An optimized handover scheme with movement trend awareness for body sensor networks

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Wireless Networking
• Mobile Health

Background:

• Maintaining continuous network connectivity is crucial for Body Sensor Networks (BSNs).
• Seamless handover between network coverage zones is essential for uninterrupted BSN operation.
• Existing handover schemes may lead to unnecessary handovers or connection outages.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an optimized handover scheme for BSNs incorporating movement trend awareness.
• To enhance network connectivity and reliability for mobile BSN users.
• To minimize outage probability while maintaining an acceptable handover rate.

Main Methods:

• Developing a handover scheme that predicts future user positions based on historical movement data.
• Optimizing handover initiation time by balancing unnecessary handover rates and outage probability.
• Simulating the proposed scheme in a hospital environment within the UK.

Main Results:

• The optimized handover scheme demonstrated a 22% reduction in outage probability compared to traditional hysteresis-based methods.
• The scheme effectively managed handover rates within acceptable limits.
• Successful prediction of BSN user movement trends was achieved.

Conclusions:

• The proposed movement-trend-aware handover scheme significantly improves BSN reliability in mobile scenarios.
• This approach offers a more efficient and robust solution for wireless network transitions in healthcare settings.
• Optimized handover strategies are vital for the future of connected health monitoring.