Call for papers: Ubiquitous Deployments of Body Sensor Networks

A special issue of International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems

The rapid growth in medical sensing technologies with low power requirements and wireless data transmission has led to ubiquitous deployments of body sensor networks (BSNs), i.e. networks of sensors worn on or implanted in a person, sensing vital readings and transmitting these (wirelessly) to a base station. Applications are often in the healthcare domain, for keeping an eye on one’s health status or for monitoring chronic conditions (diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular issues). This data can then be forwarded to clinicians, carers or hospitals in real time (especially important for alerts).

In the past, existing wireless sensor networks (WSN) have been modified as BSNs for usage in biomedical applications. However, traditional WSNs suffer from various limitations when they are deployed in such applications, including restricted bandwidth capabilities and limits in terms of computational power (especially considering the amount of data that is being read, processed and streamed or transmitted). Therefore, modified WSN frameworks alone are often deemed to be infeasible for BSN applications, and substantial research is required to overcome these and other limitations by taking into account the requirements for biomedical sensing applications. As these BSNs become ubiquitous - monitoring not just chronic conditions but a person’s everyday health - new challenges in terms of secure communications, interoperability and device size become evident.

This special issue will publish high-quality papers that describe how various issues in the deployment of ubiquitous body sensor networks have been addressed by researchers and practitioners in this domain. Distinguished papers accepted and presented at UBSN 2010, after further revisions, will also be included in the issue.

Some of the topics that may be described include but are not limited to:

Interoperability

• BSN systems must ensure seamless data transfer across standards such as Bluetooth or ZigBee to encourage information exchange, plug-and-play device interaction, etc. The definition of standards for data exchange may be required.

Scalability

• Systems should be scalable, ensuring efficient migration for a patient or person across networks and offering uninterrupted connectivity for those both wearing and monitoring UBSNs.

Privacy

• Transmission of data within UBSNs and between UBSNs and other networks must be both secure and precise, e.g. to avoid a patient’s data being corrupted or accidentally including another patient’s readings.

Security

• Some consider BSN technologies as a potential threat to their privacy (or even safety), if applications could be tampered with beyond their intended exclusive medical usage. Social acceptance is key to UBSNs finding wider application, but extensive testing and reviews can aid with such reassurances.

Devices

• The sensors used in UBSNs should be light, low in complexity, have reduced form factors, and be easily reconfigurable.

Storage

• Storage devices are needed to facilitate remote storage and viewing of patient data via the Internet, as well as allowing access to background processing algorithms and analysis tools.

Important Dates
Manuscript submission deadline: 20 November, 2009
Notification of acceptance: 20 January, 2010
Submission of final revised paper: 20 March 2010