24-12-2012, 05:42 PM
Using wireless technologies in healthcare
[attachment=45180]
Abstract:
With an increasingly mobile society and the worldwide deployment
of mobile and wireless networks, wireless infrastructure can support many
current and emerging healthcare applications. However, before wireless
infrastructure can be used in a wide scale, there are several challenges that must
be overcome. These include how to best utilise the capabilities of diverse
wireless technologies and how to effectively manage the complexity of wireless
and mobile networks in healthcare applications. In this paper, we discuss
how wireless technologies can be applied in the healthcare environment.
Additionally, some open issues and challenges are also discussed.
Introduction
The introduction of telecommunications technologies in the healthcare environment has
led to an increased accessibility to healthcare providers, more efficient tasks and
processes and higher quality of healthcare services (Kern and Jaron, 2003; Wells, 2003;
Lin, 1999; Zhang et al., 2000; Lee et al., 2000; Holle and Zahlmann, 1999). However,
many challenges, including a significant number of medical errors (To err is human:
building a safer health system, 2000; Hayward and Hofer, 2001) considerable stress on
healthcare providers and partial coverage of healthcare services in rural and underserved
areas, still exist worldwide (Singh, 2002; Parsloe, 2003). These challenges combined
with an increasing cost of healthcare services, such as the cost of healthcare services
reaching to 15% of the US Gross National Product (Kern and Jaron, 2003) and the
exponential increase in the number of seniors and retirees in developed countries (Forum,
2005) have created several major challenges for policy makers, healthcare providers,
hospitals, insurance companies and patients.
Intelligent emergency response and management system
The proposed architecture supports an intelligent emergency response and management
system using the information from mobile and wireless networks. The information
include the locations of emergencies derived from location tracking of enhanced 911
calls. Such information can be used to filter emergency calls by matching time, location
358 U. Varshney
and description of events as patterns (Figure 1). This could reduce the overload on
emergency call systems (such as the emergency 911 service in USA), where for some
systems it is routine to receive hundreds of cellphone calls for the same incident. This is
wasteful because multiple ambulances may be dispatched to handle the same emergency
and thus delay similar service if another incident takes place.
Wireless patient monitoring and requirements
Many healthcare applications require reliable monitoring of patients such as those in a
hospital or nursing home. Although it is fairly simple to monitor patients using one of
several wireless LANs (Local Area Networks) in and out of a facility (Figure 2), the
coverage of wireless networks is not comprehensive on every square metre of a facility.
This could result in time and location-dependent dead-spots with unpredictable wireless
coverage. Currently in a typical nursing home in USA, a patient is observed by a nurse or
staff one to few times an hour. However, if a patient is having a heart attack while being
in the bathroom alone, the required help may not come in time.
[attachment=45180]
Abstract:
With an increasingly mobile society and the worldwide deployment
of mobile and wireless networks, wireless infrastructure can support many
current and emerging healthcare applications. However, before wireless
infrastructure can be used in a wide scale, there are several challenges that must
be overcome. These include how to best utilise the capabilities of diverse
wireless technologies and how to effectively manage the complexity of wireless
and mobile networks in healthcare applications. In this paper, we discuss
how wireless technologies can be applied in the healthcare environment.
Additionally, some open issues and challenges are also discussed.
Introduction
The introduction of telecommunications technologies in the healthcare environment has
led to an increased accessibility to healthcare providers, more efficient tasks and
processes and higher quality of healthcare services (Kern and Jaron, 2003; Wells, 2003;
Lin, 1999; Zhang et al., 2000; Lee et al., 2000; Holle and Zahlmann, 1999). However,
many challenges, including a significant number of medical errors (To err is human:
building a safer health system, 2000; Hayward and Hofer, 2001) considerable stress on
healthcare providers and partial coverage of healthcare services in rural and underserved
areas, still exist worldwide (Singh, 2002; Parsloe, 2003). These challenges combined
with an increasing cost of healthcare services, such as the cost of healthcare services
reaching to 15% of the US Gross National Product (Kern and Jaron, 2003) and the
exponential increase in the number of seniors and retirees in developed countries (Forum,
2005) have created several major challenges for policy makers, healthcare providers,
hospitals, insurance companies and patients.
Intelligent emergency response and management system
The proposed architecture supports an intelligent emergency response and management
system using the information from mobile and wireless networks. The information
include the locations of emergencies derived from location tracking of enhanced 911
calls. Such information can be used to filter emergency calls by matching time, location
358 U. Varshney
and description of events as patterns (Figure 1). This could reduce the overload on
emergency call systems (such as the emergency 911 service in USA), where for some
systems it is routine to receive hundreds of cellphone calls for the same incident. This is
wasteful because multiple ambulances may be dispatched to handle the same emergency
and thus delay similar service if another incident takes place.
Wireless patient monitoring and requirements
Many healthcare applications require reliable monitoring of patients such as those in a
hospital or nursing home. Although it is fairly simple to monitor patients using one of
several wireless LANs (Local Area Networks) in and out of a facility (Figure 2), the
coverage of wireless networks is not comprehensive on every square metre of a facility.
This could result in time and location-dependent dead-spots with unpredictable wireless
coverage. Currently in a typical nursing home in USA, a patient is observed by a nurse or
staff one to few times an hour. However, if a patient is having a heart attack while being
in the bathroom alone, the required help may not come in time.