443
Julián Fernández Navajas
University of Zaragoza, Spain
Antonio Valdovinos Bardají
University of Zaragoza, Spain
Robert S. H. Istepanian
Kingston University, UK
José García Moros
University of Zaragoza, Spain
José Ruiz Mas
University of Zaragoza, Spain
Eduardo Antonio Viruete Navarro
University of Zaragoza, Spain
Carolina Hernández Ramos
University of Zaragoza, Spain
Álvaro Alesanco Iglesias
University of Zaragoza, Spain
Chapter 2.8
Design of an Enhanced 3G-Based
Mobile Healthcare System
Copyright © 2009, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
AbstrAct
An enhanced mobile healthcare multi-collab-
orative system operating over Third Generation
(3G) mobile networks is presented. This chapter
describes the design and use of this system in
different medical and critical emergency sce-
narios provided with universal mobile telecom-
munications system (UMTS) accesses. In these
environments, it is designed to communicate
healthcare personnel with medical specialists
in a remote hospital. The system architecture is
based on advanced signalling protocols that al-
low multimedia multi-collaborative conferences
in IPv4/IPv6 3G scenarios. The system offers
real-time transmission of medical data and vid-
eoconference, together with other non real-time
services. It has been optimized specifcally to
operate over 3G mobile networks using the most
appropriate codecs. Evaluation results show a
reliable performance over IPv4 UMTS accesses
(64 Kbps in the uplink). In the future, advances
in m-Health systems will make easier for mobile
patients to interactively get the medical attention
and advice they need.
INtrODUctION
Mobile health (m-health) is an emerging area of
telemedicine in which the recent development in
mobile networks and telemedicine applications