Interoperable and diligent body area networks over IEEE802.15.6 for real-time monitoring

Currently, there are no standardization efforts to define interfaces and verify interoperability among implementations for body area networks (BANs) on IEEE802.15.6. A BAN consists of small and lightweight sensors, such as the ring-type SpO2 sensor, and a coordinator that collects vital data from the sensors and transfers them to a backend system for real-time monitoring and analysis. It is important for sensors to be easy-to-use, light for wearing and that they are long-lived using a small rechargeable battery. IEEE802.15.6 provides basic features for these sensors. We establish an industry-driven standardization association for healthcare/medical services on IEEE802.15.6. Industry standardization targets current and emerging small sensors, not those for fixed medical devices in hospitals, such as those in the ISO/IEEE11073 family, and deals with time-driven data. We propose a combination of various layers of power-saving functions for a sensor that satisfies the interfaces. We discuss these functions and evaluate them. As a feasibility study, we then test a false-alert system using a BAN configuration following the standard interfaces, though the standardizations and evaluations are still in progress along with the IEEE802.15.6 standardization activity.