From computers to ubiquitous computing by 2010: health care
Over the past decade, miniaturization and cost reduction in semiconductors have led to computers smaller in size than a pinhead with powerful processing abilities that are affordable enough to be disposable. Similar advances in wireless communication, sensor design and energy storage have meant that...
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Published in | Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences Vol. 366; no. 1881; pp. 3805 - 3811 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
The Royal Society
28.10.2008
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Over the past decade, miniaturization and cost reduction in semiconductors have led to computers smaller in size than a pinhead with powerful processing abilities that are affordable enough to be disposable. Similar advances in wireless communication, sensor design and energy storage have meant that the concept of a truly pervasive 'wireless sensor network', used to monitor environments and objects within them, has become a reality. The need for a wireless sensor network designed specifically for human body monitoring has led to the development of wireless 'body sensor network' (BSN) platforms composed of tiny integrated microsensors with on-board processing and wireless data transfer capability. The ubiquitous computing abilities of BSNs offer the prospect of continuous monitoring of human health in any environment, be it home, hospital, outdoors or the workplace. This pervasive technology comes at a time when Western world health care costs have sharply risen, reflected by increasing expenditure on health care as a proportion of gross domestic product over the last 20 years. Drivers of this rise include an ageing post 'baby boom' population, higher incidence of chronic disease and the need for earlier diagnosis. This paper outlines the role of pervasive health care technologies in providing more efficient health care. |
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Bibliography: | ark:/67375/V84-0VX24J64-X ArticleID:rsta20080126 istex:12C7FA45A77FA706BA9B588B2BF6F7F8C014F849 href:3805.pdf Discussion Meeting Issue 'From computers to ubiquitous computing, by 2020' organized by Marta Kwiatkowska, Tom Rodden and Vladimiro Sassone ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 1364-503X 1471-2962 |
DOI: | 10.1098/rsta.2008.0126 |