Transmitting patient vitals over a reliable ZigBee mesh network

Abstract

Real-time measurements and display of vitals are integral part of patients health monitoring with limited resources. Wireless sensor networks that communicate in a mesh acquire and transmit such critical parameters, making a medical environment efficient. With limited resources, both equipment and medical staff, the system must be reliable, and capable of dynamic updating on patient status. System must be able to sustain at least single contingency. We designed a signal conditioning circuit and firmware that converts finger pulse into beats per minute (BPM), which is then displayed on a remote station dynamically via ZigBee. Testing was performed to measure the reliability of transmitting data over a wide range of distances through high traffic areas (both human and Wi-Fi). We show that such systems can provided enhanced reliability in a limited resourced environment and have the potential to be deployed in disaster recovery situations.