Continuous monitoring of vital constants for mobile users: the MobiHealth approach

MobiHealth aims at introducing new mobile value-added services in the area of mobile healthcare, based on 2.5 (GPRS) and 3G (UMTS) technologies. This is achieved by the integration of sensors and actuators to a Wireless Body Area Network (BAN). These sensors and actuators continuously measure and transmit vital constants along with voice and images/video to health service providers and brokers, improving on one side the life of patients and allowing on the other side the introduction of new value-added services in the areas of disease prevention and diagnostic, remote assistance, para-health services, physical state monitoring (sports) and even clinical research. Furthermore, the MobiHealth BAN system supports the fast and reliable application of remote assistance in case of accidents by allowing the paramedics to send reliable vital constants data as well as audio and video directly from the accident site. Trials are underway focusing on home care, trauma care and ambulatory monitoring.