Design of vital sign monitor based on wireless sensor networks and telemedicine technology

Heart attack is a term generally used for medical conditions like Acute Myocardial Infarction, Cardiac Arrest, and Atrial Fibrillation. Before the onset of such an abnormal condition, there are symptoms which generally we avoid to care. Even after the attack the patient needs continuous monitoring and care. But all this needs to be at a very affordable cost, thus developing a Quality, Secured and Cost effective health monitoring system becomes the need of the hour. The Proposed Vital Sign Monitor is based on a wireless sensor network and telemedicine technology. This system is designed to be a mini patient monitoring system which measures the vital parameters like ECG, Heart Rate and Respiration Rate. The system uses Bluetooth technology which is embedded with the sensor for faster transmission. The transmitter unit is designed to be an Android based smart phone through an application that connects to wireless networks using the best source of connectivity which is either a 3G network or IEEE 802.11 i.e. Wi-Fi based transmission. The proposed system implements the IEEE 1073 standard for medical device communication. The remote system consists of a cloud server where the centralized monitoring takes place. The expert in the remote center can view all the patient data and at the same time can witness full duplex real time streaming video if required, so that the expert can take a confident call. If required the expert can ask the individual in the spot to take indispensable action and in critical cases can accelerate an ambulance for attending the emergency case. The power utilized by the entire system is low due to the intelligent algorithms that control the system. The principles of green computing and signal processing applied in the system help in the development of a green smart system. The vital sign monitor designed can improve the reach and affordability of healthcare in developing countries affected by various socioeconomic crises.