Remote physiological monitoring
Encyclopedia
Remote monitoring of people is now a possibility due to remote wireless
technology and miniaturization
. Also the advent of smart fabrics in recent years has allowed people to stay attached to monitoring devices without the issues of discomfort, large bulky technology or skin break down associated with sticky patches.
have come a long way in recent years. Polar Electro
of Finland has, for the last 20 years, produced a conductive plastic strap that communicates to a watch using an oscillating magnetic field or recently a digital radio interface. Watches or "wrist tops" by Polar and Suunto
among others have been getting more complex in recent years with training programs and weight loss
calorie
counters. Actigraph, an American
company from Florida
, has pioneered the use of solid state
accelerometers to measure human movement. Remote sensing waist coats, which connect with a cable to a PDA
measure heart rate, breathing rate, and movement.
Until recently there was no practical system that allowed a person to have a sensor that was comfortable, unobtrusive, cost effective and put multiple parameters together to enable automatic measuring of fitness, fatigue, distress and condition. Several systems have been developed in recent years that have made pioneering advances in terms of comfort, reliability, ease of use, and technical accuracy.
The LifeShirt by VivoMetrics was the first commercially available smartshirt for remote patient monitoring and recorded ECG, respiration using inductance plethysmography
, accelerometry, with optional plugin pulse oximetry, GSR, blood pressure, microphone and electronic diary capture.
The seamless HealthVest (SmartLife Technology) for remote health monitoring uses integrated and integral softsensors to detect changes to the wearer's vital signs in real time. The garments are super comfortable to wear and enable monitoring of ECG, Respiration, Temperature, Heartrate in both strenuous and resting states. The HealthVest allows real time remote monitoring in healthcare, sports, hazardous environments and military applications.
The BioHarness Zephyr Technology
allows a remote operator to view vital signs and status such as if someone has fallen over. The Bluetooth
radio built in allows the device to communicate with VHF radios for soldier
s, police officer
s or firefighter
s, to mobile phone
s for local applications or allows internet connectivity for remote patient monitoring by doctors.
Respironics developed a system for vital sign data logging and released the system for commercial production in 2003. It consists of a set of miniature, wireless physiological sensors associated with a personal-worn radio-frequency receiver. As of 2009, it supports core body temperature, heart rate
, respiration rate
and skin
temperature.
Equivital
is a proprietary remote physiological monitoring system developed by Hidalgo Limited, a Cambridge
, UK based biomedical company. It is an ambulatory, wearable, high performance physiological system providing continuous real time visibility of an individual’s vital signs over a personal Bluetooth network or via a field radio system. These include heart rate, 2-lead electrocardiogram
(ECG), respiration rate and effort, skin temperature (multiple locations), core body temperature (ingestible capsule), body orientation, blood oxygen saturation, impact and fall detection. It is used widely by research institutes and universities studying human performance and sports science as well as having applications in military, CBRN, fire fighter, lone worker and telemedicine.
The BioCapture physiological monitoring system by Cleveland Medical is a wireless, handheld or hip-worn device that can monitor a large variety of configurable physiological signals including ECG, EEG, EOG and EMG, respiration, spirometry, oximetry and more. This physiological monitoring system is used in cardiopulmonary research, neuromonitoring research, EMG testing and other clinical research, as well as sports and psychophysiological applications.
Other technologies that allow patients to be monitored include Bluetooth enabled blood pressure cuffs, bathroom scales and glucose meters.
The research community is using these sensors to develop new applications that further advance the uses of the technology. Specialized offline software analysis platforms that aid the visualization, management and analysis of multiple, synchronized data channels are available to assist researchers with the development of new applications. These software platforms have tools specifically designed for the exploration of remotely acquired data sets and include features such as artifact management tools and derivations of a wide variety of meaningful endpoints that can be applied over multiple research contexts. The use of these sensors in applications such as disease management and performance monitoring is nascent but there is a still a strong need for more sophisticated endpoints and meaningful algorithms that extend well beyond basic heart and respiration rate monitoring.
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
technology and miniaturization
Miniaturization
Miniaturization is the creation of ever-smaller scales for mechanical, optical, and electronic products and devices...
. Also the advent of smart fabrics in recent years has allowed people to stay attached to monitoring devices without the issues of discomfort, large bulky technology or skin break down associated with sticky patches.
Technologies
The field of remote sensing a person's vital signsVital signs
Vital signs are measures of various physiological statistics, often taken by health professionals, in order to assess the most basic body functions. Vital signs are an essential part of a case presentation. The act of taking vital signs normally entails recording body temperature, pulse rate ,...
have come a long way in recent years. Polar Electro
Polar Electro
Polar Electro, or in brief Polar, is a manufacturer of advanced training computers and heart rate monitoring equipment. The company is based in Kempele, Finland. Founded in 1977, Polar introduced the world's first wireless heart rate monitor...
of Finland has, for the last 20 years, produced a conductive plastic strap that communicates to a watch using an oscillating magnetic field or recently a digital radio interface. Watches or "wrist tops" by Polar and Suunto
Suunto
Suunto Oy, based in Finland, is a company that produces and markets sports precision instruments for Diving, Training and Outdoor sports. Headquartered in Vantaa, Suunto employs more than 500 people worldwide, and its products are sold in over 100 countries...
among others have been getting more complex in recent years with training programs and weight loss
Weight loss
Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...
calorie
Calorie
The calorie is a pre-SI metric unit of energy. It was first defined by Nicolas Clément in 1824 as a unit of heat, entering French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867. In most fields its use is archaic, having been replaced by the SI unit of energy, the joule...
counters. Actigraph, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, has pioneered the use of solid state
Solid state (electronics)
Solid-state electronics are those circuits or devices built entirely from solid materials and in which the electrons, or other charge carriers, are confined entirely within the solid material...
accelerometers to measure human movement. Remote sensing waist coats, which connect with a cable to a PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
measure heart rate, breathing rate, and movement.
Until recently there was no practical system that allowed a person to have a sensor that was comfortable, unobtrusive, cost effective and put multiple parameters together to enable automatic measuring of fitness, fatigue, distress and condition. Several systems have been developed in recent years that have made pioneering advances in terms of comfort, reliability, ease of use, and technical accuracy.
The LifeShirt by VivoMetrics was the first commercially available smartshirt for remote patient monitoring and recorded ECG, respiration using inductance plethysmography
Respiratory inductance plethysmography
Respiratory Inductance Plethysmography is a method of evaluating pulmonary ventilation by measuring the movement of the chest and abdominal wall....
, accelerometry, with optional plugin pulse oximetry, GSR, blood pressure, microphone and electronic diary capture.
The seamless HealthVest (SmartLife Technology) for remote health monitoring uses integrated and integral softsensors to detect changes to the wearer's vital signs in real time. The garments are super comfortable to wear and enable monitoring of ECG, Respiration, Temperature, Heartrate in both strenuous and resting states. The HealthVest allows real time remote monitoring in healthcare, sports, hazardous environments and military applications.
The BioHarness Zephyr Technology
Zephyr Technology
Zephyr Technology Limited is a privately owned company specializing is remote monitoring of people's physiology and biomechanics. Smart fabrics are used for physiological sensor electrodes designed into elastic straps or clothing. Bio-mechanical sensing is used so that doctors can understand what a...
allows a remote operator to view vital signs and status such as if someone has fallen over. The Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
radio built in allows the device to communicate with VHF radios for soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s, police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s or firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
s, to mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s for local applications or allows internet connectivity for remote patient monitoring by doctors.
Respironics developed a system for vital sign data logging and released the system for commercial production in 2003. It consists of a set of miniature, wireless physiological sensors associated with a personal-worn radio-frequency receiver. As of 2009, it supports core body temperature, heart rate
Heart rate
Heart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute . Heart rate can vary as the body's need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide changes, such as during exercise or sleep....
, respiration rate
Respiration rate
The respiration rate is a parameter which is used in ecological and agronomical modeling.In theoretical production ecology and aquaculture, it typically refers to respiration per unit of time , also referred to as relative respiration rate...
and skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
temperature.
Equivital
Equivital
Equivital is a proprietary wearable remote physiological monitoring system developed by Hidalgo Limited, a Cambridge UK based biomedical company....
is a proprietary remote physiological monitoring system developed by Hidalgo Limited, a Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, UK based biomedical company. It is an ambulatory, wearable, high performance physiological system providing continuous real time visibility of an individual’s vital signs over a personal Bluetooth network or via a field radio system. These include heart rate, 2-lead electrocardiogram
Electrocardiogram
Electrocardiography is a transthoracic interpretation of the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time, as detected by electrodes attached to the outer surface of the skin and recorded by a device external to the body...
(ECG), respiration rate and effort, skin temperature (multiple locations), core body temperature (ingestible capsule), body orientation, blood oxygen saturation, impact and fall detection. It is used widely by research institutes and universities studying human performance and sports science as well as having applications in military, CBRN, fire fighter, lone worker and telemedicine.
The BioCapture physiological monitoring system by Cleveland Medical is a wireless, handheld or hip-worn device that can monitor a large variety of configurable physiological signals including ECG, EEG, EOG and EMG, respiration, spirometry, oximetry and more. This physiological monitoring system is used in cardiopulmonary research, neuromonitoring research, EMG testing and other clinical research, as well as sports and psychophysiological applications.
Other technologies that allow patients to be monitored include Bluetooth enabled blood pressure cuffs, bathroom scales and glucose meters.
Data analysis
Technological advances in electronics, smart fabrics and wireless communications have led to increasing developments in remote physiological sensing hardware. These sensor platforms all measure raw physiological signal data from the body, however, for this to be of value it is necessary to convert these waveforms into meaningful and contextual information. Several of these devices provide real-time, on-board derivations of basic parameters such as heart rate and respiration rate. However, a wealth of additional, more detailed information is possible when measuring multiple, time synchronized data channels during non-laboratory, daily living conditions.The research community is using these sensors to develop new applications that further advance the uses of the technology. Specialized offline software analysis platforms that aid the visualization, management and analysis of multiple, synchronized data channels are available to assist researchers with the development of new applications. These software platforms have tools specifically designed for the exploration of remotely acquired data sets and include features such as artifact management tools and derivations of a wide variety of meaningful endpoints that can be applied over multiple research contexts. The use of these sensors in applications such as disease management and performance monitoring is nascent but there is a still a strong need for more sophisticated endpoints and meaningful algorithms that extend well beyond basic heart and respiration rate monitoring.
Papers
- Comparison of thoracic breathing sensor to a Spirometer https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.zephyr-technology.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/10/whitepaper_breathingvalidation.pdf
- Understanding affective Interaction http://thamakau.usc.edu/Proceedings/ACII%202009/proceedings/documents/144.pdf
- Parsimonious Identification of Physiological Indices for Monitoring Cognitive Fatigue http://www.springerlink.com/content/07u11l48ju7n853n/
- McDonnell, L., Hume, P.A., Nolte, V. 2009. Reliability of the ShoePod foot pressure system and BioHarness heart rate and breathing rate system during water and land ergometer rowing. A technical report for Rowing New Zealand and Zephyr technology.