Wireless communications technology in telehealth systems

Telehealth is an inter-disciplinary area and is basically the delivery of health and medical information and services over large and small distances using electronic information and communication technologies. Broadband wireless services available today, along with more powerful and convenient hand-held devices, will enable a transformational change in health management and healthcare with the introduction of real-time monitoring and timely responses to a wide array of patient needs. Further, a network of low-cost sensors and wireless systems help in creating constantly vigilant and pervasive monitoring capability at home and at work. This paper addresses recent efforts efforts in this growing field, including standards, system architectures, and lower layer protocols for body area networks. The paper also suggests the use of cooperative transmission-based strategies for such wireless topologies.