ABSTRACT
Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is a sleep disorder that causes a patient to intermittently stop breathing for longer than 10 seconds and more than 30 times in seven hours. We have developed a new system for non-invasive detection and analysis of SAS. The system consists of a piezoelectric sensor, a microcontroller, a compact flash memory and a laptop computer. The piezoelectric sensor, whose electrical polarization voltage is produced by mechanical strain, is attached to the patient's chest and detects body movements. The low frequency components, mainly generated by respiration, are stored in the compact flash memory. After recording, the data are downloaded to a laptop computer, which then detects whether the patient is in SAS from the amplitude and frequency components of the timed thoracic body movement changes. The system can be used at home and be self-applied by the patients.
Subject(s)
Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted/instrumentation , Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted/methods , Movement , Polysomnography/methods , Respiration , Sleep Apnea Syndromes/diagnosis , Thorax/physiopathology , Transducers , Aged , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure Analysis , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
We have developed a new care support system to monitor the overall health of welfare facility residents who need constant care. The system is designed with wireless sensors, wireless repeaters and a host computer. The wireless sensor, which consists of a piezoelectric sensor, a 2 axis accelerometer, a microcontroller and a low power 303 MHz ASH transceiver. It records respiration, activity and indicators of posture and behavior for 24 hours. These data are transmitted to the wireless repeater by the transceiver. The wireless repeaters, which are installed throughout the welfare facility, send data, including the repeater's ID, to the host computer. The ID is used to detect the resident's location in the welfare facility. The host computer stores the data, which can be used to analyze the resident's overall health condition. When the resident is in an emergency situation, such as falling or in an inactive state for more that the allotted time, the host computer automatically alerts the situation to the care staff by an alarm sound and also by mobile phone.
