Evaluation of Gprs Enabled Secure Remote Patient Monitoring System

This paper presents a methodology for monitoring patients remotely without geographical barriers using a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enabled embedded system. The motivation for this work is the realisation that remote patient monitoring and control is becoming a necessity and that mobile facilities need to be developed to meet the current and the future requirements. The system architecture is described and performance has been evaluated in the context of data security needs. The suitability of the GPRS connectivity is considered in the context of the overall architecture and TCP/IP over GPRS has been shown to provide both a feasible and practical strategy. The results achieved compares the performance using both an insecure channel and one protected through the implementation of Secure Shell (SSH). The embedded system has been developed using the Linux Operating System, as this allows the overall system footprint to be configured to meet the initial requirements. The future developments on medium to long term trend analysis are presented to show how the system can be developed into a useful "telemedicine" facility. This will revolutionise the overall quality of life of million of patients worldwide by creating a virtual consulting room.