Hassle-Free Vitals: BioWireleSS for a Patient-Centric Health-Care Paradigm

Abstract

Continuous monitoring of vital information via a wireless medium has become an integral part of next-generation health-care technologies. The benefits of a wireless monitoring technique include facilitating in-home care services, reduction of the cost of frequent visits to hospitals, and lightening of the burden to the elderly persons. The development of miniature, lightweight, and energy-efficient circuit solutions for biomedical sensor applications has been made possible by the tremendous recent advancements in health-care monitoring technologies, micro- and nanofabrication processes, and wireless communications. Exuberant growth of the wireless sensor networks has opened up a new and innovative application of wireless technology in health care. The advancement of wireless technology has led to the development of the recently proposed comprehensive patient monitoring systems such as wireless body area network (WBAN) and body sensor network (BSN). Implantable and wearable sensors are integral components of these networks and are employed for monitoring various levels of physiological activities. Wireless sensor technology provides an effective tool for instant access to patient data, laboratory test results, and clinical histories as well as insurance information, thereby ensuring immediate health care in case of emergency, eliminating the lengthy clinical decision. This biomedical wireless technology has resulted in a new health-care concept known as telemedicine, which facilitates the monitoring of in-home patient care by incorporating smart medical devices and WBANs. In this scheme, implantable and wearable sensors are placed within the vicinity of the patient's body and various physiological parameters are monitored and transmitted wirelessly to a nearby hub station and subsequently to the remote health-care provider via a secure wireless communication network. The telemedicine platform can also be configured for identification of the object location, medicine reminder, or emergency alert in case of any sign of fatal disease. As a result of the recent developments in biomedical wireless technologies, the traditional clinic-centric health care is giving way to a patient-care centric health-care concept. This translational health-care concept facilitates the multidirectional integration of basic research, patient-oriented research, and population-based research, with the long-term aim of improving the health of the public. However, the successful integration of this new health-care paradigm hinges on the proper interpretation, storage, and dissemination of the large data sets generated by the all implantable and wearable devices within the wireless network.