The new generation of wearable personal eHealth systems has to be affordable, user-friendly, “invisible”, autonomous in terms of power consumption and able to assist individuals in their own health management. Major challenges are ahead such as further research and development, user acceptance and trust, cost-effectiveness and business models. Intelligent Biomedical Clothing and biomedical sensors are becoming major driving forces for cutting-edge developments. The synergy and close collaboration of all involved disciplines and sectors is of paramount importance. This book consists of papers describing developments and trends all over the world in the areas of smart wearable monitoring and diagnostic systems, smart treatment systems, biomedical clothing and smart fibres and fabrics. It covers also non-research aspects such as citizens and patients needs, interoperability, risk management and market perspectives. The chapters are preceded by a short executive summary which highlights the main issues, findings and conclusions for the convenience of the reader. The participation of the major actors involved in research, development, decision making and business should make this book unique and a pioneer in the field.

This book is dedicated to wearable and autonomous systems, including devices, offers to variety of users, namely, master degree students, researchers and practitioners, An opportunity of a dedicated and a deep approach in order to improve their knowledge in this specific field. The book draws the attention about interesting aspects, as for instance, advanced wearable sensors for enabling applications, solutions for arthritic patients in their limited and conditioned movements, wearable gate analysis, energy harvesting, physiological parameter monitoring, communication, pathology detection , etc..

The development and advancement of personalised health management systems requires the consideration of advances in sensor technologies and advanced textiles in addition to nano technologies and evolving information and communication technologies. We are now living in an environment where changes in healthcare structures and requests from patients to have an increased participation in their own healthcare are demanding the availability of affordable and readily available personalised health management systems. Recent research has taken us a step closer in providing such solutions, however, efforts are still required to address the issues of integration of new technologies into existing health care practices, implications of interoperability of services, analysis of results following large scale clinical evaluations and development of technology which is small, reliable and affordable by its users. This publication shows a synergy between research efforts in three diverse areas; sensor technologies, advanced textiles and nanotechnology and computing. It brings together researchers from academia, industry and clinical healthcare provision and emphasises the need for multi-disciplinary collaborations in the future developments of personalised health management systems.

This book provides a collection of comprehensive research articles on data analytics and applications of wearable devices in healthcare. This Special Issue presents 28 research studies from 137 authors representing 37 institutions from 19 countries. To facilitate the understanding of the research articles, we have organized the book to show various aspects covered in this field, such as eHealth, technology-integrated research, prediction models, rehabilitation studies, prototype systems, community health studies, ergonomics design systems, technology acceptance model evaluation studies, telemonitoring systems, warning systems, application of sensors in sports studies, clinical systems, feasibility studies, geographical location based systems, tracking systems, observational studies, risk assessment studies, human activity recognition systems, impact measurement systems, and a systematic review. We would like to take this opportunity to invite high quality research articles for our next Special Issue entitled “Digital Health and Smart Sensors for Better Management of Cancer and Chronic Diseases” as a part of Sensors journal.

A variety of topics of bio-informatics, including both medical and bio-medical informatics are addressed by MIE. The main theme in this publication is the development of connections between bio-informatics and medical informatics. Tools and concepts from both disciplines can complement each other.

The International Council on Medical and Care Compunetics (ICMCC) wants to emphasize the computing and networking synergies in medicine and (health)care. The term compunetics was introduced to present the union of computing and (social) networking. ICMCC wants to bring together as many aspects of medical and care compunetics as possible by forming a Global Knowledge Center. The availability of information works on both the BTB and the BTC level, as the structure will aim at both the consumers and the professionals (caregivers). Patients / consumers will be able to obtain information related to their illness or handicaps, so that they will be more knowledgeable about possible treatments and treatment alternatives. Professionals will be able to find relevant information (medical, technical, scientific) in a fast and efficient way. Industry (and more specifically SME’s) will have access to technical information from a central portal. The shifting paradigm of health from reparative to preventive will enhance the necessity of consumer related information that, when efficiently obtained, can be of great economical benefit. In a world where the need for care is growing rapidly and where it is impossible to expect a growth in the number of caregivers, information is becoming more and more crucial. Not only because an informed patient is an economic benefit, but also because awareness amongst professionals about developments in their own and related fields can save enormous amounts of money. ICMCC will build a global network of professionals in medicine and care. Clinicians, pharmacologists, managers, care practitioners, patients, policy makers, IT specialists will all be represented.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference On Smart Homes and Health Telematics, ICOST 2007, held in Nara, Japan in June 2007. It presents the latest approaches and technical solutions in the area of smart homes, health telematics, and emerging enabling technologies.

The E-Medicine, E-Health, M-Health, Telemedicine, and Telehealth Handbook provides extensive coverage of modern telecommunication in the medical industry, from sensors on and within the body to electronic medical records and beyond. Telemedicine and Electronic Medicine is the first volume of this handbook. Featuring chapters written by leading experts and researchers in their respective fields, this volume: Describes the integration of—and interactions between—modern eMedicine, telemedicine, eHealth, and telehealth practices Explains how medical information flows through wireless technologies and networks, emphasizing fast-deploying wireless body area networks Presents the latest developments in sensors, devices, and implantables, from medical sensors for mobile communication devices to drug-delivery systems Illustrates practical telemedicine applications in telecardiology, teleradiology, teledermatology, teleaudiology, teleoncology, acute care telemedicine, and more The E-Medicine, E-Health, M-Health, Telemedicine, and Telehealth Handbook bridges the gap between scientists, engineers, and medical professionals by creating synergy in the related fields of biomedical engineering, information and communication technology, business, and healthcare.

The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) carries out research in the field of ageing, with a focus on the role that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can play to promote Active Ageing. This book attempts to reflect aspects of the contribution ICT can make to quality of life for older citizens in Europe.

This publication starts of with a review of plaque imaging techniques, with an introduction of the segmentation techniques for plaque classification and quantification. Many aspects of plaque imaging techniques are presented in this publication, such as; medical image retrieval and database management, MRI techniques to differentiate stable versus high risk atherosclerosis, composition and morphology of atherosclerotic plaque, analysis of the soft tissue based on computer vision techniques, modelling of coronary artery biomechanics, Cardiac CT for the assessment of cardiovascular pathology with an emphasis on the detection of coronary atherosclerosis, technical and practical issues regarding coronary atherosclerotic plaque imaging by CT (focussing on coronary calcium imaging), feasibility of a non-invasive, in vivo determination of the IBS of arterial wall tissue, high resolution ultrasound images of carotid plaques, the problem of reliable features extraction and classification process and a discussion on advanced mathematical techniques to extract spectral information from the RF data to determine the plaque composition.