Title: OFDM over IEEE 802.11b hardware for telemedical applications

Authors: Konstantinos A. Banitsas, Yong Hua Song, Thomas J. Owens

Addresses: Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, UK. ' Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, UK. ' Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, UK

Abstract: Using a wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) to transmit live high-quality video suitable for a telemedical application presents many challenges, including ensuring sufficient Quality of Service (QoS) for the end-user to be able to make an accurate diagnosis. One of the many problems that exist when developing such a system is the multipath effect caused by the reflections of the transmitted signals on various surfaces including walls, floors, furniture and people. This degrades the signal quality and reduces the amount of available bandwidth and, thus, the quality of the image. Presently, most of Europe is using the IEEE 802.11b hardware for such applications. As an alternative to the existing modulation of 802.11b, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is investigated, especially for use inside hospitals. The advantages of using this modulation over IEEE 802.11b hardware for a telemedicine application are examined by means of simulation using three different simulation packages.

Keywords: OFDM; IEEE 802.11b; telemedicine; multipath; hospital technology; wireless LANs; healthcare technology; diagnosis; signal quality; image quality; simulation; wireless networks.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMC.2004.005168

International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2004 Vol.2 No.3, pp.310 - 327

Published online: 07 Sep 2004 *

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