vNurse: Using virtualisation on mobile phones for remote health monitoring

Abstract

We present vNurse, a system based on a smartphone platform that permits comprehensive, secure and modular patient remote monitoring outside a clinical environment, e.g. in the home. Using both virtualisation of the phone OS and virtual mobile networks of sensors with full Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, we enable real-time remote sensor readings of patient Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) to be stored, processed and forwarded securely to healthcare practitioners based at clinical sites, while patients are remote or mobile.