ZigBee Sensor Network propagation analysis for health-care application

Abstract

The goal of the work is to investigate the Radio Frequency (RF) propagation of ZigBee devices operating within a hospital environment to analyze their real indoor behaviour to design healthcare systems. Different Received Signal Strength Inidcation (RSSI) measurement campaigns have been carried out to characterize the main propagation features. On the basis of the experimental results it has been possible to analyze the different factors that affect the measurements, such as external factors (e.g. multipath, fading) or internal ones (e.g. hardware device, integrated antennas). Furthermore to deeply define the ZigBee behavior we have compared the measurements with a suitable propagation model. This preliminary study permitted us to include the main measurements outcomes in a planning simulator which emulates the radio propagation in hospital environments. Specifically the planning model proposed is useful to design a “Smart Hospital” and thus to define main performance requirements for a ZigBee Sensor Network deployed in real hospital environment.