Development of a novel multifunction patient-monitoring system with 2.4 GHz radio frequency and power line communication

Heart rate and body temperature are often measured by a nurse to monitor patient's status, and the intravenous (IV) fluid level should be monitored to avoid dangerous situation. In this paper, a novel multifunction patient-monitoring system is proposed to reduce these nurses' workload. The proposed system provides real-time information on pulse and body temperature, and sound-ing an alarm at nurse station when IV solution is almost used up. For monitoring without patient's discomfort, sensors are designed with wireless transmitters mounted on the rolling IV stand for easy movement in the patient room. Additionally, a radio frequency (RF) in the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band is chosen for wireless data communication in same patient's room. Power line communication (PLC) enables measured data from wireless monitoring devices to be conveyed from a distance. Results of experiments for testing sensors operation show that all three sensors can be used effectively for patient monitoring. The wireless method and PLC were also shown to work well worked for realtime data transmission.