Wireless body area networks towards empowering real-time healthcare monitoring: a survey

Abstract

The speedy raising insalubrious environment, where peoples have less focus towards own health and physical fitness has impel the need of caregivers and doctors. In addition, increase in elderly population and numerous chronic diseases fortify the need of real-time healthcare system to monitor numerous physiological sign at their doorstep. The advances in sensing, computing and communication technologies coupled with level of comfort, cost reduction, and continuously health monitoring have led to the development of wireless body area networks (WBANs). Development of WBANs impels to make use of wearable and implanted sensor devices for various physiological sign monitoring. Furthermore, it provides long term, real-time healthcare monitoring to individual personal without restricting their daily life activities. In this paper, we proposed a general real-time healthcare monitoring system architecture. We also summarised the need, challenges and radio technologies of WBANs, since it is the key factor to achieve low power and low latency.