Title :
Wireless physiological sensor system for ambulatory use
Author :
Jones, Lynette ; Deo, Nikhila ; Lockyer, Brett
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Mech. Eng., Massachusetts Inst. of Technol., Cambridge, MA
Abstract :
A wearable physiological sensor system (PSS) has been built that can be used with a wireless control unit to monitor the physiological status of a mobile user. Two physiological variables, heart rate and respiratory rate, were selected for initial study. The PSS was required to be noninvasive, lightweight, and low-power. Initial studies indicated that heart rate could be effectively measured using infrared light technology and so this was implemented in a wrist strap. Respiratory rate was recorded using a novel implementation of conducting polymer strain gauges. For this purpose, polypyrrole-coated Lycra was fabricated and a chest strap was made that incorporated this sensor. Both sensors were connected to the PSS unit that was designed to provide the necessary signal processing; the output signals were then analyzed by the microcontroller in the control unit that is used to activate a wearable tactile display
Keywords :
biomedical equipment; biomedical measurement; electric sensing devices; patient monitoring; strain gauges; ambulatory use; chest strap; conducting polymer strain gages; heart rate; infrared light technology; microcontroller; mobile user; physiological status monitoring; polypyrrole-coated Lycra; respiratory; signal processing; wearable physiological sensor system; wearable tactile display; wireless control unit; Biomedical monitoring; Capacitive sensors; Control systems; Heart rate; Polymers; Sensor systems; Signal processing; Wearable sensors; Wireless sensor networks; Wrist;
Conference_Titel :
Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks, 2006. BSN 2006. International Workshop on
Conference_Location :
Cambridge, MA
Print_ISBN :
0-7695-2547-4
DOI :
10.1109/BSN.2006.59
