Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine May 2018 - 8

Evolution of ICT for the improvement of Quality of Life
body area networks (BAN), (2) the personal area networks (PAN),
and (3) the local and wide area networks (LAN and WAN, respectively).
BAN are generally made by the integration between different
kinds of sensors that are located in-, on-, or nearby the individual's
body. These networks are intended for the acquisition of the big
and heterogeneous data from the person in his/her daily environment. Therefore, mobile and heterogeneous devices need to be deployed and integrated with each other.
PAN typically includes hubs and fixed gateways for the transmission of data from one or more BANs to a central server that is
required to store data for further processing or to keep a database
of patient's health records.
Finally, LAN and WAN represent the typical wireless infrastructures which telecare systems can exploit to establish remote
communications. By construction, LAN and WAN include many
different links, devices and users; therefore, coordination and synchronization between them are required at the platform design
stage.
From a technological point of view, the homogeneous integration of the three areas (BAN, PAN, LAN) and the seamless transition between BAN and PAN remains one of the most challenging
task to cope with [9].
Indeed, many proprietary technologies as well as international
standards (ZigBee Health Profile, Bluetooth Low Energy, LowPower Wi-Fi built on the top of IEEE 802.15.6), exist to implement
such kinds of networks: however, interoperability remains a big
issue among different networks employing them. Moreover, most
international standards were not specifically built for telecare, but
they are rearrangements of other standards, originally created for
different purposes, e.g. Bluetooth among others. Interoperability
and integration between different standards could be fostered by
the establishment of standardized data formats for data exchange
among different telecare systems as well as different parts of the
LAN/WAN network. On the other side, the identification of devices within the network or new devices joining it is of fundamental relevance in order to have a scalable and flexible network.
Therefore, Independent Living Hub device specialization defined
equipment as well as physical environments, e.g., "toilet", "microwave", and so forth, through unique classification. Similarly, the
family of standards named as ISO/IEEE 11073 Personal Health
Data provided standardization of data format and device types,
regardless the underlying technology [10]. Interoperability issues
arise also from the use of different RF spectrum ranges by different communication protocols and, on the opposite, from the interference caused by competing protocols implemented on the same
frequency band. Among others, 802.15.4 and 802.11 technologies
operate on the same industrial, scientific and medical band (2.4
GHz) causing interferences between each other [9].
Moreover, while BAN and PAN are typically geographically
confined within the residential space, i.e., they are fixed in the
space, individuals wearing BAN sensors most often move away
from the PAN area (e.g., elderly spend about 25% waking hours
up to 60 km away from their home). Therefore, suitable technology for mobile telecare has to be employed and smooth transitions
between different networks have to be efficiently implemented.
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Often, Global System for Mobile Communications (Short Message Service) or GPRS/3G in combination with Global Positioning
System (GPS) are used to provide telecare services and localize
the elderly in case of emergency. Another solution could be represented by the deployment of hotspots, as much as in the cellular
networks where they are successfully used. To the same regard,
international workgroups have started to suggest solutions: among
others, the paSOS protocol aims to provide a seamless transition
between network architecture of BAN/PAN (geographically limited) and network architecture of LAN/WAN (mobile networks)
using a standardized format for data exchange between mobile devices and a remote service [11].
Finally, the next generation, fifth generation (5G) wireless
communication will be available, providing important features:
low-energy consumption, high data rates, and very low latencies,
especially. These will make it possible to implement new generation
telecare systems and to expand the market for such kinds of systems,
with consequent costs reduction and impact on a larger population.
This will further increase the individual-HRQoL and it will bring
hospitals and research centers to collect big data, easily, for a more
reliable predictive analysis on pathologies and health conditions.

SENSING
The dramatic evolution of nanoelectronics allowed the development of a brand-new generation of sensors which can be used
for pervasive monitoring of individuals with health-related needs
while living at their homes a near-independent life.
This new kind of sensors can be very tiny and unobtrusive,
such that they can be easily located either in-body or on-body.
There are two main classes of health-monitoring sensors: the
first includes wearable sensors, which can be placed over the skin
or embedded into clothes or other accessories, such as smartwatches and elastic bands. The second class is represented by implantable sensors for measuring critical vital parameters with higher
precision. Typical examples of such kind of devices are the biosensors that measure levels of metabolite in the blood of diabetic
patients, and pacemakers for cardiovascular disease patients.
Sensors can be also classified into passive and active. Specifically, passive sensors are used to measure a set of parameters, to
locally process them, e.g. apply compression, and to send them
either to a central hub or a main server for alerting caregivers and
the medical staff on any vital value beyond some safe range. At
the same time, passive sensors may regularly transmit data to a
central server to store them for further detailed processing. On
the other side, active sensors can be used to provide specific realtime actions to interrupt an emergency and give relief to patients,
while alerting the medical staff about the critical event. This kind
of automatic intervention is called as closed-loop system. The very
first example of active sensor for vital sign recordings with realtime closed-loop intervention was the pacemaker. A pacemaker is
a small device that is located either in the chest or in the abdomen
to help controlling the abnormal heart rhythm in patients suffering
from cardiovascular diseases. Since 1872, when Green showed that
an electrical impulse could trigger the heart to recover its normal
heartbeat rate, when abnormally stopped [12], the development of

IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE

MAY - JUNE 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine May 2018