Smart Vest: wearable multi-parameter remote physiological monitoring system.

The wearable physiological monitoring system is a washable shirt, which uses an array of sensors connected to a central processing unit with firmware for continuously monitoring physiological signals. The data collected can be correlated to produce an overall picture of the wearer's health. In this paper, we discuss the wearable physiological monitoring system called 'Smart Vest'. The Smart Vest consists of a comfortable to wear vest with sensors integrated for monitoring physiological parameters, wearable data acquisition and processing hardware and remote monitoring station. The wearable data acquisition system is designed using microcontroller and interfaced with wireless communication and global positioning system (GPS) modules. The physiological signals monitored are electrocardiogram (ECG), photoplethysmogram (PPG), body temperature, blood pressure, galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate. The acquired physiological signals are sampled at 250samples/s, digitized at 12-bit resolution and transmitted wireless to a remote physiological monitoring station along with the geo-location of the wearer. The paper describes a prototype Smart Vest system used for remote monitoring of physiological parameters and the clinical validation of the data are also presented.

[1]  D. Altman,et al.  STATISTICAL METHODS FOR ASSESSING AGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO METHODS OF CLINICAL MEASUREMENT , 1986, The Lancet.

[2]  Frank H. Wilhelm,et al.  Continuous electronic data capture of physiology, behavior and experience in real life: towards ecological momentary assessment of emotion , 2006, Interact. Comput..

[3]  Matt Welsh,et al.  Sensor networks for emergency response: challenges and opportunities , 2004, IEEE Pervasive Computing.

[4]  P. Obrist,et al.  Aortic-radial pulse transit time and ECG Q-wave to radial pulse wave interval as indices of beat-by-beat blood pressure change. , 1983, Psychophysiology.

[5]  John G. Webster,et al.  Medical Instrumentation: Application and Design , 1997 .

[6]  Refet Firat Yazicioglu,et al.  Technologies for highly miniaturized autonomous sensor networks , 2006, Microelectron. J..

[7]  A. Beckett,et al.  AKUFO AND IBARAPA. , 1965, Lancet.

[8]  Sotiris Pavlopoulos,et al.  A novel emergency telemedicine system based on wireless communication technology-AMBULANCE , 1998, IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine.

[9]  M. Nitzan,et al.  The difference in pulse transit time to the toe and finger measured by photoplethysmography. , 2002, Physiological measurement.

[10]  Paul Lukowicz,et al.  AMON: a wearable multiparameter medical monitoring and alert system , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine.

[11]  T. Togawa,et al.  Continuous estimation of systolic blood pressure using the pulse arrival time and intermittent calibration , 2000, Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing.

[12]  Sweta Sneha,et al.  Patient monitoring using ad hoc wireless networks: reliability and power management , 2006, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[13]  Rita Paradiso,et al.  WEALTHY – a wearable healthcare system: new frontier on e-textile , 2005, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology.

[14]  A. Lisbon,et al.  An evaluation of a new continuous blood pressure monitoring system in critically ill patients. , 2000, Journal of clinical anesthesia.

[15]  Howard Rheingold,et al.  Virtual Reality , 1991 .

[16]  Yuan-ting Zhang,et al.  The effect of local mild cold exposure on pulse transit time , 2006, Physiological measurement.

[17]  Aleksandar Milenkovic,et al.  System architecture of a wireless body area sensor network for ubiquitous health monitoring , 2005 .

[18]  Mark J. Buller,et al.  Combat medical informatics: present and future , 2002, AMIA.

[19]  Carmen C. Y. Poon,et al.  M-Health: The Development of Cuff-less and Wearable Blood Pressure Meters for Use in Body Sensor Networks , 2006, 2006 IEEE/NLM Life Science Systems and Applications Workshop.

[20]  N. Halín,et al.  The LifeShirt system for wireless patient monitoring in the operating room , 2005, Journal of telemedicine and telecare.

[21]  Willis J. Tompkins,et al.  Biomedical Digital Signal Processing , 1993 .

[22]  P. Lantelme,et al.  Heart Rate: An Important Confounder of Pulse Wave Velocity Assessment , 2002, Hypertension.

[23]  M. Decramer,et al.  Quantifying physical activity in daily life with questionnaires and motion sensors in COPD , 2006, European Respiratory Journal.

[24]  L A Geddes,et al.  Pulse transit time as an indicator of arterial blood pressure. , 1981, Psychophysiology.

[25]  Emil Jovanov,et al.  Issues in wearable computing for medical monitoring applications: a case study of a wearable ECG monitoring device , 2000, Digest of Papers. Fourth International Symposium on Wearable Computers.

[26]  P B Angood,et al.  The physiologic cipher at altitude: telemedicine and real-time monitoring of climbers on Mount Everest. , 2000, Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association.

[27]  Gregory T. A. Kovacs,et al.  A multiparameter wearable physiologic monitoring system for space and terrestrial applications , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine.

[28]  N. Taccini,et al.  Sensing Fabrics for Monitoring Physiological and Biomechanical Variables: E-textile solutions , 2006, 2006 3rd IEEE/EMBS International Summer School on Medical Devices and Biosensors.

[29]  Reed W. Hoyt,et al.  Life Sign Decision Support Algorithms , 2004, MedInfo.

[30]  Stephen E Greenwald,et al.  Validation of a device to measure arterial pulse wave velocity by a photoplethysmographic method. , 2002, Physiological measurement.

[31]  J. Lee,et al.  Continuous measurement of systolic blood pressure using the PTT and other parameters , 2005, 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference.

[32]  Ramesh C. Jain,et al.  Mobile Multimedia , 2001, IEEE Multim..

[33]  A. Steptoe,et al.  Pulse wave velocity as a measure of blood pressure change. , 1976, Psychophysiology.

[34]  Zhongwei Jiang,et al.  A novel wearable sensor device with conductive fabric and PVDF film for monitoring cardiorespiratory signals , 2006 .

[35]  P. Castiglioni,et al.  MagIC System: a New Textile-Based Wearable Device for Biological Signal Monitoring. Applicability in Daily Life and Clinical Setting , 2005, 2005 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 27th Annual Conference.

[36]  W. Mendelson,et al.  Validity of a portable cardio-respiratory system to collect data in the home environment in patients with obstructive sleep apnea , 2004 .

[37]  J. Greenberg.  Your Personal Stress Profile And Activity Workbook , 1992 .

[38]  R. Kattai,et al.  Continuous blood pressure monitoring during exercise using pulse wave transit time measurement , 2004, The 26th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

[39]  Mark J. Buller,et al.  Confidence-based data management for personal area sensor networks , 2004, DMSN '04.

[40]  L. Sörnmo,et al.  Time-varying digital filtering of ECG baseline wander , 1993, Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing.

[41]  P. M. Mendes,et al.  2.4 GHz wireless sensor network for smart electronic shirts , 2005, SPIE Microtechnologies.

[42]  Aleksandar Milenkovic,et al.  Wireless sensor networks for personal health monitoring: Issues and an implementation , 2006, Comput. Commun..

[43]  C. Young,et al.  Clinical evaluation of continuous noninvasive blood pressure monitoring: Accuracy and tracking capabilities , 1995, Journal of Clinical Monitoring.

[44]  F. Sciurba,et al.  Emerging concepts in outcome assessment for COPD clinical trials. , 2005, Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine.

[45]  Jelena V. Misic,et al.  Implementation of security policy for clinical information systems over wireless sensor networks , 2007, Ad Hoc Networks.

[46]  Sungmee Park,et al.  Enhancing the quality of life through wearable technology , 2003, IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine.

[47]  William Stallings,et al.  Wireless Communications and Networks , 2001, 2020 International Conference on Smart Systems and Technologies (SST).

[48]  Samuel Ng Choon Po,et al.  Overview of MEMSWear II - Incorporating MEMS Technology into smart shirt for Geriatric care , 2006 .

[49]  P. Castiglioni,et al.  A textile-based wearable system for vital sign monitoring: applicability in cardiac patients , 2005, Computers in Cardiology, 2005.

[50]  Sundaresan Jayaraman,et al.  The Wearable Motherboard™: The first generation of adaptive and responsive textile structures (ARTS) for medical applications , 1999, Virtual Reality.