KR20140013890A - Method and system to mitigate risks of non-transmission of medical data in ubiquitous healthcare environment - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system are described for providing seamless transmission of medical data from a sensor source to a medical facility through a gateway. The method proposes the selection of an alternate backup gateway by the primary gateway to achieve seamless medical data transfer in case of some interrupts of the primary gateway. The alternate backup gateway may be a pre-determined device belonging to generally the same user who wears or owns the sensor. If a pre-defined gateway is not available or cannot serve as a gateway for future communication, an 'on-the-fly' gateway may be selected. The proposed method uses a zero knowledge proof protocol such as direct and anonymous authentication by a trusted computing group to authenticate the newly identified gateway.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM TO MITIGATE RISKS OF NON-TRANSMISSION OF MEDICAL DATA IN UBIQUITOUS HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT}

The following description particularly describes the features of a system according to one embodiment and describes how it may be carried out as described below.

According to one embodiment, it is associated with a patient's medical data transmission gateway in a ubiquitous healthcare environment, and more particularly, for providing seamless medical data transmission by the gateway.

Miniaturized implantable and on-body wireless biosensors monitor the progression of chronic disease, post-operative care and complex therapeutic drug regimes. It is useful for evaluating the body's response to the disease.

Body Area Networks (BAN) are single body central units (BCUs) and several miniaturized body sensor units (BSUs) that are worn by the human body. Enable wireless communication between

BAN includes applications of the ubiquitous healthcare system, a new technology that enables patients to monitor their daily activities. This not only alerts the patient or healthcare staff of problems detected in the patient, but can also collect data for trend analysis and medical research. The use of continuous monitoring allows the transient and progressive abnormalities to be reliably captured.

Such implanted or on-body sensors are generally low power devices and therefore cannot consume power for direct transmission to a medical center or healthcare unit, The medical data can be sent to a gateway in the vicinity of the sensor that can additionally transmit such medical data. The prior art supports the transmission of medical data from the sensor if the gateway is within range of the fraud sensor.

In addition, even if the gateway is within range of the sensor, the transfer of data may be interrupted if the gateway cannot transmit the medical data to the medical facility due to some unavoidable circumstances. Interrupts can be important in the transmission of monitored medical data.

For the reasons mentioned above, the current system cannot provide seamless data transfer of the ubiquitous healthcare system in case of gateway failure.

According to one side, there is provided a method for providing seamless medical data transmission in a ubiquitous healthcare environment, the method comprising the step of collecting the medical data transmitted through a primary gateway, when the medical data transmission is interrupted Retrieving a plurality of alternate gateways replacing a head gateway and selecting an alternate gateway to replace the primary gateway among the plurality of alternative gateways based on characteristics of the plurality of alternate gateways. .

According to another aspect, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium containing a program for performing a method for providing seamless medical data transmission in a ubiquitous healthcare environment.

According to another aspect, a primary gateway for providing seamless medical data transmission in ubiquitous healthcare is provided.

According to one embodiment, said primary gateway comprises an integrated circuit, said integrated circuit comprising at least one memory comprising at least one processor and computer program code, said at least one memory and said computer program code Wherein the at least one processor collects the transmitted medical data, retrieves an alternate gateway when the medical data transmission is interrupted, and wherein the primary of the plurality of alternate gateways is based on characteristics of the plurality of alternate gateways. Choose an alternative gateway to replace the gateway.

These and other aspects of the embodiments herein are more readily understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the following description, while illustrating the preferred embodiments thereof and the various details, is provided by way of explanation and not limitation. Many changes and modifications may be possible within the scope of the embodiments without departing from its spirit, and the embodiments include all such modifications.

According to one embodiment it is described by the accompanying drawings as reference numerals representing corresponding parts in the various drawings. Embodiments are more readily understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
1 shows an example diagram illustrating entities associated with an existing ubiquitous healthcare environment;
2 illustrates a module of a gateway, according to one embodiment;
3 shows a flowchart describing a process associated with selecting a backup gateway, according to one embodiment;
4 shows a sequence diagram for handover of data transmission from a primary gateway to a predefined gateway, according to one embodiment;
5 shows a sequence diagram for handover of data transmission from a primary gateway to an alternate gateway, according to one embodiment; And
6 illustrates a computing environment for performing an application, according to one embodiment.

The embodiments and various features and advantageous details herein are more fully described with reference to non-limiting embodiments described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the following detailed description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques have been omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments described herein.

The embodiments used herein are intended to be easily implemented by those skilled in the art and are intended to provide an understanding of how further the described embodiments may be used, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments.

According to one embodiment, a method and system are provided for providing seamless medical data transmission in the event of a failure of a primary gateway.

According to another embodiment, a method of selecting a backup gateway when a medical data transmission is interrupted is provided, and an on-the-fly gateway when the medical data transmission is interrupted. A method of selecting is provided.

Embodiments may be used by using a backup predefined if the primary gateway fails to transfer data from an implanted body sensor to an intermediate Clinical Decision Support Server (CDSS). Gateway) A method and system for providing seamless medical data transmission are achieved.

In one embodiment, the primary gateway hands over over transmitting data operation from the implanted body sensor to an alternative Gateway.

The method may be the case of the unavailability of the predefined gateway (in case of r unavailability of the predefined Gateway) or the predefined gateway may intentionally handover the data transfer operation to an alternate gateway. In order to transfer data, it is to find alternate gateways and select the best gateway from a plurality of found gateways.

The method checks whether the predetermined gateway or a plurality of found alternatives includes the possibility of sending data based on their characteristics.

According to an embodiment, the gateway may be a mobile phone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant, a laptop, a desktop computer, a media player, and the like.

The terms medical data and data used in the detailed description may be used interchangeably.

Reference to the drawings, in particular like reference numerals of FIGS. 1 to 6, show corresponding features consistently through the figures, which illustrate preferred embodiments.

1 shows an example diagram illustrating entities associated with an existing ubiquitous healthcare environment. The figure shows a sensor 101, a primary gateway 102, a medical care facility 103, and a server 104.

Sensor 101 may be an implanted sensor or on body sensors or a sensor of the BAN system that detects the medical data of the monitored patient and transmits it to a nearby primary gateway 102. have.

The sensor 101 includes a primary phase comprising a discovery phase following negotiation and authentication after the medical data is securely transmitted from the sensor 101 to the primary gateway 102. Have to be paired with gateway 102. Communication between the sensor 101 and the primary gateway 102 may be made through all short-range connection protocols such as Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Zigbee, and the like.

The primary gateway 102 further passes this medical data from the medical care facility 103 to the server for further health analysis of the patient. Such communication may use Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Wi-Fi, WiMax, or any other mobile packet transfer based on a communication system.

According to one embodiment, the medical data transmitted by the primary gateway 102 may be transmitted to the medical care facility 103 through a Clinical Detection Support Server (CDSS). The CDSS may perform pre-analysis of medical data received from gateway 102 before forwarding it to the medical care facility 102.

The CDSS server may not be needed if a medical attendant is available at the medical care facility to monitor in real time the received medical data of the patient being monitored. The medical data transmitted by the sensor 101 may be event based or continuous.

The sensor 101 may detect an abnormal state in the detected medical data based on a standard search algorithm, transmit only “event” information, or continuously transmit detected data serving as a recorder. can transmit sensed data continuously acting as recorders). Primary gateway 102 may be any device capable of providing near field connectivity to sensor 101 and medical care facility 103.

In ubiquitous healthcare in which a patient travels, the primary gateway 102 of the existing system may lose network connectivity between the medical care facility 103 and the primary gateway 102, or lack of power faced by the primary gateway 102. (power shortage faced by the primary Gateway), or when the primary gateway 102 moves geographically far from the sensor 101, or any similar situation in which communication between the sensor 101 and the medical care facility 103 is interrupted. May fail to provide seamless medical data transmission in such situations.

These disadvantages of existing systems can cause serious problems because most of the patients monitored have significant disease and need to be monitored continuously.

2 illustrates a module at the gateway according to one embodiment. The figure shows a gateway 200 that includes a network interface module 201, a power module 202, a communication interface module 203, and a storage module 204. The network interface module 201 enables the gateway 200 to communicate with the sensor via a short range communication protocol such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, or the like.

The power module 202 includes a battery unit that provides power for the medical data transmission operation performed by the gateway 200. The communication interface module 203 communicates with a base station to enable the gateway 200 to forward the medical data to the server of the medical care facility 103 for further health analysis of the fraudulent patient. .

This communication can be HTTP, Wi-Fi, WiMax or any other mobile packet transmission based on the communication system. The storage module 204 may include an internal memory such as a read only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM), and may store the medical data received from the sensor 101 and additionally transmit the data whenever necessary. It may be an external memory such as a card.

3 shows a flow diagram illustrating a process associated with selecting a backup gateway, according to one embodiment. Flowchart 300 illustrates different operations performed by primary gateway 102 pairing with sensor 101 to send medical data received from sensor 101 to the medical care facility. .

Primary gateway 102 is gateway 200 initially paired with the sensor. The sensor transmits the detected medical data to the primary gateway in the short range communication protocol (302). The primary gateway 102 further sends this medical data to the medical care facility 103 via HTTP.

In addition, the primary gateway 102 detects 302 an interrupt in the medical data transmission. This interruption may be due to a loss of communication with the sensor 101 as a result of the geographic distance of the gateway from the sensor or a lack of power facing the gateway transmitting the medical data or a loss of network connectivity between the medical facility sensor 103. This may result in the primary gateway 102 unable to transmit medical data.

In one embodiment, primary gateway 102 may also intentionally hands over the data transmission to an alternative Gateway.

If the primary gateway detects an interrupt for medical data transmission due to a loss of network connection, the method may indicate that the primary gateway stores the medical data in its storage module 204 for a predetermined time interval 'N'. You can do that.

If the network deterioration is temporary and the network is available within the interval N, the primary gateway sends the stored data and resumes normal medical data transmission called a storage and delivery mechanism. which is called store and forward mechanism).

The network deterioration is continuous beyond time interval N or the interruption in data transmission is for other reasons such as lack of power faced by primary gateway 102 or primary gateway 102 moving geographically away from the sensor. If so, the primary gateway searches for a replacement gateway (303).

While planned geographical separation can be intimated by the patient being monitored, a coarse power prediction algorithm can be used to predict power shortages.

The method may provide a mechanism for initiating a handover process of medical data transfer from the primary gateway to a backup alternative gateway.

The method can provide a predefined gateway that can act as an alternate backup gateway, and primary gateway 102 searches (303) for the predefined gateway.

The predefined gateway may be another gateway the patient being previously selected by the primary Gateway 102 in advance and process the patient being monitored. monitored possesses).

Prespecified gateways are not necessary but recommended because of addressing privacy and trust issues. If a predefined gateway is found, the primary gateway checks for availability of the predefined gateway (304). If the predetermined gateway is available, the primary gateway checks whether the predetermined gateway characteristic is satisfactory before data transfer is handed over (305).

According to an embodiment, the predetermined gateway characteristic may be network status, power statistics, network signal strength, and the like.

Approximate power prediction techniques can be used to determine whether the predetermined backup gateway has enough battery / power to maintain transmission of the medical data.

The predetermined backup gateway includes a network connectivity for transmitting the medical data. If a predefined gateway is not available (no pre-designated gateway or does not meet the required device characteristics), the primary gateway 102 finds the availability of an alternate on-the-fly gateway ( 306) (discovers availability of alternative on-the-fly Gateways).

The on-the-fly gateway is selected dynamically in real world by the primary gateway. If the primary gateway 102 fails to find an on-the-fly gateway, the process ends (307). The discovery of the on-the-fly gateway is performed using ad-hoc and services such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee and the like.

In one embodiment, primary gateway 102 uses the Wi-Fi ad-hawk protocol to initiate a search for a wireless network that primary gateway 102 can use and a peer-to-peer connection request. Discover the Fly Gateway. If there are no visible Wi-Fi Gateways available, scan for the Wi-Fi Media Access Layer (MAC) range and scan the available gateways for peer-to-peer connections. request.

After an ad-hoc network is set up, primary gateway 102 broadcasts a broadcast message requesting the characteristics of the gateway, such as network status, power statistics, and network signal strength. (broadcast message) is transmitted. All the gateways in an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network respond with their own gateway characteristics.

The message may include characteristics of the device such as address, network status, and the like. If the primary gateway 102 finds all alternate on-the-fly gateways, the primary gateway 102 meets the requirements for handover of data transfers with these characteristics of the on-the-fly gateway. (308).

If no gateway matching the requirement is found, the search is terminated. If one gateway satisfies the above requirements it is selected for handover but if multiple gateways are found that meet the gateway characteristics the method selects the best on-the-fly gateway based on their gateway characteristics. The primary gateway 102 selects (309) the best gateway, providing a mechanism for the selection.

The primary gateway 102 even uses the Bluetooth protocol to find all gateways in the range corresponding to their gateway characteristics and primary gateway 102. Once the Gateway is finalized either of situations can exist. The final gateway for handover may be a predefined gateway, where the gateway characteristics are determined to be satisfactory (305) and selected (309) as the best on-the-fly gateway.

The handover parameter is paired with the on-the-fly gateway or the predefined gateway and credentials are required of the server of the medical care facility 102 to approve / identify the on-the-fly gateway or the predefined gateway. It may include an identifier / address of the sensor 101.

The primary gateway informs the sensors of the termination of its communication and notifies the sensors to the selected gateway for handover of the data transmission. An application of either the selected on-the-fly gateway or the predefined gateway automatically connects with sensor 101 using the identifier or address that is part of the handover from primary gateway 102. The negotiation and authentication is completed before the actual data transmission.

The credential allows a new " on-the-fly " gateway to identify / authenticate itself to the server of medical care facility 103. Finally, the sensor transmits data to the selected gateway (311).

Various operations in the method 300 may be performed in the order described, in a different order, or simultaneously. In addition, in some embodiments, some of the operations shown in FIG. 3 may be omitted.

For example, a patient monitored at a medical care facility 103 having an implanted sensor, such as a cardiac pacemaker that provides an Electro Cardio Graph (ECG) monitor, may include his mobile phone as a primary gateway. own mobile phone as a primary gateway). In the situation where the patient is traveling, the mobile phone can detect network deterioration and anticipate interruptions in data transmission.

This allows other on-the-fly gateways to be found and the companion traveler's mobile phone with acceptable gateway characteristics can be used as a backup gateway. This dynamic on-the-fly backup gateway presents a challenge for unreliable platforms that can misuse confidential health data. A zero knowledge proof protocol such as Direct Anonymous Attestation (DAA) is performed to verify the authenticity of the platform of the on-the-fly backup gateway.

DAA is a cryptographic protocol that enables remote authentication of a trusted platform while preserving the user's personal information. The protocol was adopted by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) in the latest version of its Trusted Platform Module (TPM) specification. Using DAA, two transacting parties can verify the opposite parties platform without them knowing whom they are communicating with).

For example, there may be a scenario of the patient being monitored that is in a restricted mobility environment, such as a home. In such a scenario the primary gateway 102 may hand over its operation to a personal computer (PC) capable of transmitting the data to the server of the medical care facility 103.

According to one embodiment, the primary gateway 102 determines whether the network and platform are okay to hand over the transmission again, whether it sends a message to the backup (operational) gateway or restarts the transmission with its own battery. Detects that it is in a state to restart the transmission as its own battery, network and platform are ok, it sends a message to the back up (acting) Gateway to handover the transmission back). Upon receiving this message from the primary gateway 102, the operational gateway terminates the communication with the sensor 101 and the primary gateway 102 restarts the communication.

According to one embodiment, if the backup (operating) gateway is facing insufficient power or network loss, it will try to hand over the transmission to its previous primary gateway 102.

According to one embodiment, interpreting the broadcast request by the primary gateway is a pre-installed, light weight daemon process at the device of the ad-hawk network. Run Other methods in the pre-installed software may be distributed to systems including, but not limited to, the following methods:

During installation of the SIM recorder, the operator may or may ask to install the software. Since this would be a vital, emergency service with legal approvals, the operator can install a version that is compatible with the platform of the mobile client.

The pre-installed may be distributed wirelessly so that anyone who can download the software for which the primary gateway is required can transmit a link to the gateway in an ad-hawk network.

The pre-installed software can be performed in a mobile phone delegated by a local government.

4 shows a sequence diagram for handover of data transmission from a primary gateway to a predefined gateway, according to one embodiment. The figure includes a sensor 101, a primary gateway 102, a predefined gateway 400, and a medical care facility 103.

The sensor 101 transmits the detected medical data to the primary gateway 102 (401). According to one embodiment, the primary gateway 102 is unable to transmit data to the server of the medical care facility 103.

According to one embodiment, primary gateway 102 intends to send data through a pre-defined gateway intentionally. The primary gateway 102 starts the process and finds a predefined gateway 400 having an address available to the primary gateway 102 in the vicinity. The predefined then responds 403 to the primary gateway. After receiving the response, the primary gateway 102 sends the secure authentication data, sensor related data (eg, sensor) to a predetermined gateway 400. ID) and a server address (404).

The predefined gateway then announces that it has received data transmitted by primary gateway 102 (405). The primary gateway 102 also terminates communication with the sensor 101 by sending an appropriate apt termination message.

The sensor 101 transmits the medical data of the patient to the predetermined gateway 400 (407). The predefined gateway then sends the medical data to medical care facility 103.

According to an embodiment, the predefined gateway 400 may transmit data to a CDSS which pre-analyzes the data and delivers it to the medical care facility 102. then forwards it to the medical care facility).

The CDSS may not be needed if real time monitoring of the received medical data of the patient whose medical attendant is being monitored is available at the medical care facility.

5 shows a sequence diagram for a handover of data transfers from a primary gateway to an alternate gateway, according to one embodiment. As shown in the figure, the sensor 101 transmits the medical data to the primary gateway 102 (501).

According to one embodiment, the primary gateway 102 may not be able to transmit the medical data due to some interruption in the network. According to one embodiment, the primary gateway 102 intends to intentionally transmit data through the on-the-fly gateway.

The primary gateway 102 discovers 502 the on-the-fly gateway in the vicinity using ad-hoc services such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and the like. In addition, primary gateway 102 receives 503 a list of all on-the-fly gateways 500 in the range of primary gateway 102.

The primary gateway 102 then sends 504 a broadcast message to all on-the-fly gateways in the ad-hoc of the ad-hawk.

Upon receiving the broadcast message, the on-the-fly gateway 500 responds with the gateway characteristics 505. After receiving a response from the gateway, the primary gateway 102 selects a gateway based on the characteristic (506) and sends authentication and sensor information to the selected gateway. do. The on-the-fly gateway 500 then advertises the transfer to the primary gateway 507.

The primary gateway 102 also terminates communication with the sensor 101 by sending 508 an appropriate apt termination message. The sensor 101 then sends 509 data to the selected on-the-fly gateway 500. Finally, the gateway transmits the medical data to the medical care facility 103 (510).

According to an embodiment, the on-the-fly gateway 500 may transmit data to a CDSS that analyzes the data in advance and delivers the data to the medical care facility 103. The CDSS may not be needed if real time monitoring of the received medical data of the patient whose medical attendant is being monitored is available at the medical care facility.

6 illustrates a computing environment in which the application is performed, according to one embodiment. As shown in the figure, the computing environment includes a control unit and an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), a memory, a storage unit, a plurality of networking devices, and a plurality of input / output devices. and at least one processing unit having a plurality of input output (I / O) devices.

The processing unit is responsible for processing the instructions of the algorithm. The processing unit receives commands from the control unit to perform processing. In addition, all logical operations associated with the execution of the instructions can be calculated with the aid of the ALU.

The entire computing environment may consist of a plurality of homogeneous and / or heterogeneous cores, a plurality of different types of CPUs, special media and other accelerators.

The processing unit is responsible for processing the instructions of the algorithm. The processing unit receives commands from the control unit to perform its processing.

In addition, all logical operations associated with the execution of the instruction are calculated with the aid of the ALU. In addition, the plurality of process units may be disposed on a single chip or may be disposed through a plurality of chips.

The algorithm, including instructions and codes required for the execution, is stored in the memory unit or the storage unit or both. In execution, the instructions may come from corresponding memory and / or storage and may be executed by the processing unit.

In all hardware implementations, various networking devices or external input / output devices may be coupled to the computing environment supporting implementation through the networking unit and the input / output device unit.

Embodiments described herein may be performed through at least one software program and may be executed on at least one hardware device, and may perform network management functions to control the elements. The elements are shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6 including blocks that can be at least one hardware device or a combination of hardware devices and software modules.

The particular embodiments described above are indicative of the general nature of the embodiments, which can readily be modified by those skilled in the art without departing from the general concept and / or being readily applicable to a variety of applications, by applying current knowledge, Such adaptations and modifications are to be understood as being within the meaning and range of equivalents of the described embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and is not intended to be limiting.

Therefore, the embodiments described herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, and those of ordinary skill in the art can practice with modifications within the spirit or scope of the embodiments as described.

Claims (21)

In the method for providing seamless medical data transmission in the ubiquitous healthcare environment,
Collecting the medical data sensed by the primary gateway;
Searching for a plurality of alternative gateways that replace the primary gateway when the medical data transmission is interrupted; And
Selecting an alternative gateway replacing the primary gateway among the plurality of alternative gateways based on the characteristics of the plurality of alternative gateways;
≪ / RTI > The method of claim 1,
The searching may include searching for the plurality of alternative gateways through a short range communication medium. The method of claim 1,
The selecting may include selecting a predetermined gateway as the alternate gateway. The method of claim 1,
The selecting step includes selecting an on-the-fly gateway as the alternate gateway among the plurality of alternate gateways. The method of claim 1,
The primary gateway selects the alternate gateway based on the characteristic, the characteristic comprising at least one of network signal strength, power statistics, and network condition of the alternate gateway. The method of claim 1,
And the method transmits the medical data when the alternate gateway is authenticated. The method of claim 1,
Wherein the primary gateway and the alternate gateway comprise at least one of a communication device, a media player, and a personal computer. The method of claim 1,
Sending the medical data to a server through the selected alternate gateway. A computer-readable recording medium containing a program for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8. In the system for providing seamless medical data transmission in the ubiquitous healthcare environment,
A primary gateway collecting the sensed medical data; And
A plurality of alternate gateways capable of replacing the primary gateway
Lt; / RTI >
The primary gateway searches for the plurality of alternative gateways when the transmission of the medical data is interrupted, and selects an alternative gateway that replaces the primary gateway among the plurality of alternative gateways based on characteristics of the plurality of alternative gateways. System. 11. The method of claim 10,
The primary gateway is to search for the plurality of alternate gateways through a short-range communication medium. 11. The method of claim 10,
The primary gateway selects a predefined gateway as the alternate gateway. 11. The method of claim 10,
The primary gateway selects an on-the-fly gateway among the plurality of alternate gateways as the alternate gateway. The method according to claim 10,
The primary gateway selects the alternate gateway based on the characteristic, the characteristic comprising at least one of network signal strength, power statistics, and network condition of the alternate gateway. 11. The method of claim 10,
And if the alternate gateway is authenticated, transmitting the medical data through the alternate gateway. 11. The method of claim 10,
The primary gateway and the alternate gateway comprise at least one of a communication device, a media player, and a personal computer. In the primary gateway that provides seamless medical data in ubiquitous healthcare,
The primary gateway includes an integrated circuit,
The integrated circuit,
At least one processor; And
At least one memory including computer program code
Lt; / RTI >
The at least one processor is configured by the at least one memory and the computer program code,
A replacement for collecting the detected medical data, retrieving a plurality of alternative gateways when the medical data transmission is interrupted, and replacing the primary gateway among the plurality of alternative gateways based on characteristics of the plurality of alternative gateways Primary gateway that allows you to select a gateway. 18. The method of claim 17,
A primary gateway configured to discover the plurality of alternate gateways through a near field communication medium. 18. The method of claim 17,
A primary gateway configured to select a predefined gateway as the alternate gateway. 18. The method of claim 17,
A primary gateway configured to select an on-the-fly gateway among the plurality of alternate gateways as the alternate gateway. 18. The method of claim 17,
The primary gateway is configured to select the alternate gateway based on the characteristic, the characteristic comprising at least one of network signal strength, power statistics, and network condition of the alternate gateway.

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