Information Processing and Optimization for Smart Health Monitoring Systems

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The need to manage physiological data is prevalent in many engineering systems, especially those in healthcare. There have also been recent advances in intertwined research areas, leading to the emergence of a technological platform with far-reaching implications: the body-area network (BAN), which represents the convergence of many fields, including instrumentation, computer science, and communications. However, since inception, a major challenge of the platform has been the resource constraints, e.g., energy, bandwidth and computational complexity. The human factor associated with BANs also carries unique implications with respect to security and privacy, since personalized medical data are often involved. In addition, to target the limited energy resource, renewable strategies such as energy harvesting and storage have been explored. While rechargeable devices allow for the potential of improved resource efficiency, this possibility is only fully realized if the underlying information processing algorithms are optimized accordingly.** In response to these challenges, we propose novel information processing strategies conducive to a "smart" health monitoring system (SHMS) embodying these design principles: (i) resource efficiency, to alleviate limited resources; (ii) variable quality of service provision, to cope with varying application scenarios; (iii) recharging regime, to exploit the renewable energy potential; (iv) security and privacy, to prevent unauthorized access. Due to its adaptivity, the SHMS platform is also applicable to other contexts besides healthcare, including workplace safety, multimedia education and entertainment, as well as law enforcement and military operations. In this research program, the focus will be first on healthcare, with other contexts considered as future extensions. This is a logical and practical selection, since telemedicine and healthcare facilities offer high-impact application scenarios for SHMS. Indeed, providing an efficient healthcare environment, which directly affects human quality of life, has always been a challenging but worthy pursuit. The successful application of SHMS for healthcare would represent not only technical advances but also social progress.**