Abstract—Utilization of information and communication technologies
such as mobile phones and wireless sensor networks becomes
more and more common in the field of telemonitoring for
chronic diseases. Providing elderly people with a mobile-phonebased
patient terminal requires a barrier-free design of the overall
user interface including the setup of wireless communication links
to sensor devices. To easily manage the connection between a mobile
phone and wireless sensor devices, a concept based on the combination
of Bluetooth and near-field communication technology has
been developed. It allows us initiating communication between two
devices just by bringing them close together for a few seconds
without manually configuring the communication link. This concept
has been piloted with a sensor device and evaluated in terms
of usability and feasibility. Results indicate that this solution has
the potential to simplify the handling of wireless sensor networks
for people with limited technical skills.
Index Terms—Bluetooth, ECG, eHealth, near-field communication
(NFC), telemonitoring.