An integrated wrist-worn routine monitoring system for the elderly using BSN

Wearable medical devices provide great convenience to the elderly for the monitoring of vital signs at home. This paper describes a novel wrist-worn vital signs routine monitoring system which can measure physiological signs including ECG, SpO₂ (Saturation of Arterial Oxygen) and systolic blood pressure in real-time and with almost no impact on quality of life. The proposed device is easy to wear and convenient to use. A miniaturized PCB integrates the ECG analog front-end and SpO₂ LED drive circuit and can be attached on a BSN node. By simply press the top ECG electrode on the device using any finger from the other hand, the measured physiological signals will be wirelessly transmitted to a PDA, where the heart beat rate, SpO₂ and systolic blood pressure is calculated and displayed on a hand-held device, such as PDA.