A wireless sensor network for fat and hydration monitoring by bioimpedance analysis

This paper presents the design of a wearable system for remotely assessing hydration status and visceral fat accumulation by means of bioelectrical impedance (BI) analysis. Conventional wired BI measurement systems are not the best option for personalized monitoring of patients and senior citizens during their daily life activity. In order to provide an unobtrusive, ubiquitous, and individual-centered healthcare system, we developed a ZigBee-based mobile wireless sensor network, which consists of spatially distributed autonomous devices containing a BI measurement circuit integrated in 0.35-μm CMOS technology and a transceiver circuit that provides wireless communication. Both the system architecture and details of the different circuit blocks are discussed.