An inexpensive and ultra-low power sensor node for wireless health monitoring system

Increasing interests in remote monitoring of vital signs through telecommunication, especially with wireless and mobile communication have enabled a new generation of information system for healthcare applications. The system may include miniature sensor nodes embedded with wireless communications and a mobile computer delivering information to remote locations. In this paper, we introduced an inexpensive and ultra-low power system for measuring ECG and heart rate in contact and contact-less manners. Existing monitoring system uses gel or electrodes for measuring ECG signals. However, in this study, we used unique electric potential EPIC sensors from Plessey´s and infrared sensors. The prototype is capable of monitoring both heart rate and ECG signals with a hibernation mode, which would require less power to transmit the data. Our developed prototype can be used to monitor premature infants as their skins are sensitive and current system uses patches or gel to collect biomedical signals. The proposed prototype for monitoring vital signs has been tested in our lab. The results show that it can achieve low power consumption though a hibernation mode.