Enabling technology for heart health wireless assistance

Several advances have been done in wireless body area networks for bio-monitoring, as confirmed by the fine tuning of ad-hoc standards for networking, controlling and managing a distributed sensor platform around the human body. Efficient wireless networks are becoming commercially available for several applications. In spite of that, sets of “invisible” sensors for monitoring bio-signals are still expected as enabling technology for mass-market applications. This paper aims at reviewing the current state of the art, and identifying some existing open issues and added functionalities desirable for the future in heart health wireless assistance. Some results emerging from the on-going research are presented, focusing on the implementation of an innovative contact-less miniaturized radar sensor for cardiopulmonary monitoring within a wearable textile platform. The expected future developments toward a wireless body area network are reported and discussed.