Development of a mobile wireless networking infrastructure to manage secure transfer of medical data during disasters

Dembeyiotis, S; Konnis, G; Pavlopoulos, S; Perakis, K; Koutsouris, D

dc.contributor.author	Dembeyiotis, S	en
dc.contributor.author	Konnis, G	en
dc.contributor.author	Pavlopoulos, S	en
dc.contributor.author	Perakis, K	en
dc.contributor.author	Koutsouris, D	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-01T01:56:18Z
dc.date.available	2014-03-01T01:56:18Z
dc.date.issued	2007	en
dc.identifier.issn	1479649X	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.lib.ntua.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/28043
dc.relation.uri	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-34547912499&partnerID=40&md5=97a43b4baed13a1ae13da2e7a16635c7	en
dc.subject.other	article	en
dc.subject.other	computer program	en
dc.subject.other	disaster	en
dc.subject.other	electronic sensor	en
dc.subject.other	information processing	en
dc.subject.other	medical informatics	en
dc.subject.other	medical information system	en
dc.subject.other	mobile phone	en
dc.subject.other	stethoscope	en
dc.subject.other	telemedicine	en
dc.subject.other	wireless communication	en
dc.title	Development of a mobile wireless networking infrastructure to manage secure transfer of medical data during disasters	en
heal.type	journalArticle	en
heal.publicationDate	2007	en
heal.abstract	Objective: To design a portable telemedicine system for use in emergency and major disaster scenarios. Design: The system has to be cheap, able to interact with existing medical devices, easy to use, capable of secure, wireless transmission of medical data, video and audio, and function independently of other communication networks. Methods: The system consists of a telemedicine station that serves as the backbone of a feld-deployable flexible communications infrastructure and which can utilise existing medical data collection devices. The architecture consists of a self-configurable communications network based on identical stations, standard IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) protocols, Open Source software and wireless operation over the unlicensed 5.8GHz frequency spectrum. Data transmission between stations is achieved using WPA (WiFi Protected Access). Results: We demonstrated the feasibility of field-deploying an ad hoc communications infrastructure during emergency situations, where other communications grids e.g. GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) are absent or damaged. The interface of medical data collection devices, such as biosignal monitors and electronic stethoscopes, with a data network that operates autonomously, was successfully achieved without the need of any user configuration. Data routing for scalability was shown to be supported for several dozen nodes spaced several hundred metres apart from each other. Video and audio data (including sounds from a digital stethoscope) were successfully transmitted by the system with adequate quality. Security of data encryption was demonstrated using a WPA cracking tool. Conclusion: The system offers flexibility for use in disaster scenarios. It utilises inexpensive and widely available commercial subsystems, Open Source software and provides strong communications security. © The Journal on Information Technology in Healthcare.	en
heal.journalName	Journal on Information Technology in Healthcare	en
dc.identifier.volume	5	en
dc.identifier.issue	3	en
dc.identifier.spage	162	en
dc.identifier.epage	170	en