Design of middleware for tele-homecare systems

  • Authors:

  • Hsi-Feng Lu;Jiann-Liang Chen

  • Affiliations:

  • Department of Computer Science & Information Engineering, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan;Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

  • Venue:
  • Wireless Communications & Mobile Computing
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

This work proposes a novel middleware architecture for tele-homecare systems. The proposed architecture is composed of three layers: a device management layer, a data management layer and an application layer. Vital signs sensing is achieved by wired and wireless sensor node integrated with a medical device, or by sensors connected with serial link. Although defined as the software above the medical sensor network, the two-layer middleware is below the application program that provides a common programming abstraction for tele-homecare systems. An application,called the Tele-Homecare Household Monitor System, based on the proposed middleware is implemented and evaluated. The transmission energy costs (the number of messages transmitted in the system) and the average delays caused by aggregation function are compared in two configurations and four different implementations of aggregation function. To increase power efficiency and prolong the system life-time, the aggregation functions should be implemented on the sensor node of the wireless sensor network if this is feasible. To minimize the message delay, the aggregation functions should be implemented on cluster head. Good message aggregation and filtering significantly reduce the number of messages transmitted and stored in the system, and could translate the sensed readings into useful and meaningful information. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.