Architecture of an ultra wideband wireless body area network for medical applications

The utilization of wireless technology in traditional medical services provides patients with enhanced mobility. This has a positive effect on the recovery speed of a patient after major surgical procedures or prolonged illness. This paper presents the architecture of a healthcare wireless network that exploits the capabilities of ultra wideband technology (UWB) for medical sensing and in-body tracking and imaging. The communication requirements for an UWB wireless body area network (WBAN) are enlisted. Both on-body and in-body sensors are taken into consideration. Special attention is paid to the requirements of a capsule endoscope, which is one of the most throughput-demanding sensors in modern telemedicine.