Saving lives by integrating cognitive radios into ambulances

A brain stroke is defined as a disturbance in the blood supply of the brain. This can be due to either an obstruction in the blood vessels of the brain or a rupture in the blood vessels which causes a leakage of blood in the brain. In many cases, a stroke results in the death of the patient within 24 hours. Hence, it is crucial that the neurologist has immediately contact with the patient in the first 30 minutes after the stroke. This means that a direct broadband communication link between the ambulance and the hospital is needed in order to transmit all necessary physiological parameters, such as blood pressure and glucose level as well as video images. In this paper, we present a new architecture of a wireless communication link between the ambulance and the hospital based on the concept of cognitive radios. The sender/receiver module in the ambulance will allow measuring the wideband spectrum and search for a suitable empty frequency band to send the data.