328 research outputs found

    Implementation and Validation of a Real-Time Wireless Non-Invasive Physiological Monitoring in a High-G Environment

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    The overall purpose of this research is to develop a system capable of real-time personal positioning and physiological monitoring. The system will be composed of a shirt having non-invasive physiological sensors, Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, wireless data transceiver, and real-time PC-based control station. The specific purpose of this research phase was to determine the performance capabilities of a modified LifeShirt™ alone (without GPS) in a high gravitational force environment with the data being sent wirelessly in real-time. The LifeShirt™ was modified with a real time wireless transmission system

    A Mobile ECG Monitoring System with Context Collection

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    An objective of a health process is one where patients can stay healthy with the support of expert medical advice when they need it, at any location and any time. An associated aim would be the development of a system which places increased emphasis on preventative measures as a first point of contact with the patient. This research is a step along the road towards this type of preventative healthcare for cardiac patients. It seeks to develop a smart mobile ECG monitoring system that requests and records context information about what is happening around the subject when an arrhythmia event occurs. Context information about the subject’s activities of daily living will, it is hoped, provide an enriched data set for clinicians and so improve clinical decision making. As a first step towards a mobile cardiac wellness guidelines system, the focus of this work is to develop a system that can receive bio-signals wirelessly, analyzing and storing the bio-signal in a handheld device and can collect context information when there are significant changes in bio-signs. For this purpose the author will use a low cost development environment to program a state of the art wireless prototype on a handheld computer that detects and responds to changes in the heart rate as calculated form the interval between successive heart beats. Although the general approach take in this work could be applied to a wide range of bio-signals, the research will focus on ECG signals. The pieces of the system are, A wireless receiver, data collection and storage module An efficient real time ECG beat detection algorithm A rule based (Event-Condition-Action) interactive system A simple user interface, which can request additional information form the user. A selection of real-time ECG detection algorithms have been investigated and one algorithm was implemented in MATLAB [110] and then in Java [142] for this project. In order to collect ECG signals (and in principle any signals) the generalised data collection architecture has also been developed utilizing Java [142] and Bluetooth [5] technology. This architecture uses an implementation of the abstract factory pattern [91] to ensure that the communication channel can be changed conveniently. Another core part of this project is a “wellness” guideline based on Event-Condition-Action (E-C-A) [68] production rule approach that originated in active databases. The work also focuses on design of a guideline based expert system which an E-C-A based implementation will be fully event driven using the Java programming language. Based on the author’s experience and the literature review, some important issues in mobile healthcare along with the corresponding reasons, consequences and possible solutions will be presented

    PC based storage and processing of electrocardiogram tracings recorded with a HP4745A pagewriter II cardiograph

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    ThesisCurrently the Department of Cardiology, Universitas Hospital, keeps paper copies of ECGs filed in large filing cabinets. Access to these files is tedious during office hours, and impossible after hours, when the filing room is locked and no filing personnel are available. Commercially available systems for computerised storage of ECG data are available from a number of vendors. Some drawbacks of these systems include: • Extremely expensive. • Only a portion of the functions offered by these systems are really needed at the Department of Cardiology, Universitas Hospital. These systems are thus not economically justifiable by the Department of Cardiology, Universitas Hospital. • Some require new/different ECG machines to be used. • Some require an expensive computer system to be installed. • Additional space is needed for additional equipment. • Staff needs to be extensively trained to use the new equipment. This dissertation describes the development of a dynamic link library (DLL) which is used to acquire and decode data from a Hewlet Packard HP4745A Cardiograph II Page Writer electrocardiograph. Furthermore, the database application using the HP4745A DLL can also be expanded to accept data from other ECG machines. The acquisition and decoding DLL must be developed to produce a decoded data file conforming to the format described in this dissertation. By storing these decoded data in a database such as Hearts 32, the data can be reprocessed (drawing of ECG traces on screen or on printer). Selected leads from different ECGs can also be plotted on the same screen. Fast access to previous ECGs will help the cardiologists at the Universitas Hospital in Bloemfontein to improve patient care. The cardiac patients of the Free State community as well as the staff at the Department of Cardiology, Universitas Hospital, Bloemfontein can benefit from the results of this research

    A Survey of System Architecture Requirements for Health Care-Based Wireless Sensor Networks

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    Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have emerged as a viable technology for a vast number of applications, including health care applications. To best support these health care applications, WSN technology can be adopted for the design of practical Health Care WSNs (HCWSNs) that support the key system architecture requirements of reliable communication, node mobility support, multicast technology, energy efficiency, and the timely delivery of data. Work in the literature mostly focuses on the physical design of the HCWSNs (e.g., wearable sensors, in vivo embedded sensors, et cetera). However, work towards enhancing the communication layers (i.e., routing, medium access control, et cetera) to improve HCWSN performance is largely lacking. In this paper, the information gleaned from an extensive literature survey is shared in an effort to fortify the knowledge base for the communication aspect of HCWSNs. We highlight the major currently existing prototype HCWSNs and also provide the details of their routing protocol characteristics. We also explore the current state of the art in medium access control (MAC) protocols for WSNs, for the purpose of seeking an energy efficient solution that is robust to mobility and delivers data in a timely fashion. Furthermore, we review a number of reliable transport layer protocols, including a network coding based protocol from the literature, that are potentially suitable for delivering end-to-end reliability of data transmitted in HCWSNs. We identify the advantages and disadvantages of the reviewed MAC, routing, and transport layer protocols as they pertain to the design and implementation of a HCWSN. The findings from this literature survey will serve as a useful foundation for designing a reliable HCWSN and also contribute to the development and evaluation of protocols for improving the performance of future HCWSNs. Open issues that required further investigations are highlighted

    Tele-cardiology sensor networks for remote ECG monitoring

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    One of today’s most pressing matters in medical care is the response time to patients in need. The scope of this thesis is to suggest a solution that would help reduce response time in emergency situations utilizing wireless sensor networks technology. Wireless sensor network researches have recently gained unprecedented momentum in both industries and academia, especially its potential applications in Emergency Medical Services and Intensive Care Units. The enhanced power efficiency, minimized production cost, condensed physical layout, as well as reduced wired connections, presents a much more proficient and simplified approach to the continuous monitoring of patients’ physiological status. This thesis focuses on the areas of remote ECG feature extraction utilizing wavelet transformation concepts and sensor networks technology. The proposed sensor network system provides the following contributions. The low-cost, low-power wearable platforms are to be distributed to patients of concern and will provide continuous ECG monitoring by measuring electrical potentials between various points of the body using a galvanometer. The system is enabled with integrated RF communication capability that will relay the signals wirelessly to a workstation monitor. The workstation is equipped with ECG signal processing software that performs ECG characteristic extractions via wavelet transformation. Lastly, a low-complex, end-to-end security scheme is also incorporated into this system to ensure patient privacy. Other notable features include location tracking algorithms for patient tracking, and MATLAB Server environment for internal communication

    Novel neural approaches to data topology analysis and telemedicine

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    1noL'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmentopen676. INGEGNERIA ELETTRICAnoopenRandazzo, Vincenz

    Wireless remote patient monitoring on general hospital wards.

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    A novel approach which has potential to improve quality of patient care on general hospital wards is proposed. Patient care is a labour-intensive task that requires high input of human resources. A Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) system is proposed which can go some way towards improving patient monitoring on general hospital wards. In this system vital signs are gathered from patients and sent to a control unit for centralized monitoring. The RPM system can complement the role of nurses in monitoring patients’ vital signs. They will be able to focus on holistic needs of patients thereby providing better personal care. Wireless network technologies, ZigBee and Wi-Fi, are utilized for transmission of vital signs in the proposed RPM system. They provide flexibility and mobility to patients. A prototype system for RPM is designed and simulated. The results illustrated the capability, suitability and limitation of the chosen technology

    Power Consumption Analysis, Measurement, Management, and Issues:A State-of-the-Art Review of Smartphone Battery and Energy Usage

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    The advancement and popularity of smartphones have made it an essential and all-purpose device. But lack of advancement in battery technology has held back its optimum potential. Therefore, considering its scarcity, optimal use and efficient management of energy are crucial in a smartphone. For that, a fair understanding of a smartphone's energy consumption factors is necessary for both users and device manufacturers, along with other stakeholders in the smartphone ecosystem. It is important to assess how much of the device's energy is consumed by which components and under what circumstances. This paper provides a generalized, but detailed analysis of the power consumption causes (internal and external) of a smartphone and also offers suggestive measures to minimize the consumption for each factor. The main contribution of this paper is four comprehensive literature reviews on: 1) smartphone's power consumption assessment and estimation (including power consumption analysis and modelling); 2) power consumption management for smartphones (including energy-saving methods and techniques); 3) state-of-the-art of the research and commercial developments of smartphone batteries (including alternative power sources); and 4) mitigating the hazardous issues of smartphones' batteries (with a details explanation of the issues). The research works are further subcategorized based on different research and solution approaches. A good number of recent empirical research works are considered for this comprehensive review, and each of them is succinctly analysed and discussed

    Telemedicine

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    Telemedicine is a rapidly evolving field as new technologies are implemented for example for the development of wireless sensors, quality data transmission. Using the Internet applications such as counseling, clinical consultation support and home care monitoring and management are more and more realized, which improves access to high level medical care in underserved areas. The 23 chapters of this book present manifold examples of telemedicine treating both theoretical and practical foundations and application scenarios
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