How Are You Feeling? A Social Network Model to Monitor the Health of Post-Operative Patients James J. Mulcahy Shihong Huang Junwei Cao Fan Zhang Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL, USA jmulcah1@fau.edu Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL, USA shihong@fau.edu Research Institute of Information Technology Tsinghua University Beijing, China caoj@mit.edu Research Institute of Information Technology Tsinghua University Beijing, China zhang- fan07@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn Abstract— Mobile devices and cloud computing platforms have become increasing popular in recent years, as more ways in which to adopt these technologies to existing business and research models have been envisioned and implemented. What started as simply providing bandwidth and technology to mobile users in order to browse the internet from handheld devices now allows entire websites to be hosted on remote cloud platforms. Users now have the ability to trade and track stock market data from anywhere and anytime, automatically communicate data from wearable medical sensor devices, avoid vehicle collisions, track freight shipments, and a plethora of other applications. Healthcare is an area where the leveraging of these new technologies has the ability to have worldwide impact, with many exciting possibilities. However, much of the current focus is on more ―doctor-centric‖ uses rather than ―patient-centric‖ ones. The use of mobile devices to automatically sense and transmit data from the patient, devices to aid in dictation and communication within hospital settings, and cloud products to store patient data and other solutions help make the tasks of physicians easier, but do not necessarily improve the care given to the patient. There are bandwidth concerns, security concerns and the general cyberphobia that consumers commonly have with sharing personal information. This paper proposes a different type of solution that is more related to a social networking environment in which many people are already comfortable using. It concentrates on the collection of data from patients during a period of time that they are often suffering the most – after initial post-operative release from a hospital or clinic. It first explores technologies that are currently in use, and then describes a different model that allows the patient to control what information is being shared, who is allowed to consume this data, and how it might enhance the well-being of those that may make use of this new paradigm. Keywords: social networking, mobile computing, healthcare, cloud computing, modeling, patient-centric, monitoring, simulation I. INTRODUCTION A. Shift In Technology Modern computing technology has shifted from the classic localized and client-server models to mobile and cloud-based platforms. Business and research sectors continue to discover ways to leverage these new approaches. At first, the most obvious applications enabled mobile users to send and check email, browse websites, play games, and other activities that were once done via desktop or laptop computers [1][2]. Other less trivial implementations followed that resulted in an explosion of device-specific applications that allowed users to do everything from tracking and controlling financial information to monitoring caloric intake and arming security systems in their homes from remote locations [3]. Commercially, mobile devices changed how companies inventoried and monitored their products, how shipping companies scanned and reported package pickups, and even how meal orders in some restaurants were recorded and delivered to the kitchen staff [4][5]. More sophisticated devices emerged that enabled government and military authorities to monitor and track persons domestically and on the battlefield [6]. Vehicles became mobile ad hoc networks that were able to guide drivers to their destinations, avoid collisions with other vehicles, and sense road conditions, among other advantages [7]. B. Applications In Healthcare Medical applications have allowed health care industries to find ways to make use of mobile technology. Devices inside hospital environments allow physicians and supporting staff to communicate with each other [8], to monitor patients, store and transmit electronic medical records (EMRs), and to replace older methods of dictation, once accomplished manually by translation from voice recordings [9]. Implantable and wearable devices have been developed to monitor glucose levels in diabetic patients and heart data in cardiology patients [10]. Telemedicine now allows patients in remote areas to have x-rays, MRIs and other diagnostic tests performed at sites closer their homes, with the data transmitted to physicians that are hundreds, even thousands of miles away This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. OISE-0730065. 978-1-4244-9493-4/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE