Medical Applications of Wireless Sensor Networks: Who-Did-What - Application and Multidisciplinary Aspects of Wireless Sensor Networks - page 168

sectors. Here, we will mention couple of projects with different interests, and give
a corresponding comparison. The comparison will be done in terms of general
description, hardware, software, and expected contribution. This overview aims to
discover the progress which has been made in the area of EXMAs, for the past few
years. The purpose of this preview is to provide persons willing to develop some-
thing similar, with sound fundamental knowledge.

8.4.3.1 UbiMon

UbiMon (ubiquitous monitoring environment for wearable and implantable sensors)
is the architecture for distributed mobile monitoring, developed at Imperial College
London. The aim of this system is to provide continuous management of patients
under their natural physiological states so that transient but life-threatening abnor-
malities can be detected and predicted [ 2 ]. The use of wearable and implantable sen-
sors is the area of research with a promising future, and the UbiMon system presents
the framework for integration of these sensors into the body sensor network (BSN).

Hardware

The UbiMon hardware includes several components:

• BSN nodes

• Local processing unit (LPU)

• Central server (CS), and

• Workstation (WS)

BSN nodes provide patients' monitoring. In essence, these are miniaturized wireless
intelligent modules based on MICA2 dot platform. Each node is integrated with a
wearable or implantable sensor (ECG, SpO2, temperature) in order to track vital
parameters of patients. Besides these, the BSN node also includes sensors for rec-
ognizing patients' activities and mobility patterns (accelerometer).
LPU, which can also be referenced as the base station, is a portable device (PDA
or mobile phone). The device serves for sensor data gathering and processing. Data
processing includes detection of abnormalities and providing the immediate warn-
ings to patients. In addition, LPU also acts as a router between the BSN nodes and
the central server via short-range wireless communication standards such as WIFI/
Bluetooth or long-range mobile networks such as 3G/GPRS.
Central server receives real-time multisensory monitoring information from
local processing unit, stores the data to the patient database, and performs long-
term trend analysis. After the exhausting data analysis some physiological patterns
can be extracted in order to enable the prediction of the patient's condition and
prevention of potential life-threatening abnormalities.
Workstation is a portable device and serves as the monitoring terminal. It allows
clinicians to analyze the patient data. Clinicians may see patients' entire clinical
history over the terminal and perform real-time diagnoses.