Algorithm for wireless sensor networks in ginseng field in precision agriculture.

In the research on energy-efficient networking methods for precision agriculture, a hot topic is the energy issue of sensing nodes for individual wireless sensor networks. The sensing nodes of the wireless sensor network should be enabled to provide better services with limited energy to support wide-range and multi-scenario acquisition and transmission of three-dimensional crop information. Further, the life cycle of the sensing nodes should be maximized under limited energy. The transmission direction and node power consumption are considered, and the forward and high-energy nodes are selected as the preferred cluster heads or data-forwarding nodes. Taking the cropland cultivation of ginseng as the background, we put forward a particle swarm optimization-based networking algorithm for wireless sensor networks with excellent performance. This algorithm can be used for precision agriculture and achieve optimal equipment configuration in a network under limited energy, while ensuring reliable communication in the network. The node scale is configured as 50 to 300 nodes in the range of 500 × 500 m2, and simulated testing is conducted with the LEACH, BCDCP, and ECHERP routing protocols. Compared with the existing LEACH, BCDCP, and ECHERP routing protocols, the proposed networking method can achieve the network lifetime prolongation and mitigate the decreased degree and decreasing trend of the distance between the sensing nodes and center nodes of the sensor network, which results in a longer network life cycle and stronger environment suitability. It is an effective method that improves the sensing node lifetime for a wireless sensor network applied to cropland cultivation of ginseng.

Implementation and Analysis of ISM 2.4 GHz Wireless Sensor Network Systems in Judo Training Venues.

In this work, the performance of ISM 2.4 GHz Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) deployed in judo training venues is analyzed. Judo is a very popular martial art, which is practiced by thousands of people not only at the competition level, but also as part of physical education programs at different school levels. There is a great variety of judo training venues, and each one has specific morphological aspects, making them unique scenarios in terms of radio propagation due to the presence of furniture, columns, equipment and the presence of human beings, which is a major issue as the person density within this kind of scenarios could be high. Another key aspect is the electromagnetic interference created by other wireless systems, such as WiFi or other WSNs, which make the radio planning a complex task in terms of coexistence. In order to analyze the impact of these features on the radio propagation and the performance of WSNs, an in-house developed 3D ray launching algorithm has been used. The obtained simulation results have been validated with a measurement campaign carried out in the sport facilities of the Public University of Navarre. The analysis is completed with the inclusion of an application designed to monitor biological constants of judokas, aimed to improve their training procedures. The application, that allows the simultaneous monitoring of multiple judokas (collective workouts) minimizing the efforts of the coach and medical supervisor, is based on commercial off-the-shelf products. The presented assessment of the presence of interfering wireless systems and the presence of human beings within judo training venues shows that an in-depth radio planning is required as these issues can have a great impact in the overall performance of a ISM 2.4 GHz WSN, affecting negatively the potential applications supported by wireless channel.

The Principle of the Micro-Electronic Neural Bridge and a Prototype System Design.

The micro-electronic neural bridge (MENB) aims to rebuild lost motor function of paralyzed humans by routing movement-related signals from the brain, around the damage part in the spinal cord, to the external effectors. This study focused on the prototype system design of the MENB, including the principle of the MENB, the neural signal detecting circuit and the functional electrical stimulation (FES) circuit design, and the spike detecting and sorting algorithm. In this study, we developed a novel improved amplitude threshold spike detecting method based on variable forward difference threshold for both training and bridging phase. The discrete wavelet transform (DWT), a new level feature coefficient selection method based on Lilliefors test, and the k-means clustering method based on Mahalanobis distance were used for spike sorting. A real-time online spike detecting and sorting algorithm based on DWT and Euclidean distance was also implemented for the bridging phase. Tested by the data sets available at Caltech, in the training phase, the average sensitivity, specificity, and clustering accuracies are 99.43%, 97.83%, and 95.45%, respectively. Validated by the three-fold cross-validation method, the average sensitivity, specificity, and classification accuracy are 99.43%, 97.70%, and 96.46%, respectively.

A novel method to assess human population exposure induced by a wireless cellular network.

This paper presents a new metric to evaluate electromagnetic exposure induced by wireless cellular networks. This metric takes into account the exposure induced by base station antennas as well as exposure induced by wireless devices to evaluate average global exposure of the population in a specific geographical area. The paper first explains the concept and gives the formulation of the Exposure Index (EI). Then, the EI computation is illustrated through simple phone call scenarios (indoor office, in train) and a complete macro urban data long-term evolution scenario showing how, based on simulations, radio-planning predictions, realistic population statistics, user traffic data, and specific absorption rate calculations can be combined to assess the index. Bioelectromagnetics. 36:451-463, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A holistic approach to ZigBee performance enhancement for home automation networks.

Wireless home automation networks are gaining importance for smart homes. In this ambit, ZigBee networks play an important role. The ZigBee specification defines a default set of protocol stack parameters and mechanisms that is further refined by the ZigBee Home Automation application profile. In a holistic approach, we analyze how the network performance is affected with the tuning of parameters and mechanisms across multiple layers of the ZigBee protocol stack and investigate possible performance gains by implementing and testing alternative settings. The evaluations are carried out in a testbed of 57 TelosB motes. The results show that considerable performance improvements can be achieved by using alternative protocol stack configurations. From these results, we derive two improved protocol stack configurations for ZigBee wireless home automation networks that are validated in various network scenarios. In our experiments, these improved configurations yield a relative packet delivery ratio increase of up to 33.6%, a delay decrease of up to 66.6% and an improvement of the energy efficiency for battery powered devices of up to 48.7%, obtainable without incurring any overhead to the network.

Wireless distributed architecture for therapeutic functional electrical stimulation: a technology to design network-based muscle control.

This paper presents a distributed Functional Electrical Stimulation architecture based on a wireless network, for therapeutic training of disabled patients. On this distributed architecture, a global controller can pilot a set of stimulation and acquisition units and modify dynamically stimulation and acquisition parameters. This solution intend to be a tool for researchers and therapist to develop closed-loop control algorithms and strategies for therapeutic rehabilitation applications with external FES, in a clinical context. In a wireless networkbased control, the variable delay introduced by the network must be taken into account to ensure the stability of the closed loop. Thus, in order to characterize the medium on which the control is performed, we carried out accurate measurements of the architecture performances (stack-crossing, round-trip time, etc.).

Bidirectional telemetry controller for neuroprosthetic devices.

We present versatile multifunctional programmable controller with bidirectional data telemetry, implemented using existing commercial microchips and standard Bluetooth protocol, which adds convenience, reliability, and ease-of-use to neuroprosthetic devices. Controller, weighing 190 g, is placed on animal's back and provides bidirectional sustained telemetry rate of 500 kb/s , allowing real-time control of stimulation parameters and viewing of acquired data. In continuously-active state, controller consumes approximately 420 mW and operates without recharge for 8 h . It features independent 16-channel current-controlled stimulation, allowing current steering; customizable stimulus current waveforms; recording of stimulus voltage waveforms and evoked neuronal responses with stimulus artifact blanking circuitry. Flexibility, scalability, cost-efficiency, and a user-friendly computer interface of this device allow use in animal testing for variety of neuroprosthetic applications. Initial testing of the controller has been done in a feline model of brainstem auditory prosthesis. In this model, the electrical stimulation is applied to the array of microelectrodes implanted in the ventral cochlear nucleus, while the evoked neuronal activity was recorded with the electrode implanted in the contralateral inferior colliculus. Stimulus voltage waveforms to monitor the access impedance of the electrodes were acquired at the rate of 312 kilosamples/s. Evoked neuronal activity in the inferior colliculus was recorded after the blanking (transient silencing) of the recording amplifier during the stimulus pulse, allowing the detection of neuronal responses within 100 mus after the end of the stimulus pulse applied in the cochlear nucleus.

Personal health--the future care paradigm.

Demographic, economic and social conditions developed countries are faced with require a paradigm change for delivering high quality and efficient health services. In that context healthcare systems have to turn towards individualized of patient's care, also called personal care. Interoperability requirements for ubiquitous personalized health services reach beyond current concepts of health information integration among professional stakeholders and related Electronic Patient Records ("e-Health"): Future personal health platforms have particularly to maintain semantic interoperability among systems using different modalities and technologies, different knowledge representation and domain experts' languages as well as different coding schemes and terminologies to include home, personal and mobile systems. The paper introduces the evolving paradigm related to personal health information systems.

IT-based diagnostic instrumentation systems for personalized healthcare services.

This paper describes recent research and development activities on the diagnostic instruments for personalized healthcare services in Seoul National University. Utilizing the state-of-the-art information technologies (IT), various diagnostic medical instruments have been integrated into a personal wearable device and a home telehealthcare system. We developed a wrist-worn integrated health monitoring device (WIHMD) which performs the measurements of non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP), pulse oximetry (SpO2), electrocardiogram (ECG), respiration rate, heart rate, and body surface temperature and the detection of falls to determine the onset of emergency situation. The WIHMD also analyzes the acquired bio-signals and transmits the resultant data to a healthcare service center through a commercial cellular phone. Two different kinds of IT-based blood glucometer have been developed using a cellular phone and PDA(personal digital assistant) as a main unit. A blood glucometer was also integrated within a wrist pressure measurement module which is interfaced with a cellular phone via Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) standard in order to provide users with easiness in measuring and handling two important health parameters. Non-intrusive bio-signal measurement systems were developed for the ease of home use. One can measure his ECG on a bed while he is sleeping; measure his ECG, body temperature, bodyfat ratio and weight on a toilet seat; measure his ECG on a chair; and estimate the degree of activity by motion analysis using a camera. Another integrated diagnostic system for home telehealthcare services has been developed to include a 12 channels ECG, a pressure meter for NIBP, a blood glucometer, a bodyfat meter and a spirometer. It is an expert system to analyze the measured health data and based on the diagnostic result, the system provides an appropriate medical consultation. The measured data can be either stored on the system or transmitted to the central server through the internet. We have installed the developed systems on a model house for the performance evaluation and confirmed the possibility of the system as an effective tool for the personalized healthcare services.

Toward technical interoperability in telemedicine.

For telemedicine to realize the vision of anywhere, anytime access to care, the question of how to create a fully interoperable technical infrastructure must be addressed. After briefly discussing how "technical interoperability" compares with other types of interoperability being addressed in the telemedicine community today, this paper describes reasons for pursuing technical interoperability, presents a proposed framework for realizing technical interoperability, identifies key issues that will need to be addressed if technical interoperability is to be achieved, and suggests a course of action that the telemedicine community might follow to accomplish this goal.

Los sistemas de información en el INSALUD / Information systems in the Spanish public health system

Las organizaciones sanitarias se basan en la gestión del conocimiento, por lo que la información constituye un valor clave, tanto por la cantidad que genera el acceso a otras fuentes de conocimiento como por su necesidad para la toma de decisiones. Esto lleva a diseñar una serie de sistemas de información interrelacionados, apoyados en el desarrollo de tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación, y adecuados para atender las necesidades de los distintos componentes de la organización, tanto de los profesionales sanitarios como de los distintos niveles de dirección y gestión o de la población atendida. Este desarrollo, en el Insalud, se basa en la puesta en marcha de una serie de proyectos que abarcan la identificación de la población atendida (a través de la tarjeta sanitaria individual), herramientas precisas para la asistencia sanitaria y su gestión (renovación tecnológica de hospitales, informatización de centros de salud), gestión de prestaciones, presupuestos, etc., así como la habilitación de las infraestructuras necesarias como la red corporativa de comunicaciones, telemedicina, acceso a Internet y otros servicios como correo electrónico. Todos estos proyectos, funcionantes y consolidados, están diseñados para dar respuesta a las necesidades actuales y, a la vez con una visión de futuro, ya que permiten su evolución y redimensionamiento según las nuevas necesidades (AU)

A wearable networked embedded system for the treatment of scoliosis.

In order to study a physiotherapeutic approach to idiopathic scoliosis treatment a posture monitoring system is being built. The system is a small, lightweight, fully portable system capable of monitoring and providing feedback to a patient regarding their posture. Using the combination of accelerometer and electromagnetic technology, distance and angle measurements can be obtained for receivers placed strategically on the patient's back. This data is recorded for further analysis of the patient's progress and to provide immediate feedback to the patient on the status of their posture. Preliminary testing has shown that angular changes of one degree can be detected by the system and that the speed of the electromagnetic field detection has been increased ten times greater than the previous architecture.

Universal broadband communications creates new options for healthcare networks.

Summary of broad band communications technologies. Definition and explanation of common technologies. Description of how technologies can be applied in multiple different healthcare environments. Analysis of current capabilities, near term improvements and long term trends. Economic analysis of technology choices and their impact on healthcare cost structures.

Network computing.

Pioneering health care organizations are saving money and gaining greater control of their networks by trading their PCs in for thin clients. But the devices are far from pervasive in health care.

[Virtual endoscopy with a volumetric reconstruction technic: the technical aspects]. / Endoscopia virtuale con tecnica di ricostruzione volumetrica: aspetti tecnici.

OBJECTIVE: We analyze the peculiar technical features of virtual endoscopy obtained with volume rendering. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our preliminary experience is based on virtual endoscopy images from volumetric data acquired with spiral CT (Siemens, Somatom Plus 4) using acquisition protocols standardized for different anatomic areas. Images are reformatted at the CT console, to obtain 1 mm thick contiguous slices, and transferred in DICOM format to an O2 workstation (Silicon Graphics, Mountain View CA, USA) with processor speed of 180 Mhz, 256 Mbyte RAM memory and 4.1 Gbyte hard disk. The software is Vitrea 1.0 (Vital Images, Fairfield, Iowa), running on a Unix platform. Image output is obtained through the Ethernet network to a Macintosh computer and a thermic printer (Kodak 8600 XLS). RESULTS: Diagnostic quality images were obtained in all the cases. Fly-through in the airways allowed correct evaluation of the main bronchi and of the origin of segmentary bronchi. In the vascular district, both carotid strictures and abdominal aortic aneurysms were depicted, with the same accuracy as with conventional reconstruction techniques. In the colon studies, polypoid lesions were correctly depicted in all the cases, with good correlation with endoscopic and double-contrast barium enema findings. In a case of lipoma of the ascending colon, virtual endoscopy allowed to study the colon both cranially and caudally to the lesion. The simultaneous evaluation of axial CT images permitted to characterize the lesion correctly on the basis of its density values. DISCUSSION: The peculiar feature of volume rendering is the use of the whole information inside the imaging volume to reconstruct three-dimensional images; no threshold values are used and no data are lost as opposite to conventional image reconstruction techniques. The different anatomic structures are visualized modifying the reciprocal opacities, showing the structures of no interest as translucent. The modulation of different opacities is obtained modifying the shape of the opacity curve, either using pre-set curves or in a completely independent way. Other technical features of volume rendering are the perspective evaluation of the objects, color and lighting. In conclusion, volume rendering is a promising technique to elaborate three-dimensional images, offering very realistic endoscopic views. At present, the main limitation is represented by the need of powerful and high-cost workstations.