title: A wireless PDA-based physiological monitoring system for patient transport.
abstract: 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 SpO2. 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan, ROC. f86921008@ntu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Yuan-Hsiang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: I-Chien
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Jan
authors.forename: Patrick Chow-In
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Yen-Yu
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jau-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Gwo-Jen
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Jan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003195:Computer Communication Networks / Q000295:instrumentation*; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018511:Systems Integration; D013685:Telecommunications / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000639:trends; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D013686:Telemetry / Q000295:instrumentation; D014159:Transducers; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000379:methods*; D014584:User-Computer Interface