30-10-2011, 05:41 AM
Those who need to know Body area networks (BAN) from basic to professional level can go through the documents.
30-10-2011, 05:41 AM
Those who need to know Body area networks (BAN) from basic to professional level can go through the documents.
03-07-2012, 11:53 AM
Body Area Networks: Abstract Advances in wireless communication technologies, such as wearable and implantable biosensors, along with recent developments in the embedded computing area are enabling the design, development, and implementation of body area networks. This class of networks is paving the way for the deployment of innovative healthcare monitoring applications. Introduction Recently, there has been increasing interest from researchers, system designers, and application developers on a new type of network architecture generally known as body sensor networks (BSNs) or body area networks (BANs),1 made feasible by novel advances on lightweight, small-size, ultra-low-power, and intelligent monitoring wearable sensors [6]. In BANs, sensors continuously monitor human’s physiological activities and actions, such as health status and motion pattern. BAN communication architecture Compared with existing technologies such as WLANs, BANs enable wireless communications in or around a human body by means sophisticated pervasive wireless computing devices. Figure 1 illustrates a general architecture of a BAN-based health monitoring system. ECG, (electroencephalography) EEG, (electromyography) EMG, motion sensors, and blood pressure sensors send data to nearby personal server (PS) devices. Then, through a Bluetooth/WLAN connection, these data are streamed remotely to a medical doctor’s site for real time diagnosis, to a medical database for record keeping, or to the corresponding equipment that issues an emergency alert. In this article, we separate the BAN communications architecture into three components. Intra-BAN communications We introduce the term “intra-BAN communications” in reference to radio communications of about 2 meters around the human body, which can be further sub-categorized as: (1) communications between body sensors, and (2) communications between body sensors and the portable PS, as shown in shown in Fig. 1. Due to the direct relationship with body sensors and BANs, the design of intra-BAN communications is critical. Furthermore, the intrinsically battery-operated and low bit-rate features of existing body sensor devices make it a challenging issue to design an energy-efficient MAC protocol with QoS provisioning. Inter-BAN communications Unlike WSNs that normally operate as autonomous systems, a BAN seldom works alone. In this section, we define “inter-BAN communications” as the communications between the PS and one or more access points (APs). The APs can be deployed as part of the infrastructure, or be strategically placed in a dynamic environment for handling emergency situations. Similarly, the functionality of a tier-2-network (as shown in Fig. 1) is used to interconnect BANs with various networks that are easy to access in daily life, such as the Internet and cellular networks. Hardware and devices A body sensor node mainly consists of two parts: the physiological signal sensor(s) and the radio platform, to which multiple body sensors can be connected. The general functionality of body sensors is to collect analog signals that correspond to human’s physiological activities or body actions. Such an analog signal can be acquired by the corresponding radio-equipped board in a wired fashion, where the analog signal is digitized. Finally, the digital signal is forwarded by the radio transceiver. In this section, we first introduce some typical body sensors, followed by a survey of currently available radio platforms.
05-07-2012, 02:04 PM
Body Area Networks (BANs)
banaaaa.docx (Size: 437.68 KB / Downloads: 34) Abstract The increasing use of wireless networks and the constant miniaturization of electrical devices haveempowered 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. The paper offers a survey of the concept of Wireless Body Area Networks. First, we focus on some applications with special interest in patient monitoring. Introduction The field of computer science is constantly evolving to process larger data sets and maintain higher levels of connectivity. At same time, advances in miniaturization allow for increased mobility and accessibility. Recently, there has been increasing interest from researchers,system designers, and application developers on a new type of network architecture generallyknown asbody sensor networks (BSNs) or body area networks (BANs), made feasible by novel advances on lightweight, small-size, ultra-low-power, and intelligent monitoring wearable sensors. BAN Communication Architecture Compared with existing technologies such as WLANs, BANs enable wireless communications in or around a human body by means sophisticated pervasive wireless computing devices. Figure 1 illustrates a general architecture of a BAN-based health monitoring system. ECG, EEG, EMG, motion sensors, and blood pressure sensors send data to nearby personal server (PS) devices. Then, through a Bluetooth/WLAN connection, these data are streamed remotely to a medical doctor’s site for real time diagnosis, to a medical database for record keeping, or to the corresponding equipment that issues an emergency alert. Hardware and devices A body sensor node mainly consists of two parts: the physiological signal sensor(s) and the radio platform, to which multiple body sensors can be connected. The general functionality of body sensors is to collect analog signals that correspond to human’s physiological activities or body actions. Such an analog signal can be acquired by the corresponding radio-equipped board in a wired fashion, where the analog signal is digitized. Finally, the digital signal is forwarded by the radio transceiver. In this section, we introduce sometypical body sensors. Conclusion BAN is a promising technology which can revolutionizenext generation healthcare and entertainment applications.BAN brings out a new set of challenges in terms of scalability, energy efficiency, antenna design, QoS, coexistence, interference mitigation, and security and privacy to name a few, which are highlighted in this paper. We also discuss state-of-art technologies and standards which are relevant to BANs, as well as their merits and demerits. Developing a unifying BAN standard which addresses the core set of technical requirements is the quintessential step for unleashing the full potential of BANs, and is currently under discussion in the IEEE 802.15.6 Task Group. In the end several non-technical factors would also play crucial roles in the success of the BAN technology in mass marketing, such as affordability, legal, regulatory and ethical issues, and user friendliness, comfort and acceptance. |
|