Leveraging Li-Fi to Enhance Security and Performance of Medical Devices
The network connectivity of medical devices is increasing at a rapid rate. Many medical devices, such as vital sign monitors, share information via wireless or wired connections. However, these connectivity options suffer from a variety of well-known limitations. Wireless connectivity, especially in the unlicensed radio frequency bands, can be disrupted. Such disruption could be due to benign reasons, such as a crowded spectrum, or to malicious intent. While wired connections are less susceptible to interference, they inhibit the mobility of the medical devices, which could be critical in a variety of scenarios. This work explores the application of Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) communication to enhance the security, performance, and mobility of medical devices in connected healthcare scenarios. A simple bridge for connected devices serves as an avenue to connect traditional medical devices to the Li-Fi network. This bridge was utilized to conduct bandwidth tests on a small Li-Fi network installed into a Mock-ICU setting with a backend enterprise network similar to that of a hospital. Mobile and stationary tests were conducted to replicate various different situations that might occur within a hospital setting. Results show that in room Li-Fi connectivity provides reasonable bandwidth and latency within a hospital like setting.
[1] “Protecting medical devices and reducing patient risk from electromagnetic interference,” Oct-2019. (Online). Available: https://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA7-6297ENW.pdf. (Accessed: 08-Feb-2020).
[2] F. Donovan, “BD Medical Gear Suffers from Wi-Fi Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities,” HealthITSecurity, 25-Apr-2018. (Online). Available: https://healthitsecurity.com/news/bd-medical-gear-suffers-from-wi-fi-cybersecurity-vulnerabilities. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[3] Center for Devices and Radiological Health, “Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities - Medtronic Implantable Cardia Devices,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Online). Available: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/safety-communications/cybersecurity-vulnerabilities-affecting-medtronic-implantable-cardiac-devices-programmers-and-home. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[4] M. O. Al Kalaa et al., "Characterizing the 2.4 GHz Spectrum in a Hospital Environment: Modeling and Applicability to Coexistence Testing of Medical Devices," in IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 58-66, Feb. 2017.
[5] C. M. F. Dailymail.com, “Forget Wi-Fi, get ready for Li-Fi that's 100 times faster than current systems,” Daily Mail Online, 24-Feb-2016. (Online). Available: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3460711/Forget-Wi-Fi-ready-Li-Fi-Ultrafast-new-technology-100-times-faster-current-systems-using-LIGHTS.html. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[6] “LiFi in the healthcare sector,” pureLiFi. (Online). Available: https://purelifi.com/case-study/lifi-in-the-healthcare-sector/. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[7] “Li-Fi Medical,” nextLiFi. (Online). Available: http://www.nextlifi.com/lifi-medical/. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[8] S. Schmid, T. Richner, S. Mangold and T. R. Gross, "EnLighting: An Indoor Visible Light Communication System Based on Networked Light Bulbs," 2016 13th Annual IEEE International Conference on Sensing, Communication, and Networking (SECON), London, 2016, pp. 1-9.
[9] D. Giustiniano, N. O. Tippenhauer and S. Mangold, "Low-complexity Visible Light Networking with LED-to-LED communication," 2012 IFIP Wireless Days, Dublin, 2012, pp. 1-8.
[10] G. Corbellini, K. Aksit, S. Schmid, S. Mangold and T. R. Gross, "Connecting networks of toys and smartphones with visible light communication," in IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 72-78, July 2014.
[11] A. Navalakha and N. Maheshwari, “Data Services of Li- Fi in Hospital Management,” International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 1631–1633, Aug. 2014.
[12] P. Miller, E. Stewart “Lightwaves and Telecommunication: Pulses of Light Transmitted through Glass Fibers Are Lowering Costs, Increasing Speed and Capacity, and Stimulating New Uses of Telecommunications Systems.” American Scientist, vol. 72, no. 1, 1984, pp. 66–71. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27852440. Accessed 4 Feb. 2020.
[13] T. Komine, Y. Tanaka, S. Haruyama, M. Nakagawa, "Basic Study on Visible-Light Communication using Light Emitting Diode Illumination", Proc. of 8th International Symposium on Microwave and Optical Technology (ISMOT 2001), pp. 45-48, 2001.
[14] Harald Haas. (2011, July) "Harald Haas: Wireless data from every light bulb". ted.com. retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/harald_haas_wireless_data_from_every_light_bulb
[15] “FAQs Archive,” pureLiFi. (Online). Available: https://purelifi.com/faq/#question-54. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[16] H. Haas and C. Chen, "What is Li-Fi?," 2015 European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC), Valencia, 2015, pp. 1-3.d
[17] IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks--Part 15.7: Short-Range Optical Wireless Communications," in IEEE Std 802.15.7-2018 (Revision of IEEE Std 802.15.7-2011) , vol., no., pp.1-407, 23 April 2019
[18] ICTP Science Dissemination Unit, “ICTP-SDU home page,” ICTP-SDU: about PingER. (Online). Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20131010010244/http://sdu.ictp.it/pinger/pinger.html. (Accessed: 12-Feb-2020)..
[19] Y. Wang and H. Haas, "Dynamic Load Balancing With Handover in Hybrid Li-Fi and Wi-Fi Networks," in Journal of Lightwave Technology, vol. 33, no. 22, pp. 4671-4682, 15 Nov.15, 2015.
[1] “Protecting medical devices and reducing patient risk from electromagnetic interference,” Oct-2019. (Online). Available: https://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA7-6297ENW.pdf. (Accessed: 08-Feb-2020).
[2] F. Donovan, “BD Medical Gear Suffers from Wi-Fi Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities,” HealthITSecurity, 25-Apr-2018. (Online). Available: https://healthitsecurity.com/news/bd-medical-gear-suffers-from-wi-fi-cybersecurity-vulnerabilities. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[3] Center for Devices and Radiological Health, “Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities - Medtronic Implantable Cardia Devices,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Online). Available: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/safety-communications/cybersecurity-vulnerabilities-affecting-medtronic-implantable-cardiac-devices-programmers-and-home. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[4] M. O. Al Kalaa et al., "Characterizing the 2.4 GHz Spectrum in a Hospital Environment: Modeling and Applicability to Coexistence Testing of Medical Devices," in IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 58-66, Feb. 2017.
[5] C. M. F. Dailymail.com, “Forget Wi-Fi, get ready for Li-Fi that's 100 times faster than current systems,” Daily Mail Online, 24-Feb-2016. (Online). Available: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3460711/Forget-Wi-Fi-ready-Li-Fi-Ultrafast-new-technology-100-times-faster-current-systems-using-LIGHTS.html. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[6] “LiFi in the healthcare sector,” pureLiFi. (Online). Available: https://purelifi.com/case-study/lifi-in-the-healthcare-sector/. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[7] “Li-Fi Medical,” nextLiFi. (Online). Available: http://www.nextlifi.com/lifi-medical/. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[8] S. Schmid, T. Richner, S. Mangold and T. R. Gross, "EnLighting: An Indoor Visible Light Communication System Based on Networked Light Bulbs," 2016 13th Annual IEEE International Conference on Sensing, Communication, and Networking (SECON), London, 2016, pp. 1-9.
[9] D. Giustiniano, N. O. Tippenhauer and S. Mangold, "Low-complexity Visible Light Networking with LED-to-LED communication," 2012 IFIP Wireless Days, Dublin, 2012, pp. 1-8.
[10] G. Corbellini, K. Aksit, S. Schmid, S. Mangold and T. R. Gross, "Connecting networks of toys and smartphones with visible light communication," in IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 72-78, July 2014.
[11] A. Navalakha and N. Maheshwari, “Data Services of Li- Fi in Hospital Management,” International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 1631–1633, Aug. 2014.
[12] P. Miller, E. Stewart “Lightwaves and Telecommunication: Pulses of Light Transmitted through Glass Fibers Are Lowering Costs, Increasing Speed and Capacity, and Stimulating New Uses of Telecommunications Systems.” American Scientist, vol. 72, no. 1, 1984, pp. 66–71. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27852440. Accessed 4 Feb. 2020.
[13] T. Komine, Y. Tanaka, S. Haruyama, M. Nakagawa, "Basic Study on Visible-Light Communication using Light Emitting Diode Illumination", Proc. of 8th International Symposium on Microwave and Optical Technology (ISMOT 2001), pp. 45-48, 2001.
[14] Harald Haas. (2011, July) "Harald Haas: Wireless data from every light bulb". ted.com. retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/harald_haas_wireless_data_from_every_light_bulb
[15] “FAQs Archive,” pureLiFi. (Online). Available: https://purelifi.com/faq/#question-54. (Accessed: 11-Feb-2020).
[16] H. Haas and C. Chen, "What is Li-Fi?," 2015 European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC), Valencia, 2015, pp. 1-3.d
[17] IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks--Part 15.7: Short-Range Optical Wireless Communications," in IEEE Std 802.15.7-2018 (Revision of IEEE Std 802.15.7-2011) , vol., no., pp.1-407, 23 April 2019
[18] ICTP Science Dissemination Unit, “ICTP-SDU home page,” ICTP-SDU: about PingER. (Online). Available: https://web.archive.org/web/20131010010244/http://sdu.ictp.it/pinger/pinger.html. (Accessed: 12-Feb-2020)..
[19] Y. Wang and H. Haas, "Dynamic Load Balancing With Handover in Hybrid Li-Fi and Wi-Fi Networks," in Journal of Lightwave Technology, vol. 33, no. 22, pp. 4671-4682, 15 Nov.15, 2015.
@article{"International Journal of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Sciences:79790", author = "Trevor Kroeger and Hayden Williams and Edward Holzinger and David Coleman and Brian Haberman", title = "Leveraging Li-Fi to Enhance Security and Performance of Medical Devices", abstract = "The network connectivity of medical devices is increasing at a rapid rate. Many medical devices, such as vital sign monitors, share information via wireless or wired connections. However, these connectivity options suffer from a variety of well-known limitations. Wireless connectivity, especially in the unlicensed radio frequency bands, can be disrupted. Such disruption could be due to benign reasons, such as a crowded spectrum, or to malicious intent. While wired connections are less susceptible to interference, they inhibit the mobility of the medical devices, which could be critical in a variety of scenarios. This work explores the application of Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) communication to enhance the security, performance, and mobility of medical devices in connected healthcare scenarios. A simple bridge for connected devices serves as an avenue to connect traditional medical devices to the Li-Fi network. This bridge was utilized to conduct bandwidth tests on a small Li-Fi network installed into a Mock-ICU setting with a backend enterprise network similar to that of a hospital. Mobile and stationary tests were conducted to replicate various different situations that might occur within a hospital setting. Results show that in room Li-Fi connectivity provides reasonable bandwidth and latency within a hospital like setting.", keywords = "Hospital, light fidelity, Li-Fi, medical devices, security.", volume = "14", number = "8", pages = "241-5", }
