title: A survey on M2M systems for mHealth: a wireless communications perspective.
abstract: In the new era of connectivity, marked by the explosive number of wireless electronic devices and the need for smart and pervasive applications, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications are an emerging technology that enables the seamless device interconnection without the need of human interaction. The use of M2M technology can bring to life a wide range of mHealth applications, with considerable benefits for both patients and healthcare providers. Many technological challenges have to be met, however, to ensure the widespread adoption of mHealth solutions in the future. In this context, we aim to provide a comprehensive survey on M2M systems for mHealth applications from a wireless communication perspective. An end-to-end holistic approach is adopted, focusing on different communication aspects of the M2M architecture. Hence, we first provide a systematic review ofWireless Body Area Networks (WBANs), which constitute the enabling technology at the patient's side, and then discuss end-to-end solutions that involve the design and implementation of practical mHealth applications. We close the survey by identifying challenges and open research issues, thus paving the way for future research opportunities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Signal Theory and Communications (TSC), Technical University of Catalonia (UPC-BarcelonaTECH), C./ Esteve Terradas 7, Castelldefels 08860, Barcelona, Spain. ellik@tsc.upc.edu.
authors.forename: Elli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kartsakli
authors.affiliation: Department of Signal Theory and Communications (TSC), Technical University of Catalonia (UPC-BarcelonaTECH), C./ Esteve Terradas 7, Castelldefels 08860, Barcelona, Spain. aristeidis.lalos@tsc.upc.edu.
authors.forename: Aris S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Lalos
authors.affiliation: Department of Signal Theory and Communications (TSC), Technical University of Catalonia (UPC-BarcelonaTECH), C./ Esteve Terradas 7, Castelldefels 08860, Barcelona, Spain. aantonopoulos@cttc.es.
authors.forename: Angelos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antonopoulos
authors.affiliation: WEST Aquila slr, Via Giovanni Gronchi 18, L'Aquila 67100, Italy. tennina@westaquila.com.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tennina
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Signals and Systems (L2S), CNRS - SUPELEC - Univ. Paris-Sud XI, 3 Rue Joliot-Curie, 91192 Gif sur Yvette, France. marco.direnzo@lss.supelec.fr.
authors.forename: Marco Di
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Renzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Signal Theory and Communications (TSC), Technical University of Catalonia (UPC-BarcelonaTECH), C./ Esteve Terradas 7, Castelldefels 08860, Barcelona, Spain. luisg@tsc.upc.edu.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Telecommunications Technological Centre of Catalonia (CTTC), Av. Gauss 7, Castelldefels 08860, Barcelona, Spain. cveri@cttc.es.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Verikoukis