Pervasive technology in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: a prototype for newborns unobtrusive monitoring.
Pervasive computing research is introducing new perspectives in a wide range of applications, including healthcare domain. In this study we explore the possibility to realize a prototype of a system for unobtrusive recording and monitoring of multiple biological parameters on premature newborns hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It consists of three different units: a sensitized belt for Electrocardiogram (ECG) and chest dilatation monitoring, augmented with extrinsic transducers for temperature and respiratory activity measure, a device for signals pre-processing, sampling and transmission through Bluetooth(R) (BT) technology to a remote PC station and a software for data capture and post-processing. Preliminary results obtained by monitoring babies just discharged from the ward demonstrated the feasibility of the unobtrusive monitoring on this kind of subjects and open a new scenario for premature newborns monitoring and developmental cares practice in NICU.
Ciani
Oriana
O
Politecnico di Milano, INDACO Dept., P.zza L.Da Vinci 32, 20133, Italy. oriana.ciani@mail.polimi.it
Piccini
Luca
L
Parini
Sergio
S
Rullo
Alessia
A
Bagnoli
Franco
F
Marti
Patrizia
P
Andreoni
Giuseppe
G
D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D017283:Neonatal Nursing / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012984:Software