Multi-functional wireless body sensor - Analysis of autonomy

A wireless multi-function biosensor that measures a potential difference between two proximal electrodes on the skin, enables monitoring of vital functions - heart activity and respiration. The sensor is designed as a small plaster-like reusable unit that can be easily fixed onto the body surface and is therefore minimally obtrusive for users. It is equipped with a signal acquisition unit, a processor for on-line data analysis and with enough memory for a temporal storage of measured data. Incorporated low-power radio system transmits the measured data to a radio receiver, which is installed either in a dedicated personal terminal, smartphone or in a ward gateway. The sensor is powered by a small coin battery. Visualization, archiving and detailed interpretation of data can be implemented on a remote computer server. The autonomy of the monitoring system, regarding its power consumption, depends significantly on the portion of local signal processing on the sensor, on the frequency of data transmission and on the amount of transmitted data. Different test scenarios have been tested and evaluated regarding the power consumption, reliability and robustness.