DEVELOPMENT OF AN INEXPENSIVE UBIQUITOUS HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM FOR THE ELDERLY
Jian Li Yuan, Kok Kiong Tan, Tong Heng Lee · 2009
This paper describes the development of a low-cost health monitoring system for the elderly at home. The system integrates ZigBee mesh network, cellular network, ubiquitous and mobile computing, hardware miniaturization and various sensor technologies. The centerpieces are wearable devices that are capable of detecting accidental falls, monitoring heart rate, tracking locations, etc. Wearable devices communicate with a base station centered at home via ZigBee mesh network. The base station is integrated with a GSM/GPRS module. Vital signs and health status sent from wearable devices will be forwarded to caregivers’ mobile phones via SMS in real time. Meanwhile, caregivers are able to query status and even initiate basic diagnosis via SMS in case of emergency. The paper will focus on hardware and software architectures as well as low power design for data acquisition and signal processing in wireless sensors.