Sensor Initiated Healthcare Packet Priority in Congested IoT Networks

Currently healthcare data packets do not get any special priority while routing through the Internet of Things (IoT) networks. These data packets flow through routers using conventional QoS process which does not guarantee that a patient’s critical health data traveling in congested IoT network will actually be routed to doctors office on time. This leaves the remote medical treatment at risk with possible threat to patients’ lives. In this paper, we studied the current healthcare packet routing process in IoT and its performance issues in congested IoT networks, then proposed a sensor driven solution to prioritize healthcare data routing in congested IoT networks. In our proposed system, we add a healthcare data identifier in IP packet header at the sensor level, modify QoS software at the network router level, and provide the highest priority to healthcare data packet routing based on the healthcare data identifier seen at router QoS. A prototype has been built and tested by using TI Launchpads. Test data shows that healthcare packets with an identifier can route to doctors at 80% less latency than healthcare packets routed without an identifier. Additionally, the proposed system saves medical diagnostic cost, and more importantly, reduces the risk of losing human lives. A shorter version of this analysis has also been presented to IEEE conference. The detail analysis in this paper opens up multiple avenues for further research.