Personal Health Monitor for Homes
by Timo Tuomisto and Vesa Pentikäinen
Personal Health Monitor prototype provides means of easily (self-)monitor
physiological and psychological variables at home. The lap-top computer
based system was developed together with Polar Electro Oy, Sondi Oy, VTT
Information Technology and Tampere University Hospital. The project started
in the beginning of 1995. The prototype is currently used to measure data
for further evaluation, and to test the validity of the home monitoring
concept.
Home Health Care is a modern trend in health care. The focus on home
health care has been on elderly and already diseased patients, whose home
care cuts the welfare costs by reducing necessary hospital visits and beds.
Home health care affects the health care protocols, monitoring methods
and technology. Moreover, there is a boom among individuals to follow up
and maintain their own health. This is evident from ever increasing market
of home monitoring devices such as blood pressure and heart rate monitors.
We have developed a personal health monitor prototype to obtain information
about the physiological condition of the person, and to assess the usability
and acceptability of the monitoring concept at home. The equipment is intended
to be used by the person himself or by an assisting person. The equipment
consists of a lap-top computer, temperature and blood pressure measuring
systems, scales, portable heart rate monitor, and BioMatt monitoring system.
The BioMatt monitoring system consists of a signal processing unit connected
to a large static charge sensitive sensor which is inserted under the mattress.
Basically it obtains information of any kinetic activity of a resting person,
enabling the monitoring of eg heart rate, breathing rate and movements.
The portable heart rate monitor is supplied with an accelerator sensor
and a facility to measure extraordinary ECG-samples. The lap-top computer
includes a diary which is used to record daily activities, food intake,
consumption of alcohol, beverages, cigarettes and self-assessments about
one's performance and mood.
The system has been in experimental use among fourteen healthy middle-aged
men with no known serious diseases, and with no specific sports activities.
Each person measured his temperature, blood pressure, and weight daily
or twice a day. Moreover, the portable heart rate monitor measured all
the daily beat to beat intervals. The BioMatt system recorded all nightly
activity. All the measured data was transferred by electric means to the
computer. The experimental period lasted two months. Currently analysis
work is going on with the data, with main interest in correlations, long
term trends, and possible weekly periods reflecting the habits of the subject.
The home monitoring prototype. Visible items within the case are the
lap-top computer, digital thermometer, portable heart rate monitor, and
the cuff for blood pressure measurements. The externally connected digital
scale and BioMatt sensor are not shown.
The feasibility of the concept has also been tested with elderly people,
who only partially can take care of themselves, the nursing staff being
the users of the measurement system.
A cornerstone for the success of the personal follow-up is the feedback
offered by the system. At the moment the computer presents the time history
data to the users, but doesn't make any assessments. Our goal is to develop
a system which would facilitate the monitoring of one's physical condition
over months, years or decades. We study new approaches to reduce, analyze
and display long term data, which could reveal causality between the lifestyle
and unhealthy indicators such as overweight or high blood pressure. This
will lead to better self-conscience, probable change of lifestyle, and
prevention of consequent diseases.
Please contact:
Vesa Pentikäinen - Polar Electro Oy
Tel: +358 8 5202155
E-mail: vesa.pentikainen@polar.fi
Timo Tuomisto - VTT Information Technology
Tel: +358 3 3163368
E-mail: timo.tuomisto@vtt.fi
