Mobile Monitoring of Healthcare Information through Visible Light Communication

Abstract

Promising development in the light emitting diode (LED) technology has spurred the interest to adapt LED for both illumination and data transmission. This has fostered a dramatic growth of interest in visible light communication (VLC), with on-going research to utilize VLC in application such as global location services, three-dimensional position-measuring systems, and smart traffic systems. The fact that VLC held several advantages over the generic radio frequency (RF) technology provide a clean and pollution-free transmission medium, especially in the healthcare industry. In this study, biomedical signals and patient information are simultaneously transmitted using color LEDs, by implementing wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM). Similarly, simultaneous data transmission can be executed by inserting all the required data in a single data packet, transmitting one data packet at a time. A detailed comparison is then compiled, citing the advantages and disadvantages of both techniques. It is also crucial to take into consideration the distance between the transceiver, especially in an indoor environment where the distance between the ceiling and the receiver is a prime concern. Methods including the usage of high-power LED and lenses are applied and the outcome is measured in various parameters. A comprehensive monitoring application is designed and developed through the use of Android device in our study. The use of portable device for healthcare monitoring through VLC opens up a new frontier of research in ubiquitous healthcare. A physician can easily monitor the biomedical signals and information of the patient through the portable device. The versatility of the Android operating system provides a platform where evaluation can be easily implemented. Furthermore, an alert system through messaging can be included by incorporating Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), which is a part of the Android ecosystem.