A wireless PDA-based physiological monitoring system for patient transport

• Published in: IEEE journal of biomedical and health informatics 2004-12, Vol.8 (4), p.439-447
• Main Authors: Yuan-Hsiang Lin, I-Chien Jan, Ko, P.C.-I., Yen-Yu Chen, Jau-Min Wong, Gwo-Jen Jan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biomedical monitoring; Computer Communication Networks - instrumentation; Computers, Handheld; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted - instrumentation; Electrocardiography; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Feasibility Studies; Female; Heart rate; Heart rate measurement; History; Humans; Information Storage and Retrieval - methods; Information Storage and Retrieval - trends; Male; Mobile vital signs monitor; Monitoring systems; Monitoring, Ambulatory - instrumentation; Monitoring, Ambulatory - methods; Patient monitoring; patient transport; personal digital assistant (PDA); Personal digital assistants; physiological monitoring; Pilot Projects; Prototypes; Remote monitoring; Standard deviation; Systems Integration; Telecommunications - instrumentation; Telecommunications - trends; Telemedicine - instrumentation; Telemedicine - methods; Telemetry - instrumentation; Transducers; Transportation of Patients - methods; User-Computer Interface; Wireless communications; Wireless LAN; wireless local area network (WLAN); wireless patient monitoring; wireless telemedicine
• ISSN: 1089-7771; 2168-2194; 1558-0032; 2168-2208
• DOI: 10.1109/TITB.2004.837829

This paper proposes a mobile patient monitoring system, which integrates current personal digital assistant (PDA) technology and wireless local area network (WLAN) technology. At the patient's location, a wireless PDA-based monitor is used to acquire continuously the patient's vital signs, including heart rate, three-lead electrocardiography, and SpO/sub 2/. Through the WLAN, the patient's biosignals can be transmitted in real-time to a remote central management unit, and authorized medical staffs can access the data and the case history of the patient, either by the central management unit or the wireless devices. A prototype of this system has been developed and implemented. The system has been evaluated by technical verification, clinical test, and user survey. The evaluation of performance yields a high degree of satisfaction (mean=4.64, standard deviation-SD=0.53 in a five-point Likert scale) of users who used the PDA-based system for intrahospital transport. The results also show that the wireless PDA model is superior to the currently used monitors both in mobility and in usability, and is, therefore, better suited to patient transport.