A pervasive health monitoring service system based on ubiquitous network technology

Objectives: The phenomenon of aging society has derived problems such as shortage of medical resources and reduction of quality in healthcare services. Method: This paper presents a system infrastructure for pervasive and long-term healthcare applications, i.e. a ubiquitous network composed of wireless local area network (WLAN) and cable television (CATV) network serving as a platform for monitoring physiological signals. Users can record vital signs including heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature anytime either at home or at frequently visited public places in order to create a personal health file. Results: The whole system was formally implemented in December 2004. Analysis of 2000 questionnaires indicates that 85% of users were satisfied with the provided community-wide healthcare services. Among the services provided by our system, health consultation services offered by family doctors was rated the most important service by 17.9% of respondents, and was followed by control of one's own health condition (16.4% of respondents). Convenience of data access was rated most important by roughly 14.3% of respondents. Discussion/conclusion: We proposed and implemented a long-term healthcare system integrating WLAN and CATV networks in the form of a ubiquitous network providing a service platform for physiological monitoring. This system can classify the health levels of the resident according to the variation tendency of his or her physiological signal for important reference of health management. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.