Search

Currently, there is great interest in making neuroimaging widely accessible and thus expanding the sampling population for better understanding and preventing diseases. The use of wearable health devices has skyrocketed in recent years, allowing continuous assessment of physiological parameters in patients and research cohorts. While most health wearables monitor the heart, lungs and skeletal muscles, devices targeting the brain are currently lacking. To promote brain health in the general population, we developed a novel, low-cost wireless cerebral oximeter called FlexNIRS. The device has 4 LEDs and 3 photodiode detectors arranged in a symmetric geometry, which allows for a self-calibrated multi-distance method to recover cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation (SO 2 ) at a rate of 100 Hz. The device is powered by a rechargeable battery and uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for wireless communication. We developed an Android application for portable data collection and real-time analysis and display. Characterization tests in phantoms and human participants show very low noise (noise-equivalent power <70 fW/√Hz) and robustness of SO 2 quantification in vivo. The estimated cost is on the order of $50/unit for 1000 units, and our goal is to share the device with the research community following an open-source model. The low cost, ease-of-use, smart-phone readiness, accurate SO 2 quantification, real time data quality feedback, and long battery life make prolonged monitoring feasible in low resource settings, including typically medically underserved communities, and enable new community and telehealth applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest DHS has a financial interest in Niji Corp, a company developing a suite of home/remote usage digital biomarker tools for the identification and assessment of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. MAF has a financial interest in 149 Medical, Inc., a company developing diffuse correlation spectroscopy technology for assessing and monitoring cerebral blood flow in newborn infants. DHS and MAF interests were reviewed and are managed by Massachusetts General Hospital and Mass General Brigham in accordance with their conflict of interest policies., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The most crucial challenge in the functioning of the wireless networks is the efficient utilization of radio resources. A significant element of resource handling is power regulation. With increasing requirement of wireless data transmission services, it is essential to devise energy harvesting techniques for mobile devices. In this research, a new methodology has been proposed for distributed power regulation in cognitive radio, networks of CR are grounded on non-cooperation game phenomenon and pricing technique. QoS (Quality of service) of the user of CR is anticipated as a beneficial activity through pricing as well as dissemination of energy generating as an unbeneficial game wherein the consumers increase their overall efficacy. The price is defined as an actual function of transmission power to upraise the pricing of the most distant consumers. The proposed mathematical model shows that the proposed game model has a Nash equilibrium and is also unique. Furthermore, in order to make the proposed algorithm valid for green communication within the wireless network, the best response technique was proposed. Finally, simulation results showed that the proposed energy harvesting technique, grounded on a unique function of the utilization, reduces the consumption of transmission power and greatly improves the convergence speed; which are suitable for the vision of the 5G networks., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist

Researchers are increasingly showing interest in the application of a Butler matrix for fifth-generation (5G) base station antennas. However, the design of the Butler matrix is challenging at millimeter wave because of the very small wavelength. The literature has reported issues of high insertion losses and incorrect output phases at the output ports of the Butler matrix, which affects the radiation characteristics. To overcome these issues, the circuit elements of the Butler matrix such as the crossover, the quadrature hybrid and the phase shifter must be designed using highly accurate dimensions. This paper presents a low-loss and compact single-layer 8 × 8 Butler matrix operating at 28 GHz. The optimum design of each circuit element is also demonstrated in detail. The designed Butler matrix was fabricated to validate the simulated results. The measured results showed return losses of less than -10 dB at 28 GHz. The proposed Butler matrix achieved a low insertion loss and a low phase error of ± 2 dB and ± 10°, respectively. In sum, this work obtained a good agreement between the simulated and measured results., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Training nonhuman primates (NHPs) to perform cognitive tasks is essential for many neuroscientific investigations, yet laboratory training is a time-consuming process with inherent limitations. Habituating NHPs to the laboratory staff and experimental equipment can take months before NHPs are ready to proceed to the primary tasks. Laboratory training also necessarily separates NHPs from their home-room social group and typically involves some form of restraint or limited mobility, and data collection is often limited to a few hours per day so that multiple NHPs can be trained on the same equipment. Consequently, it can often take a year to train NHPs on complex cognitive tasks. To overcome these issues, we developed a low-cost, open-source, wireless touchscreen training system that can be installed in the home-room environment. The automated device can run continuously all day, including over weekends, without experimenter intervention. The system utilizes real-time facial recognition to initiate subject-specific tasks and provide accurate data logging, without the need for implanted microchips or separation of the NHPs. The system allows NHPs to select their preferred reward on each trial and to work when and for as long as they desire, and it can analyze task performance in real time and adapt the task parameters in order to expedite training. We demonstrate that NHPs consistently use this system on a daily basis to quickly learn complex behavioral tasks. The system therefore addresses many of the welfare and experimental limitations of laboratory-based training of NHPs and provides a platform for wireless electrophysiological investigations in more naturalistic, freely moving environments.

Monitoring of food quality, in particular, milk quality, is critical in order to maintain food safety and human health. To guarantee quality and safety of milk products and at the same time deliver those as soon as possible, rapid analysis methods as well as sensitive, reliable, cost-effective, easy-to-use devices and systems for process control and milk spoilage detection are needed. In this paper, we review different rapid methods, sensors and commercial systems for milk spoilage and microorganism detection. The main focus lies on chemical sensors and biosensors for detection/monitoring of the well-known indicators associated with bacterial growth and milk spoilage such as changes in pH value, conductivity/impedance, adenosine triphosphate level, concentration of dissolved oxygen and produced CO 2 . These sensors offer several advantages, like high sensitivity, fast response time, minimal sample preparation, miniaturization and ability for real-time monitoring of milk spoilage. In addition, electronic-nose- and electronic-tongue systems for the detection of characteristic volatile and non-volatile compounds related to microbial growth and milk spoilage are described. Finally, wireless sensors and color indicators for intelligent packaging are discussed., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In order to develop a low-cost wearable electromyography (EMG) sensor system that can be used at home, compacting the data size is studied first to extract potential features via frequency analysis. A low-cost wearable home-use EMG sensor is then developed. Results show the frequency band at 40-60 Hz of tibialis anterior offers significant differences to identify walking problems (p-value < 0.05), which can be used as a detection standard with a smaller data size. More significantly, data sizes are dramatically reduced by 95.06% compared to the original data size. This finding suggests a potential examining method for identifying pathological gait with the compacted data in satisfactory processing time that can be used at home.

This paper reports the novel design of a touch mode capacitive pressure sensor (TMCPS) system with a wireless approach for a full-range continuous monitoring of ventricular pressure. The system consists of two modules: an implantable set and an external reading device. The implantable set, restricted to a 2 × 2 cm² area, consists of a TMCPS array connected with a dual-layer coil, for making a reliable resonant circuit for communication with the external device. The capacitive array is modelled considering the small deflection regime for achieving a dynamic and full 5⁻300 mmHg pressure range. In this design, the two inductive-coupled modules are calculated considering proper electromagnetic alignment, based on two planar coils and considering the following: 13.56 MHz frequency to avoid tissue damage and three types of biological tissue as core (skin, fat and muscle). The system was validated with the Comsol Multiphysics and CoventorWare softwares; showing a 90% power transmission efficiency at a 3.5 cm distance between coils. The implantable module includes aluminum- and polyimide-based devices, which allows ergonomic, robust, reproducible, and technologically feasible integrated sensors. In addition, the module shows a simplified and low cost design approach based on PolyMEMS INAOE ® technology, featured by low-temperature processing.

In this study, a new electrooculography (EOG) based system that provides efficient communication for people suffered from motor neuron diseases is presented. The system consists of two distinct devices. The first device operates as a main unit that is activated by the subject's eye movements. This unit is capable of transmitting 10 different command/state messages. These messages enable subject to choose his/her situation such as "I'm fine", "I feel bad", "I'm hungry" and "I'm thirsty". Commands such as "Come", "Go". The number of messages can be increased. The main unit acquires the EOG signal from the subject. Newly developed analogue and digital signal conditioning interprets the eye movements as specific messages and transmits them to the second unit (receiver) using radio frequency transmitter. The messages related to the subject's demands and situation can be heard from both main and receiver unit speakers. The wireless receiver unit is capable of notifying the patient's command by auditory and visual indicators. The realised device was tested by 2 healthy and 2 ALS patients and confirmed to be successful with 100% performance for sending correct messages.

Over the past few decades, sensors have been gaining a lot of popularity in the medical field. These sensors have helped shift the paradigm in medicine from having things done manually to digitalizing them. In the medical field, sensors have been manufactured in different forms and shapes including wearable and implantable wireless devices. With the aid of these sensors, healthcare professionals hope to revolutionize the system in a cost-effective way. In fact, this is already evident in most healthcare systems with the use of sensors for blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and arrhythmias on a daily basis. Also, more sophisticated sensors have made way into the medical field with a feedback loop, such as insulin pumps. On the other hand, similar technologies have been introduced in the orthopaedics world in the past decade. In this paper we summarize some of the sensors used in the medical field in general, and in orthopaedics in particular., (© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Multi-channel electrical recordings of physiologically generated signals are common to a wide range of biomedical fields. The aim of this work was to develop, validate, and demonstrate the practical utility of a high-quality, low-cost 32/64-channel bioamplifier system with real-time wireless data streaming capability., Approach: The new 'Intsy' system integrates three main off-the-shelf hardware components: (1) Intan RHD2132 bioamplifier; (2) Teensy 3.2 microcontroller; and (3) RN-42 Bluetooth 2.1 module with a custom LabView interface for real-time data streaming and visualization. Practical utility was validated by measuring serosal gastric slow waves and surface EMG on the forearm with various contraction force levels. Quantitative comparisons were made to a gold-standard commercial system (Biosemi ActiveTwo)., Main Results: Intsy signal quality was quantitatively comparable to that of the ActiveTwo. Recorded slow wave signals had high SNR (24  ±  2.7 dB) and wavefront propagation was accurately mapped. EMG spike bursts were characterized by high SNR (⩾10 dB) and activation timing was readily identified. Stable data streaming rates achieved were 3.5 kS s -1 for wireless and 64 kS s -1 for USB-wired transmission., Significance: Intsy has the highest channel count of any existing open-source, wireless-enabled module. The flexibility, portability and low cost ($1300 for the 32-channel version, or $2500 for 64 channels) of this new hardware module reduce the entry barrier for a range of electrophysiological experiments, as are typical in the gastrointestinal (EGG), cardiac (ECG), neural (EEG), and neuromuscular (EMG) domains.

Heart-rate monitoring plays a critical role in personal healthcare management. A low-cost, noninvasive, and user-friendly heart-rate monitoring system is highly desirable. Here, a self-powered wireless body sensor network (BSN) system is developed for heart-rate monitoring via integration of a downy-structure-based triboelectric nanogenerator (D-TENG), a power management circuit, a heart-rate sensor, a signal processing unit, and Bluetooth module for wireless data transmission. By converting the inertia energy of human walking into electric power, a maximum power of 2.28 mW with total conversion efficiency of 57.9% was delivered at low operation frequency, which is capable of immediately and sustainably driving the highly integrated BSN system. The acquired heart-rate signal by the sensor would be processed in the signal process circuit, sent to an external device via the Bluetooth module, and displayed on a personal cell phone in a real-time manner. Moreover, by combining a TENG-based generator and a TENG-based sensor, an all-TENG-based wireless BSN system was developed, realizing continuous and self-powered heart-rate monitoring. This work presents a potential method for personal heart-rate monitoring, featured as being self-powered, cost-effective, noninvasive, and user-friendly.

Introduction: This article proposes a novel, cost-effective, flexible, and easy-to-deploy wireless teleophthalmology network architecture and performance evaluation for its potential use in remote areas. This study has used practical telecommunication standards, which is widely deployed throughout India., Methods: In the proposed scenario, patient's eye images are obtained using a specified imaging modality, and then sent to a server at the primary eye care centre (PECC) using ZigBee a short-range wireless network. It is linked to the main server at the base eye hospital (BEH) through a GSM/UMTS (3G)/WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) network. After diagnostic evaluation of the eye image using various automated diagnostic software, data are sent to a physician in an urban center for further validation, which is connected through GSM/UMTS (3G)/WiMAX network. Performance evaluation of these wireless networks is carried out for their use in teleophthalmology application based on network parameters, namely throughput, average end-to-end delay, and average jitter. It is found that end-to-end delay is the most critical network parameter affecting overall quality of service (QoS) of the proposed teleophthalmology network., Results and Conclusions: The results demonstrate that WiMAX is the most suitable network among the considered networks for connecting PECC nodes with BEH main server, and further connecting main server with a doctor on the move. It is also deduced that for a given set of QoS parameters, WiMAX supports a load capacity of 22,000 packets at center nodes and the main server and it performs well even when the mobility speed of doctor exceeds 200 KPH.

Rural areas have very low revenue potential. The major issue in providing low-cost broadband to rural areas is to provide reliable backhaul connections that spread over tens or even hundreds of miles, connecting villages to the nearest service provider. Along with aerial networks of Google and Facebook, there has been a considerable amount of research toward long-distance terrestrial WiFi links. As a comparison, WiFi routers are easier to be deployed and maintained by non-technical people from the local communities, whereas the aerial networks require professional support to operate. Moreover, they are still in the experimentation phase. However, the long distance WiFi links require high-gain directional antennas and very expensive tall towers for high data rates. On the other hand, multihop paths with stronger links may provide better data rates without the need of tall towers. In this paper, we evaluated the concept of using such multihop WiFi links for long backhaul connections. Our simulation results show that these networks can possibly be a cost-effective and practical solution for rural connectivity. These initial results can serve as a first step to understand the comprehensive feasibility of using multihop WiFi networks for backhaul connections in rural area.

Background: Automation of animal experimentation improves consistency, reduces potential for error while decreasing animal stress and increasing well-being. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging can identify individual mice in group housing environments enabling animal-specific tracking of physiological parameters., New Method: We describe a simple protocol to radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and detect mice. RFID tags were injected sub-cutaneously after brief isoflurane anesthesia and do not require surgical steps such as suturing or incisions. We employ glass-encapsulated 125kHz tags that can be read within 30.2±2.4mm of the antenna. A raspberry pi single board computer and tag reader enable automated logging and cross platform support is possible through Python., Results: We provide sample software written in Python to provide a flexible and cost effective system for logging the weights of multiple mice in relation to pre-defined targets., Comparison With Existing Methods: The sample software can serve as the basis of any behavioral or physiological task where users will need to identify and track specific animals. Recently, we have applied this system of tagging to automated mouse brain imaging within home-cages., Conclusions: We provide a cost effective solution employing open source software to facilitate adoption in applications such as automated imaging or tracking individual animal weights during tasks where food or water restriction is employed as motivation for a specific behavior., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Due to the lack of dependency for routing initiation and an inadequate allocated sextant on responding messages, the secure geographic routing protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have attracted considerable attention. However, the existing protocols are more likely to drop packets when legitimate nodes fail to respond to the routing initiation messages while attackers in the allocated sextant manage to respond. Furthermore, these protocols are designed with inefficient collection window and inadequate verification criteria which may lead to a high number of attacker selections. To prevent the failure to find an appropriate relay node and undesirable packet retransmission, this paper presents Secure Region-Based Geographic Routing Protocol (SRBGR) to increase the probability of selecting the appropriate relay node. By extending the allocated sextant and applying different message contention priorities more legitimate nodes can be admitted in the routing process. Moreover, the paper also proposed the bound collection window for a sufficient collection time and verification cost for both attacker identification and isolation. Extensive simulation experiments have been performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed protocol in comparison with other existing protocols. The results demonstrate that SRBGR increases network performance in terms of the packet delivery ratio and isolates attacks such as Sybil and Black hole., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Smartphones have become the major communication and portable computing devices that access the Internet through Wi-Fi or mobile networks. Unfortunately, users without a mobile data subscription can only access the Internet at limited locations, such as hotspots. In this paper, we propose a collaborative bandwidth sharing protocol (CBSP) built on top of MultiPath TCP (MPTCP). CBSP enables users to buy bandwidth on demand from neighbors (called Helpers) and uses virtual interfaces to bind the subflows of MPTCP to avoid modifying the implementation of MPTCP. However, although MPTCP provides the required multi-homing functionality for bandwidth sharing, the current packet scheduling in collaborative MPTCP (e.g., Co-MPTCP) leads to the so-called biased-feeding problem. In this problem, the fastest link might always be selected to send packets whenever it has available cwnd, which results in other links not being fully utilized. In this work, we set out to design an algorithm, called Scheduled Window-based Transmission Control (SWTC), to improve the performance of packet scheduling in MPTCP, and we perform extensive simulations to evaluate its performance.

Introduction: Early referral for catheter-based esophageal pH monitoring is more cost-effective than empiric proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). We hypothesize that BRAVO wireless pH monitoring will also demonstrate substantial cost-savings compared to empiric PPI therapy, given its superior sensitivity and comfort., Methods: We reviewed 100 consecutive patients who underwent wireless pH monitoring for suspected GERD at our institution. A cost model and a cost equivalence calculation were generated. Cost-saving analyses were performed for both esophageal and extraesophageal symptoms., Results: Eighty-seven patients were available for analysis. Median PPI use prior to referral was 215 weeks (range 0-520). Forty-three patients (49 %) had BRAVO results diagnosing GERD; 98 % of these had esophageal symptoms. Patients with negative BRAVO studies had a median of 113 (0-520) weeks of unnecessary PPI therapy. Cost-savings ranged from $1048 to $15,853 per patient, depending on sensitivity (75-95 %), PPI dosage, and brand. Maximum cost-savings occurred in patients with extraesophageal symptoms ($2948-$31,389 per patient). The PPI cost equivalence of BRAVO placement was 36 and 6 weeks for low- and high-dose therapy, respectively., Conclusions: BRAVO wireless pH testing is more cost-effective than prolonged empiric medical management for GERD and should be incorporated early in the treatment algorithm.

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) based environment control systems could facilitate life of people with neuromuscular diseases, reduces dependence on their caregivers, and improves their quality of life. As well as easy usage, low-cost, and robust system performance, mobility is an important functionality expected from a practical BCI system in real life. In this study, in order to enhance users' mobility, we propose internet based wireless communication between BCI system and home environment. We designed and implemented a prototype of an embedded low-cost, low power, easy to use web server which is employed in internet based wireless control of a BCI based home environment. The embedded web server provides remote access to the environmental control module through BCI and web interfaces. While the proposed system offers to BCI users enhanced mobility, it also provides remote control of the home environment by caregivers as well as the individuals in initial stages of neuromuscular disease. The input of BCI system is P300 potentials. We used Region Based Paradigm (RBP) as stimulus interface. Performance of the BCI system is evaluated on data recorded from 8 non-disabled subjects. The experimental results indicate that the proposed web server enables internet based wireless control of electrical home appliances successfully through BCIs.

We present a new calibration procedure for low-cost nine degrees-of-freedom (9DOF) magnetic, angular rate and gravity (MARG) sensor systems, which relies on a calibration cube, a reference table and a body sensor network (BSN). The 9DOF MARG sensor is part of our recently-developed "Integrated Posture and Activity Network by Medit Aachen" (IPANEMA) BSN. The advantage of this new approach is the use of the calibration cube, which allows for easy integration of two sensor nodes of the IPANEMA BSN. One 9DOF MARG sensor node is thereby used for calibration; the second 9DOF MARG sensor node is used for reference measurements. A novel algorithm uses these measurements to further improve the performance of the calibration procedure by processing arbitrarily-executed motions. In addition, the calibration routine can be used in an alignment procedure to minimize errors in the orientation between the 9DOF MARG sensor system and a motion capture inertial reference system. A two-stage experimental study is conducted to underline the performance of our calibration procedure. In both stages of the proposed calibration procedure, the BSN data, as well as reference tracking data are recorded. In the first stage, the mean values of all sensor outputs are determined as the absolute measurement offset to minimize integration errors in the derived movement model of the corresponding body segment. The second stage deals with the dynamic characteristics of the measurement system where the dynamic deviation of the sensor output compared to a reference system is Sensors 2015, 15 25920 corrected. In practical validation experiments, this procedure showed promising results with a maximum RMS error of 3.89°.

Electrically small antennas (ESAs) are becoming one of the key components in the compact wireless devices for telecommunications, defence, and aerospace systems, especially for the spherical one whose geometric layout is more closely approaching Chu's limit, thus yielding significant bandwidth improvements relative to the linear and planar counterparts. Yet broad applications of the volumetric ESAs are still hindered since the low cost fabrication has remained a tremendous challenge. Here we report a state-of-the-art technology to transfer electrically conductive composites (ECCs) from a planar mould to a volumetric thermoplastic substrate by using pad-printing technology without pattern distortion, benefit from the excellent properties of the ECCs as well as the printing-calibration method that we developed. The antenna samples prepared in this way meet the stringent requirement of an ESA (ka is as low as 0.32 and the antenna efficiency is as high as 57%), suggesting that volumetric electronic components i.e. the antennas can be produced in such a simple, green, and cost-effective way. This work can be of interest for the development of studies on green and high performance wireless communication devices.

This paper presents a multipurpose and low cost sensor for the simultaneous monitoring of temperature and ullage of wine in barrels in two of the most important stages of winemaking, that being fermentation and maturation. The distributed sensor subsystem is imbedded within the bung of the barrel and runs on battery for a period of at least 12 months and costs around $27 AUD for all parts. In addition, software was designed which allows for the remote transmission and easy visual interpretation of the data for the winemaker. Early warning signals can be sent when the temperature or ullage deviates from a winemakers expectations so remedial action can be taken, such as when topping is required or the movement of the barrels to a cooler cellar location. Such knowledge of a wine's properties or storage conditions allows for a more precise control of the final wine quality.

This paper presents SensiumVitals(®) - an FDA cleared and CE marked wireless wearable vital signs monitoring system, developed for frequent surveillance of in-hospital patients. A number of in-house evaluations with artificial data and healthy volunteers were carried out in different stages to assess the reliability of two crucial vital signs measured by the system - respiration and heart rate. In order to illustrate the potential of the system in hospital, a subset of data collected from acutely-ill patients during a separate clinical trial was also analyzed. In all cases the results revealed satisfactory agreement between the values reported by SensiumVitals(®) and those recorded simultaneously by a clinically-approved bedside monitor. However, further work will be required to improve the reliability of the system under certain clinical conditions; which, although not crucial for our intended population (i.e. patients in general ward), pose interesting challenges for upgrading our technology for future use in these types of patients.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is challenged by high cost, immobility of equipment and the use of inconvenient conductive gels. We compared EEG recordings obtained from three systems that are inexpensive, wireless, and/or dry (no gel), against recordings made with a traditional, research-grade EEG system, in order to investigate the ability of these 'non-traditional' systems to produce recordings of comparable quality to a research-grade system. The systems compared were: Emotiv EPOC (inexpensive and wireless), B-Alert (wireless), g.Sahara (dry) and g.HIamp (research-grade). We compared the ability of the systems to demonstrate five well-studied neural phenomena: (1) enhanced alpha activity with eyes closed versus open; (2) visual steady-state response (VSSR); (3) mismatch negativity; (4) P300; and (5) event-related desynchronization/synchronization. All systems measured significant alpha augmentation with eye closure, and were able to measure VSSRs (although these were smaller with g.Sahara). The B-Alert and g.Sahara were able to measure the three time-locked phenomena equivalently to the g.HIamp. The Emotiv EPOC did not have suitably located electrodes for two of the tasks and synchronization considerations meant that data from the time-locked tasks were not assessed. The results show that inexpensive, wireless, or dry systems may be suitable for experimental studies using EEG, depending on the research paradigm, and within the constraints imposed by their limited electrode placement and number.

Air quality in urban areas is a very important topic as it closely affects the health of citizens. Recent studies highlight that the exposure to polluted air can increase the incidence of diseases and deteriorate the quality of life. Hence, it is necessary to develop tools for real-time air quality monitoring, so as to allow appropriate and timely decisions. In this paper, we present uSense, a low-cost cooperative monitoring tool that allows knowing, in real-time, the concentrations of polluting gases in various areas of the city. Specifically, users monitor the areas of their interest by deploying low-cost and low-power sensor nodes. In addition, they can share the collected data following a social networking approach. uSense has been tested through an in-field experimentation performed in different areas of a city. The obtained results are in line with those provided by the local environmental control authority and show that uSense can be profitably used for air quality monitoring.

Background: The maturity and usage of wireless technology has influenced health services, and this has raised expectations from users that healthcare services will become more affordable due to technology growth. There is increasing evidence to justify this expectation, as telehealth is becoming more and more prevalent in many countries. Thus, health services are now offered beyond the boundaries of traditional hospitals, giving rise to many external factors dictating their quality. This has led us to investigate the factors that motivate and limit the implementation of ICT applications in the healthcare domain., Methods: We used a mixed method approach with the qualitative aspects leading the quantitative aspects. The main reason for this approach was to understand and explore the domain through the qualitative aspects as we could be part of the discussion. Then we conducted a quantitative survey to extract more responses in order to justify the claims explored in the qualitative process., Results: We found that there are a number of internal and external factors influencing ICT adoption in the healthcare environment so that services can be provided via ICT tools. These factors were grouped under factors contributing to improved outcomes, efficiency and the management of technology. We conceptualised that these three groups of factors drive ICT implementation to assure health services., Conclusions: The main lesson learned from this research was that Information Systems discipline needs to urgently consider health informatics as a serious growth area. We also found that as IS researchers, we need to 'mix' with the health environment in order to understand the environment and then develop suitable methods to answer posited research questions.

Background: Performing gait analysis in a clinical setting can often be challenging due to time, cost and the availability of sophisticated three-dimensional (3D) gait analysis systems. This study has developed and tested a portable wireless gait assessment tool (wi-GAT) to address these challenges., Aim: To investigate the concurrent validity of the wi-GAT in measuring spatio-temporal gait parameters such as stride length, stride duration, cadence, double support time (DST), stance and swing time compared to a 3D Vicon motion analysis system., Methods: Ten healthy volunteers participated in the study (age range 23-30 years). Spatio-temporal gait parameters were recorded simultaneously by the Vicon and the wi-GAT systems as each subject walked at their self-selected speed., Results: The stride length and duration, cadence, stance duration and walking speed recorded using the wi-GAT showed strong agreement with those same parameters recorded by the Vicon (ICC of 0.94-0.996). A difference between the systems in registering "toe off" resulted in less agreement (ICC of 0.299-0.847) in gait parameters such as %stance and %swing and DST., Discussion and Conclusion: The study demonstrated good concurrent validity for the wi-GAT system. The wi-GAT has the potential to be a useful assessment tool for clinicians., (Copyright © 2013 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Mobile devices have been impacting on human standard of living by providing timely and accurate information anywhere and anytime through wireless media in developing nations. Shortage of experts in medical fields is very obvious throughout the whole world but more pronounced in developing nations., Objective: Thus, this study proposes a telemedicine platform for the vulnerable areas of developing nations. The vulnerable area are the interior with little or no medical facilities, hence the dwellers are very susceptible to sicknesses and diseases., Methods: The framework uses mobile devices that can run LightWeight Agents (LWAs) to send consultation requests to a remote medical expert in urban city from the vulnerable interiors. The feedback is conveyed to the requester through the same medium. The system architecture which contained AgenRoller, LWAs, The front-end (mobile devices) and back-end (the medical server) is presented. The algorithm for the software component of the architecture (AgenRoller) is also presented. The system is modeled as M/M/1/c queuing system, and simulated using Simevents from MATLAB Simulink environment., Result: The simulation result presented show the average queue length, the number of entities in the queue and the number of entities departure from the system. These together present the rate of information processing in the system., Conclusion: A full scale development of this system with proper implementation will help extend the few medical facilities available in the urban cities in developing nations to the interiors thereby reducing the number of casualties in the vulnerable areas of the developing world especially in Sub Saharan Africa.

Many experiments in neuroscience require or would benefit tremendously from a wireless neural recording system. However, commercially available wireless systems are expensive, have moderate to high noise and are often not customizable. Academic wireless systems present impressive capabilities, but are not available for other labs to use. To overcome these limitations, we have developed an ultra-low noise 8 channel wireless electrophysiological data acquisition system using standard, commercially available components. The system is capable of recording many types of neurological signals, including EEG, ECoG, LFP and unit activity. With a diameter of just 25 mm and height of 9 mm, including a CR2032 Lithium coin cell battery, it is designed to fit into a small recording chamber while minimizing the overall implant height (Fig. 1 and 3). Using widely available parts we were able to keep the material cost of our system under $100 dollars. The complete design, including schematic, PCB layout, bill of materials and source code, will be released through an open source license, allowing other labs to modify the design to fit their needs. We have also developed a driver to acquire data using the BCI2000 software system. Feedback from the community will allow us to improve the design and create a more useful neuroscience research tool.

Objectives: Electrical stimulation of nerve tissue and recording of neural activity are the basis of many therapies and neural prostheses. Conventional stimulation systems have a number of practical limitations, especially in experiments involving freely roaming subjects. Our main objective was to develop a modular, versatile and inexpensive multichannel wireless system able to overcome some of these constraints., Approach: We have designed and implemented a new multichannel wireless neural stimulator based on commercial components. The system is small (2 cm × 4 cm × 0.5 cm) and light in weight (9 g) which allows it to be easily carried in a small backpack. To test and validate the performance and reliability of the whole system we conducted several bench tests and in vivo experiments., Main Results: The performance and accuracy of the stimulator were comparable to commercial threaded systems. Stimulation sequences can be constructed on-the-fly with 251 selectable current levels (from 0 to 250 µA) with 1 µA step resolution. The pulse widths and intervals can be as long as 65 ms in 2 µs time resolution. The system covers approximately 10 m of transmission range in a regular laboratory environment and 100 m in free space (line of sight). Furthermore it provides great flexibility for experiments since it allows full control of the stimulator and the stimulation parameters in real time. When there is no stimulation, the device automatically goes into low-power sleep mode to preserve battery power., Significance: We introduce the design of a powerful multichannel wireless stimulator assembled from commercial components. Key features of the system are their reliability, robustness and small size. The system has a flexible design that can be modified straightforwardly to tailor it to any specific experimental need. Furthermore it can be effortlessly adapted for use with any kind of multielectrode arrays.

Introduction: Increased acceptance of nutrition benefits at farmers markets could improve access to nutritious foods for low-income shoppers. The objective of this study was to evaluate a pilot project to increase participation by farmers markets and their vendors in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)., Methods: The intervention targeted 9 markets in lower-income regions of King County, Washington. Markets and vendors were offered subsidized electronic benefits transfer (EBT) terminals for processing SNAP, and vendors could apply to accept WIC cash value vouchers. WIC staff received information on using SNAP and vouchers at farmers markets. We used mixed methods post-implementation to measure participation, describe factors in acceptance of benefits, and assess information needs for WIC staff to conduct effective outreach., Results: Of approximately 88 WIC-eligible vendors, 38 agreed to accept vouchers. Ten of 125 vendors installed an EBT terminal, and 6 markets installed a central market terminal. The number of market stalls accepting SNAP increased from 80 to 143, an increase of 79%. Participating vendors wanted to provide access to SNAP and WIC shoppers, although redemption rates were low. Some WIC staff members were unfamiliar with markets, which hindered outreach., Conclusion: Vendors and markets value low-income shoppers and, when offered support, will take on some inconvenience to serve them. To improve participation and sustainability, we recommend ongoing subsidies and streamlined procedures better suited to meet markets' capabilities. Low EBT redemption rates at farmers markets suggest a need for more outreach to low-income shoppers and relationship building with WIC staff.

Since the initial development of telegraphy by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1837 and the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875, doctors have been able to convey medical information across great distances. The exchange and sharing of medical information has evolved and adapted to suit the vast array of today's medicine. Early adopters of telemedicine within clinical practice have gained significant health economic benefits. The arrival of wireless connections has further enhanced the possibilities for all clinical work with focus on diagnosis, treatment and management of urological cancers, as highlighted in this article.

Purpose: To create a patient respiratory management system and patient self-practice tool using the Wii remote, a widely available consumer hardware product., Methods: The Wii remote (Wiimote) (Nintendo, Redmond, WA) contains an infrared (IR) camera that can track up to four spots whose coordinates are reported to a host computer via Bluetooth. The Wiimote is capable of tracking a fiducial box currently used by a commercial monitoring system [Real-time Position Management(TM) (RPM) system, Varian Associates, Palo Alto, CA], if the correct IR source is used. The authors validated the Wiimote tracking by comparing the amplitude and frequency of signals among those reported by Wiimote with known movements from an inhouse servo-driven respiratory simulator, as well as with those measured using the RPM. The simulator comparison was done using standard sinusoid signals with amplitude of 2.0 cm as well as recorded patient respiratory traces. The RPM comparisons were done by simultaneously recording the RPM reflective box position with the Wiimote and the RPM. Timing was compared between these two systems by using the digital beam-on signal from the CT scanner, for the 4DCT to synchronize these acquisitions., Results: The data acquisition rate from the Wiimote was 100.0 ± 0.4 Hz with a version 2.1 Bluetooth adaptor. The standard deviation of the height of the motion extrema was 0.06 and 1.1 mm when comparing those measured by the Wiimote and the servomotor encoder for standard sinusoid signal and prerecorded patient respiratory signal, respectively. The standard deviation of the amplitude of motion extrema between the Wiimote and RPM was 0.9 mm and the timing difference was 253 ms., Conclusion: The performance of Wiimote shows promise for respiratory monitoring for its faster sampling rate as well as the potential optical and GPU abilities. If used with care it can deliver reasonable spatial and temporal accuracy.

An experimental validation of a low-cost method for extrapolation and estimation of the maximal electromagnetic-field exposure from long-term evolution (LTE) radio base station installations are presented. No knowledge on downlink band occupation or service characteristics is required for the low-cost method. The method is applicable in situ. It only requires a basic spectrum analyser with appropriate field probes without the need of expensive dedicated LTE decoders. The method is validated both in laboratory and in situ, for a single-input single-output antenna LTE system and a 2×2 multiple-input multiple-output system, with low deviations in comparison with signals measured using dedicated LTE decoders.

The fusion of Biomedical Technology, Informatics and Medical Decision-making into the modern Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS), as well as the population ageing and the escalation of hospital costs are the driving forces for adopting decentralized systems of health care provision. One of the main problems arising with decentralized health care provision, such as Home Care, is the discontinuity of medical care. This discontinuity appears not only in medical data transfer, but also in the quality of medical supervision. In order to accommodate for the lack of sufficient medical supervision in Home-Care environment, we have developed low-cost prototype solution for monitoring basic physiological parameters. The implemented architecture is employing wearable biomedical signal acquisition modules, utilizing "off the shelf" technologies in order to minimize cost. These modules transmit the acquired vital signs through a wireless link to a laptop computer. A web application allows continuous quasi real-time supervision of patient's biosignals from any PC equipped with a web browser and appropriate authorization codes.

A self-paced treadmill that can simulate overground walking has the potential to improve the effectiveness of treadmill training for gait rehabilitation. We have implemented a self-paced treadmill without the need for expensive equipment such as a motion capture system and an instrumented treadmill. For this, an inexpensive depth sensor, ASUS XtionTM, substitutes for the motion capture system, and a low-cost commercial treadmill is considered as the platform of the self-paced treadmill. The proposed self-paced treadmill is also convenient because the depth sensor does not require markers placed on user's body. Through pilot tests with two healthy subjects, it is quantitatively and qualitatively verified that the proposed self-paced treadmill achieves similar performance as one which utilizes a commercial motion capture system (VICON) as well as an instrumented treadmill.

The population structure has changed with the aging of population. In the present, elders account for 10.63% of the domestic population and the percentage is still gradually climbing. In other words, the demand for emergency services among elders in home environment is expected to grow in the future. In order to improve the efficiency and quality of emergency care, information technology should be effectively utilized to integrate medical systems and facilities, strengthen human-centered operation designs, and maximize the overall performance. The improvement in the quality and survival rate of emergency care is an important basis for better life and health of all people. Through integrated application of medical information systems and information communication technology, this study proposes a WiMAX-based emergency care system addressing the public demands for convenience, speed, safety, and human-centered operation of emergency care. This system consists of a healthcare service center, emergency medical service hospitals, and emergency ambulances. Using the wireless transmission capability of WiMAX, patients' physiological data can be transmitted from medical measurement facilities to the emergency room and emergency room doctors can provide immediate online instructions on emergency treatment via video and audio transmission. WiMAX technology enables the establishment of active emergency medical services.

Background: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly Food Stamp Program) participants can use their benefits at many farmers' markets. However, most markets have only one market-operated wireless point-of-sale (POS) card swipe terminal for electronic benefits transfer (EBT) transactions. It is not known whether providing each farmer/vendor with individual wireless POS terminals and subsidizing EBT fees will increase SNAP/EBT purchases at farmers' markets., Objective: To evaluate the effects of multiple vendor-operated wireless POS terminals (vs a single market-operated terminal) on use of SNAP benefits at an urban farmers' market., Design: Time-series analyses of SNAP/EBT sales., Setting: The Clark Park farmers' market in West Philadelphia, PA, which accounts for one quarter of all SNAP/EBT sales at farmers' markets in Pennsylvania., Intervention: Vendors were provided with individual wireless POS terminals for 9 months (June 2008-February 2009.) The pilot program covered all equipment and wireless service costs and transaction fees associated with SNAP/EBT, credit, and debit sales., Main Outcome Measure: Monthly SNAP/EBT sales at the Clark Park farmers' market., Statistical Analyses: SNAP/EBT sales data were collected for 48 months (January 2007-December 2010). Time-series regression analysis was used to estimate the effect of the intervention period (June 2008-February 2009) on SNAP/EBT sales, controlling for seasonal effects and total SNAP benefits issued in Philadelphia., Results: The intervention was associated with a 38% increase in monthly SNAP/EBT sales. Effects were greatest during the busy fall market seasons. SNAP/EBT sales did not remain significantly higher after the intervention period., Conclusions: Providing individual wireless POS terminals to farmers' market vendors leads to increased sales. However, market vendors indicated that subsidies for equipment costs and fees would be needed to break even. Currently, SNAP provides some support for these services for supermarket and other SNAP retailers with landline access, but not for farmers' markets., (Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Sensor technology, which benefits from high temporal measuring resolution, real-time data transfer and high spatial resolution of sensor data that shows in-field variations, has the potential to provide added value for crop production. The present paper explores how sensors and sensor networks have been utilised in the crop production process and what their added-value and the main bottlenecks are from the perspective of users. The focus is on sensor based applications and on requirements that users pose for them. Literature and two use cases were reviewed and applications were classified according to the crop production process: sensing of growth conditions, fertilising, irrigation, plant protection, harvesting and fleet control. The potential of sensor technology was widely acknowledged along the crop production chain. Users of the sensors require easy-to-use and reliable applications that are actionable in crop production at reasonable costs. The challenges are to develop sensor technology, data interoperability and management tools as well as data and measurement services in a way that requirements can be met, and potential benefits and added value can be realized in the farms in terms of higher yields, improved quality of yields, decreased input costs and production risks, and less work time and load.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that despite an overall decrease in the number of workers compensation claims, indemnity, medical costs and days away from work have continued to rise. Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) account for 33 percent of these costs. OSHA Defines an MSD as: "Disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage and spinal discs. Wireless technology will play an important role in prevention and diagnosing these injuries. In fact, today's escalating medical costs and ever changing legal and regulatory environment necessitate proactive loss control and wellness strategies. This paper will discuss existing evaluation and diagnostic methods as well as the new wireless EFA technology which will enable employers to proactively prevent and manage MSD cases under a broader range of conditions.

Wireless sensor network (WSN) technology has been successfully applied to energy saving applications in many places, and plays a significant role in achieving power conservation. However, previous studies do not discuss WSN costs and cost-recovery. The application of WSNs is currently limited to research and laboratory experiments, and not mass industrial production, largely because business owners are unfamiliar with the possible favorable return and cost-recovery on WSN investments. Therefore, this paper focuses on the cost-recovery of WSNs and how to reduce air conditioning energy consumption in convenience stores. The WSN used in this study provides feedback to the gateway and adopts the predicted mean vote (PMV) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods to allow customers to shop in a comfortable yet energy-saving environment. Four convenience stores in Taipei have used the proposed WSN since 2008. In 2008, the experiment was initially designed to optimize air-conditioning for energy saving, but additions to the set-up continued beyond 2008, adding the thermal comfort and crowds peak, off-peak features in 2009 to achieve human-friendly energy savings. Comparison with 2007 data, under the same comfort conditions, shows that the power savings increased by 40% (2008) and 53% (2009), respectively. The cost of the WSN equipment was 500 US dollars. Experimental results, including three years of analysis and calculations, show that the marginal energy conservation benefit of the four convenience stores achieved energy savings of up to 53%, recovering all costs in approximately 5 months. The convenience store group participating in this study was satisfied with the efficiency of energy conservation because of the short cost-recovery period.

In this Letter, low-cost radio-over-fiber (ROF) transport systems are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. By utilizing a laser diode (LD) and a local oscillator (LO) to generate coherent multiband optical carriers, as well as a self-composed wavelength selector to separate every two carriers for different ROF transport systems, no any other dedicated LD or electrical frequency upconverting circuit/process is needed in the central station (CS). Compared with current ROF systems, the required numbers of LDs, LOs, and mixers in a CS are significantly reduced. Reducing the number of components not only can simplify the network structure but can also reduce the volume and complexity of the relative logistics. To demonstrate the practice of the proposed ROF transport systems, clear eye diagrams and error-free transmission performance are experimentally presented.