Wireless Intelligent Sensors

Traditionally, personal medical monitors used to perform only data acquisition (Advanced Medical, 2004; Agilent, 2004; Cleveland Medical Devices, 2004; Protocol, 2004). Typical examples are holter monitors that are routinely used for ECG and EEG monitoring. Recent development of wireless and mobile technology (Agrawal and Zeng, 2003; Delin and Jackson, 2000; Hsu at al., 1998; Priddy and Jovanov, 2004) laid a foundation for the new generation of wireless intelligent sensors (DARPA, 2004; NIST, 2004). The same technology made feasible implementation of intelligent medical monitors that can provide real-time feedback to the patient, either as a warning of impending medical emergency or as a monitoring aid during exercise. Intelligent medical monitors can significantly decrease the number of hospitalizations and nursing visits (Heidenreich, 1999), acting as a personal “guardian angel” as proposed by Gordon Bell (Morse, 1997). Increased device intelligence will change a whole paradigm of personal monitoring in M-Health systems (Hoyt at al., 2002; Jones at al., 2004; Jovanov et al., 2000; Satava, 2001; Sarcos, 2004; Sontra, 2004; Widya et al., 2004).