A hybrid power line and visible light communication system for indoor hospital applications

• A hybrid broadband PLC and VLC systems with OFDM modulation is proposed.
• A demonstration of supporting over 48 Mbps data rate within 8 MHz is provided.
• The hybrid system is suitable for indoor hospital applications.
• The hybrid system is locatable, radiation-free and high-capacity.

Modern hospitals are beginning to adopt E-HEALTH as efficient complements to the traditional healthcare services. To support the E-HEALTH services, a locatable, radiation-free and high-capacity communication system is urgently needed in hospitals. Power line communication (PLC) systems can use the ubiquitous power line network to power the light-emitting diode (LED) lamps while serving as the backbone network for the indoor visible light communication (VLC) systems naturally. In this article, a hybrid broadband power line and visible light communication system with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulation is proposed for the indoor hospital applications, which gives a brand-new solution to replace the conventional wireless communication systems in hospitals. A general-purpose system model is provided and some basic techniques to enhance system performance are also investigated. Moreover, a feasible demonstration which supports over 48 Mbps data rate within a bandwidth of 8 MHz is implemented in the laboratory.

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