The need for rules of engagement applied to wireless body area networks

Abstract

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) and their supporting information infrastructures offer unprecedented opportunities to monitor state of health without constraining wearer activities. To increase acceptance of personal monitoring technology while lowering equipment cost, advances must be made in portability, power efficiency, security, and system- and device-level interoperability. This paper addresses the needs of future point-of-care environments that will employ adhoc WBANs for patient monitoring and treatment, emphasizing the need for strict rules of engagement that govern ad-hoc interactions, device associations, and security protocols. It then summarizes the use cases and constraints that will help to formulate rules of engagement for smart, interoperable components that operate within a distributed medical monitoring environment populated by WBANs and other local sensors.