Showing papers by "Andreas Triantafyllidis published in 2008"

An open and reconfigurable wireless sensor network for pervasive health monitoring.

Abstract: Objectives: Sensor networks constitute the backbone for the construction of personalized monitoring systems. Up to now, several sensor networks have been proposed for diverse pervasive healthcare applications, which are however characterized by a significant lack of open architectures, resulting in closed, non-interoperable and difficult to extend solutions. In this context, we propose an open and reconfigurable wireless sensor network (WSN) for pervasive health monitoring, with particular emphasis in its easy extension with additional sensors and functionality by incorporating embedded intelligence mechanisms. Methods: We consider a generic WSN architecture comprised of diverse sensor nodes (with communication and processing capabilities) and a mobile base unit (MBU) operating as the gateway between the sensors and the medical personnel, formulating this way a body area network (BAN). The primary focus of this work is on the intra-BAN data communication issues, adopting SensorML as the data representation mean, including the encoding of the monitoring patterns and the functionality of the sensor network. Results: In our prototype implementation two sensor nodes are emulated; one for heart rate monitoring and the other for blood glucose observations, while the MBU corresponds to a personal digital assistant (PDA) device. Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) is used to implement both the sensor nodes and the MBU components. Intra-BAN wireless communication relies on the Bluetooth protocol. Via an adaptive user interface in the MBU, health professionals may specify the monitoring parameters of the WSN and define the monitoring patterns of interest in terms of rules. Conclusions: This work constitutes an essential step towards the construction of open, extensible, inter - operable and intelligent WSNs for pervasive health monitoring.

An open and reconfigurable Wireless Sensor Network for pervasive health monitoring

Abstract: Sensor networks constitute the backbone for the construction of personalized monitoring systems. Currently, a plethora of sensor networks for diverse pervasive healthcare applications has been proposed and implemented. However, there is a significant lack of open architectures in the field, resulting in closed, non-interoperable, and difficult to extend solutions. In this context, we propose an open and reconfigurable Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for pervasive health monitoring, with particular emphasis in its easy extension with additional sensors and functionality by incorporating embedded intelligence mechanisms. We consider a generic WSN architecture comprised of diverse sensor nodes (with communication and processing capabilities) and a Mobile Base Unit (MBU) operating as the gateway between the sensors and the medical personnel, formulating this way a Body Area Network (BAN). The primary focus of this work is on the intra-BAN data communication issues, adopting SensorML as the data representation mean. Our prototype implementation illustrates the underlying design conceptualization and virtue of the proposed approach.

An integrated biomedical telemetry system for sleep monitoring employing a portable body area network of sensors (SENSATION)

Abstract: A flexible, scaleable and cost-effective medical telemetry system is described for monitoring sleep-related disorders in the home environment. The system was designed and built for real-time data acquisition and processing, allowing for additional use in intensive care unit scenarios where rapid medical response is required in case of emergency. It comprises a wearable body area network of Zigbee-compatible wireless sensors worn by the subject, a central database repository residing in the medical centre and thin client workstations located at the subject's home and in the clinician's office. The system supports heterogeneous setup configurations, involving a variety of data acquisition sensors to suit several medical applications. All telemetry data is securely transferred and stored in the central database under the clinicians' ownership and control.