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The Internet of Things (IoT) will be VERY personal soon…

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The Internet of Things (IoT) is coming to a body near you.   In fact, Medical and Personal Body Area Networks (BANs) are networked “wearable” medical devices with globally standardized network interfaces.  BANs are becoming commonplace, particularly in healthcare settings.   Medical device manufacturers are actively shipping products, with thousands more under development.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has developed network interface standards for wearable devices with biomedical sensors for health monitoring.  The standards are named “IEEE 802.15.6 802.15.6-2012 – IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks – Part 15.6: Wireless Body Area Networks”.  They are developed by the 802.15 WG – Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) Working Group.

Medical Body Area Networks (BANs) are quickly moving from design labs to hospitals and homes.  Networked medical devices have been used for years for critical care, convalescent care, and emergency care.  But these new IEEE standards offer the potential for great improvement in the delivery and monitoring of personalized healthcare in remote settings.  They will be used to monitor elderly or chronically ill patients. They can also be used to track the performance of athletes.  Many people have used a FitBit(R) or an Apple Watch (R), which have sensors to monitor heart rate, steps taken, and other body measures.  What consumer devices like FitBit(R) or an Apple Watch(R) do not currently cover is most kinds of biochemical and physiological phenomena of interest to physicians or high-performance athlete monitoring.  In the future these consumer devices may have additional medical sensors that implement the IEEE 802.15 BAN standards and be joined into BANs.

Most people have heard about wearable computers, but don’t realize how pervasive they will soon become commonplace in outpatient settings at home and medical use, with real-time connections to doctors’ offices and hospitals.

What do the standards specify?  How do they work?

This standard specifies BAN devices as short-range, wireless communications devices in the vicinity of, or inside, a human body (but not limited to humans).  They use existing industrial scientific medical (ISM) bands as well as frequency bands approved by national medical and/or regulatory authorities.  They specify support for quality of service (QoS), extremely low power, and data rates up to 10 Mbps (required), while simultaneously complying with strict non-interference guidelines where needed.  This standard considers effects on portable antennas due to the presence of a person (varying with male, female, skinny, heavy, etc.), radiation pattern shaping to minimize the specific absorption rate (SAR) into the body, and changes in characteristics as a result of the user motions.  As with any networked personal device, a crucial aspect of these devices is personal information security, and these IEEE standards include specifications to secure sensitive personal information from hackers.

IEEE standard supports development of innovative body area networks

Interested readers can download a PDF of this standard, which is available at no cost at https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/browse/standards/get-program/page compliments of the IEEE GET program.

 

Cisco Academy Newsletter about NTAi

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Axell Emmanuel is the founder and CEO of Network Technology Academy Institute (NTAi).  NTAi was created in 2001 and became a Cisco Networking Academy in 2002. NTAi is a non-profit organization under section 501 c(3) and has been licensed by the Massachusetts division of professional licensure since 2003. 

For the past 17 years NTAi has graduated thousands of professionals and placed them in various industries; such as Medical, Financial, Insurance, High Technology, Engineering, Education, and Government.  From its inception NTAi has been committed to educational excellence and has kept pace with the latest technologies. The alliance with Cisco Systems is the cornerstone and main impetus for NTAi in maintaining its educational commitment in innovation in technology in different industries. 

Throughout the years NTAi has created many academic alliances with technology vendors such as Microsoft, VMware, Palo Alto Networks, Linux Professional Institute, Adobe, CompTIA, EMC, Network Development Group (NDG), and EC-Council.  

The relationship with the above-mentioned academic partnerships has enabled NTAi to develop specific curricula for the following programs:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS);
  • Cloud Computing;
  • Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning;
  • Cyber Security;
  • Web and Graphic Designs;
  • Coding in Web Development;
  • Network Engineering; 
  • System Engineering; and
  • Internet of Things (IoT)

As a Cisco Networking Academy, NTAi teaches the majority of Cisco offerings leading to the following Certifications in Routing and Switching, Collaboration, and Wireless:  

  • Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA); 
  • Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP); and 
  • Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE)  

NTAi has participated in several Cisco CCNA NetRiders competitions and always ranked first in the New England area. In addition to being the founder and CEO of NTAi, Axell is also the lead instructor in Network Engineering.  Six years ago he participated in writing and developing the curriculum for the Cisco Networking Academy program (Netacad). 

Under his leadership NTAi has grown several folds and is well positioned to teach cutting edge technologies. 

Axell holds the following Certifications among others:

  • Cisco Certified Academy Instructor (CCAI) for CCNA and CCNP;
  • Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MCSE);
  • Certified Cisco System Instructor (CCSI); and
  • CompTIA Security+

Currently NTAi is envisioning creating academic partnerships with local colleges, universities and high schools for the purpose of sharing NTAi teaching methodology in the latest technologies.  Below are comments from former NTAi students: 

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Maureen Poirier:

I love Axell’s teaching style… when I first met him just visiting the school he handed me a piece of paper called “Axell’s Stupid Rules of Subnetting”.  After all these years of struggling with masking – in 10 minutes – I finally get it!

His use of examples: himself, the class, arms, doors, highways – make it so easy to understand the meaning of complex networking… he breaks it down to everyday items and words that you just get it.

He keeps the class light with his sense of humor, and non-traditionally doing the labs in conjunction with lecture made this a great experience.

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Luciano DeLucia:

I look forward to the next class.

NTAi Technology Institute has changed the way I look at the Internet. I have looked into several schools to prepare for my career as a Cisco Network Administrator but none had the training facility or welcoming atmosphere like NTAi has. From Administration on down, they make you feel like you are part of a family. No matter what level you are at, every student is treated the same making it a very friendly and calming atmosphere to learn your studies. 

Axell Emmanuel is the best Instructor I have ever had. Axell has made my transition into the IT world seem so effortless. Under his tutelage I have grown exponentially with my knowledge with Routers and Switches, Networking, and all things in the IT world. He not only teaches you how to configure and making things work, he teaches you the why they work and the meaning of all protocols and their applications.

I am very fortunate to have studied at NTAi and feel very confident moving forward with my new career thanks to Axell and all the wonderful staff at NTAi Technology Int.

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David Reed

Things I like about the school:

  1. First the knowledgeable staff. The instructors really seem to know what they are doing and not just talking.
  2. I feel like I am contributing something to the community once I am certified.
  3. I really do feel like it is my home away from home with how accessible it is for those of us that need a quiet place before and after class to study and or reflect on the lesson of the day.
  4. The opportunities that I will have upon completion of the courses.

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Tony Harris 

 

My name is Tony and I attend school at NTAi Network Technology Academy Institute. I would never dream that I would be able to get skills to create a network. I’ve always struggled whenever it came to learning something and thought if it’s too hard for me then it’s not for me. I would always find some excuse to tell myself that I am not capable of learning any of this. These are the materials professionals would not find easy to do, so how can I with no IT experience learn it. Well I will tell you, it wasn’t easy learning about EIGRP, Router Rip, OSPF, Vlans etc…. 

 

But I had a great teacher named Axell who taught us these things, no, not just taught us but showed us using packet tracer and “Axell’s stupid rules”.  It is a good thing to use when doing subnetting since it’s down to 3 easy steps. I’m talking a lot about subnetting because I couldn’t get it for the longest time no matter how much I looked it up at home and tried to learn it. I just never understood it. Axell’s rules really helped me out and cut short the time I was wasting to learn everything else.  What is really different about this school is that it teaches why you do things and not just how to do them. I am especially thankful to Axell for helping me all the way through. 

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Francisco Paulino

I came into the NTAi Network Technology Academy knowing Institute as much as your typical end user, which says I knew nothing about computers. Once I started coming to classes here I knew that I would learn a lot. My CompTIA teacher Keith Pollard was very helpful and was able to explain the curriculum expertly. I knew that I was learning from someone who knew his stuff, which did a lot to ease my worry. A month into the school and I learned more than people who I thought knew everything about computers. The labs in class along with the access to computers that you can play with in school gave me a practical understanding of the concepts I was learning. 

 

Axell taught our class for a week and I felt as if I learnt everything I could about networking. Axell has that effect on you, when he teaches you it feels as if your brain gets a boost in the memory. I walked out of his classes not just learning new things but knowing new things. He is a phenomenal teacher and passionate educator; I am very privileged to be part of this school.

 

Another piece of this school that has helped me learn a lot is the Cisco curriculum, very easy to access and study. It has a bunch of “games” designed to help in the conceptualizing of the information; coupled with in-class labs. It is a great way to learn. The quizzes and assessments make for a great way to gauge how much I was understanding and internalizing. 

 

I would definitely recommend this school to anyone of my family and friends. I already have told some of my friends about this school. This school is a gem in this community and I hope more people learn about this place because people will definitely come here.

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Saul Perez

I think NTAi Network Technology Academy Institute is really a good school to start your career in the technology field. I personally like to come to the class and learn the program.  

Axell is a great instructor, always cares for his students no matter in what level you are. He will help them until they finally understand the topic. I will definitely recommend this Academy to a friend or family member. 

Axell Emmanuel
Network Technology Academy Institute
100 Pleasant Street
Malden, MA 021418
Phone Number: 781-388-0026
Fax: 718-388-0085
Web Address: www.ntai.net
Email: axell@ntai.net