ABSTRACT
Contents 12.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355 12.2 Potential Wireless Devices and Technologies for Pervasive
Healthcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 12.2.1 Wireless Devices for Pervasive Healthcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 12.2.2 Wireless Networking Technologies and Services for
Pervasive Healthcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 12.3 Healthcare Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
12.3.1 Challenges in a Clinical Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 12.3.1.1 Human Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 12.3.1.2 Information Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 12.3.1.3 Service Accessibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 12.3.1.4 Continuous Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 12.3.1.5 Time Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
12.3.2 Examples of Healthcare Applications and Their Technical Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 12.3.2.1 Hospital Information System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
12.3.2.2 Patient Monitoring System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 12.3.2.3 Telemedicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360 12.3.2.4 Wireless Medicine (Wireless Meds) . . . . . . . . . . . 360 12.3.2.5 Tracking System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360 12.3.2.6 Intelligent Emergency Management
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 12.3.2.7 Advanced Physical Rehabilitation System . . . . . 361
12.3.3 Electronic Medical Devices: Examples and Classifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
12.4 Issues Involved in Using Wireless Technology in a Hospital Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 12.4.1 Electromagnetic Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
12.4.1.1 Impact of EMI on Biological Systems . . . . . . . . . 363 12.4.1.2 Electromagnetic Interference Caused to
Medical Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366 12.4.2 Electromagnetic Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
12.4.2.1 Electromagnetic Compatibility for Medical Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
12.4.2.2 Electromagnetic Compatibility for Wireless Transmitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
12.5 Cognitive Radio for Wireless Communications in a Hospital Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371 12.5.1 How Does Cognitive Radio Utilize Electromagnetic
Spectrum in an Effective Way? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 12.5.1.1 Spectrum Sensing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 12.5.1.2 Adaptive Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374 12.5.1.3 Spectrum Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374 12.5.1.4 Transmission Parameter Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
12.5.2 How Can Cognitive Radio Avoid Interference with Medical Devices? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
12.5.3 Cognitive Radio for eHealth Applications and Services in a Hospital Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
12.6 Challenges Related to Development of Cognitive Radio Technology for eHealth Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 12.6.1 Technical Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
12.6.1.1 Sensing Regularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 12.6.1.2 Sensing Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 12.6.1.3 Processing Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 12.6.1.4 Adaptive Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382 12.6.1.5 Interference Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382 12.6.1.6 Real-Time Positioning of Electronic
Medical Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
12.6.2 Technical Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 12.6.2.1 Challenges for General System Design . . . . . . . . 383 12.6.2.2 Challenges for Passive Medical Devices . . . . . . . 383 12.6.2.3 Challenges for Active Medical Devices . . . . . . . . 384
12.7 An EMI-Aware Cognitive Radio Transmission Scheme . . . . . . . . . . 384 12.8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388 Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388 List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
This chapter provides a big picture of the applications of cognitive radio technology in pervasive healthcare environments. First, a summary of the different wireless technologies and their applications in healthcare environment are discussed. Then, the key technical requirements in electronic healthcare applications are outlined, and the different types of electronic medical devices used in a healthcare environment are described. The impact of wireless transmissions on both active and passive medical devices and the corresponding electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) issues are discussed. It is shown how a cognitive radio can avoid interference with medical devices in different healthcare scenarios. Then, the requirements, constraints, and open issues in the development of cognitive radio technology for healthcare applications and services are discussed. Finally, to avoid EMI to medical devices, an EMI-aware cognitive radio transmission scheme is proposed for wireless access for eHealth applications.
