata, 700107, West Bengal, India

Abstract: The speedy raising insalubrious environment, where peoples have less focus towards own health and physical fitness has impel the need of caregivers and doctors. In addition, increase in elderly population and numerous chronic diseases fortify the need of real-time healthcare system to monitor numerous physiological sign at their doorstep. The advances in sensing, computing and communication technologies coupled with level of comfort, cost reduction, and continuously health monitoring have led to the development of wireless body area networks (WBANs). Development of WBANs impels to make use of wearable and implanted sensor devices for various physiological sign monitoring. Furthermore, it provides long term, real-time healthcare monitoring to individual personal without restricting their daily life activities. In this paper, we proposed a general real-time healthcare monitoring system architecture. We also summarised the need, challenges and radio technologies of WBANs, since it is the key factor to achieve low power and low latency.

Keywords: healthcare monitoring; sensor networks; WBANs; wireless BANs; body area networks; physiological signs; MAC protocol; medium access control; networking; routing; survey; healthcare technology; e-health; electronic healthcare.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSNET.2016.080201

International Journal of Sensor Networks, 2016 Vol.22 No.3, pp.177 - 187

Received: 01 Jul 2013
Accepted: 08 Apr 2014
Published online: 08 Nov 2016 *

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