Wireless Sensor Networks for Vital Signs Monitoring: Application in a Nursing Home

Abstract

This study evaluated the application of a wireless sensor network (WSN) on a web-based vital signs monitoring system to nursing homes in Taiwan. The applicability assessment focused on the timely provision of information, information accuracy, system usability, and system accessibility of healthcare systems using a wireless sensor network. Experiments were performed under Internet-based network conditions to verify the timely information provision, especially for a web-based system, including Ajax technology. The accuracy of the information was verified from statistical analyses of the residents' daily vital sign measurements. A comparison was performed between having and not having a healthcare monitoring system in nursing homes for system usability, system accessibility, and system efficacy. The results indicate that the successful application of a WSN healthcare monitoring system is feasible for use in nursing homes in Taiwan.

Sensors: Views of Staff of a Disability Service Organization

“…Various types of sensors exist that can be classified in respect to their positioning towards the human body: sensors can be implanted into the body [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] and used in various body parts such as in hips [ 6 ], they can be externally attached to bodies or be in the vicinity of bodies (wearable sensors) [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ] and they can be positioned in the environment such as walls and floors of a home [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Sensors are used for various purposes in regards to disabled people, including but not limited to health monitoring [ 19 ], evacuation and rescue information [ 19 ], indoor navigation aid [ 20 ], smart home systems that aid disabled people to carry out daily activities in the safety and comfort of their homes [ 21 ], real time tracking of disabled people [ 22 ], sensor pillow systems [ 23 ], assistive living [ 24 ], home medical assistance [ 25 ], rehabilitation [ 8 ], physiological monitoring [ 11 ], as health managing system [ 26 ] and for mobile health [ 9 ].…”

Health Monitoring System for Nursing Homes with Lightweight Security and Privacy Protection

“…But its calculation and communication complexity are high, and the data acquisition is not comprehensive. In [24], a wireless network life-monitoring system for the nursing home is proposed, which uses the wireless sensor…”

Dem@Home: Ambient Intelligence for Clinical Support of People Living with Dementia

“…Similarly, the work in [9] presents a sensor network deployment in nursing homes in Taiwan to continuously monitor vital signs of patients, using web-based technologies, verifying the system's accuracy, acceptance and usefulness. Nevertheless, it so far lacks the ability to fuse more sensor modalities such as sleep and ambient sensing, with limited interoperability.…”