Body Sensor Networking, Design and Algorithms

8Popular Health Monitoring Systems

8.1 Introduction

Numerous healthcare technologies have been developed to assist clinicians in health monitoring, improve patient care with timely and effective interventions, and transform traditional systems. These technologies are intended to be used in both clinical settings, such as inside hospital environments, and at home. In addition, many portable and wearable devices are used for health monitoring by patients suffering from breathing (e.g. asthma), heart rate (HR) variability (e.g. stroke), paralysis (e.g. amputees), and diabetes; as well as athletes; drivers; pilots; and others to prevent them from danger or help them remain fit, alert, and healthy. Recent body sensor platforms are often equipped with wireless communication technologies which can be exploited for real-time and continuous monitoring of patients. In this chapter, first, a brief overview of the technology for data acquisition is provided. Then, popular physiological health monitoring systems (HMSs) are described in various contexts such as detecting patient deterioration, ambient assisted living (AAL), movement tracking, and fall detection/prevention, monitoring patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as monitoring patients with dementia and those suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD).

8.2 Technology for Data Acquisition

Body area network (BAN) is a term used to refer to a short-range wireless network which consists of sensors or devices ...