https://www.science.smith.edu/~jcardell/Courses/EGR328/Readings/WSNSurvey2.pdf

Wireless sensor network survey

The increasing use of wireless networks and the constant miniaturization of electrical devices has empowered the development of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). In these networks various sensors are attached on clothing or on the body or even implanted under the skin. The wireless nature of the network and the wide variety of sensors offer numerous new, practical and innovative applications to improve health care and the Quality of Life. The sensors of a WBAN measure for example the heartbeat, the body temperature or record a prolonged electrocardiogram. Using a WBAN, the patient experiences a greater physical mobility and is no longer compelled to stay in the hospital. This paper offers a survey of the concept of Wireless Body Area Networks. First, we focus on some applications with special interest in patient monitoring. Then the communication in a WBAN and its positioning between the different technologies is discussed. An overview of the current research on the physical layer, existing MAC and network protocols is given. Further, cross layer and quality of service is discussed. As WBANs are placed on the human body and often transport private data, security is also considered. An overview of current and past projects is given. Finally, the open research issues and challenges are pointed out.

/pdf/a-survey-on-wireless-body-area-networks-f3nx5ii4yv.pdf

A survey on wireless body area networks

Sensor networks, a new class of devices has the potential to revolutionize the capture, processing, and communication of critical data for use by first responders. CodeBlue integrates sensor nodes and other wireless devices into a disaster response setting and provides facilities for ad hoc network formation, resource naming and discovery, security, and in-network aggregation of sensor-produced data. We designed CodeBlue for rapidly changing, critical care environments. To test it, we developed two wireless vital sign monitors and a PDA-based triage application for first responders. Additionally, we developed MoteTrack, a robust radio frequency (RF)-based localization system, which lets rescuers determine their location within a building and track patients. Although much of our work on CodeBlue is preliminary, our initial experience with medical care sensor networks raised many exciting opportunities and challenges.

/pdf/sensor-networks-for-emergency-response-challenges-and-25gfdlp1ho.pdf

Sensor networks for emergency response: challenges and opportunities

Recent technological advances in sensors, low-power microelectronics and miniaturization, and wireless networking enabled the design and proliferation of wireless sensor networks capable of autonomously monitoring and controlling environments. One of the most promising applications of sensor networks is for human health monitoring. A number of tiny wireless sensors, strategically placed on the human body, create a wireless body area network that can monitor various vital signs, providing real-time feedback to the user and medical personnel. The wireless body area networks promise to revolutionize health monitoring. However, designers of such systems face a number of challenging tasks, as they need to address often quite conflicting requirements for size, operating time, precision, and reliability.

In this paper we present hardware and software architecture of a working wireless sensor network system for ambulatory health status monitoring. The system consists of multiple sensor nodes that monitor body motion and heart activity, a network coordinator, and a personal server running on a personal digital assistant or a personal computer.

/pdf/system-architecture-of-a-wireless-body-area-sensor-network-3nc1v0tm39.pdf

System architecture of a wireless body area sensor network for ubiquitous health monitoring

Sensor networks have the potential to greatly impact many aspects of medical care. By outfitting patients with wireless, wearable vital sign sensors, collecting detailed real-time data on physiological status can be greatly simplified. However, there is a significant gap between existing sensor network systems and the needs of medical care. In particular, medical sensor networks must support multicast routing topologies, node mobility, a wide range of data rates and high degrees of reliability, and security. This paper describes our experiences with developing a combined hardware and software platform for medical sensor networks, called CodeBlue. CodeBlue provides protocols for device discovery and publish/subscribe multihop routing, as well as a simple query interface that is tailored for medical monitoring. We have developed several medical sensors based on the popular MicaZ and Telos mote designs, including a pulse oximeter, EKG and motion-activity sensor. We also describe a new, miniaturized sensor mote designed for medical use. We present initial results for the CodeBlue prototype demonstrating the integration of our medical sensors with the publish/subscribe routing substrate. We have experimentally validated the prototype on our 30-node sensor network testbed, demonstrating its scalability and robustness as the number of simultaneous queries, data rates, and transmitting sensors are varied. We also study the effect of node mobility, fairness across multiple simultaneous paths, and patterns of packet loss, confirming the system’s ability to maintain stable routes despite variations in node location and

/pdf/sensor-networks-for-medical-care-275nw2j123.pdf

Sensor networks for medical care

Sensor devices ("motes") which integrate an embedded microprocessor, low-power radio and a limited amount of storage have the potential to significantly enhance the provision of emergency medical care. Wearable vital sign sensors can wirelessly monitor patient condition, alerting healthcare providers to changes in status while simultaneously delivering data to a backend archival system for longer-term storage. As part of the CodeBlue initiative at Harvard University, we previously developed a mote-based pulse oximetry module which gathers data from a noninvasive finger sensor and transmits it wirelessly to a base station. To expand the capabilities of the mote for healthcare applications we now introduce EKG on Mica2, the first custom-designed electrocardiograph sensor board to interface with this platform. We additionally present VitalEKG, a collection of software components which allow the capture and wireless transmission of heart activity traces. We present preliminary test results which validate our approach and suggest the feasibility of future enhancements.

/pdf/a-portable-low-power-wireless-two-lead-ekg-system-1qx5oyxkxo.pdf

T.R.F. Fulford-Jones

Papers

Sensor networks for emergency response: challenges and opportunities

A portable, low-power, wireless two-lead EKG system