Tele robot for vitals monitoring and management

The project was inspired by the efforts of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic loss of some of the healthcare workers. In the broader aspect, the idea is to minimize the contact between the infected patients and the medical staff by introducing robots in a ward to do t

Project Title

Tele robot for vitals monitoring and management

Project Area of Specialization

Biomedical Engineering

Project Summary

The project was inspired by the efforts of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic loss of some of the healthcare workers. In the broader aspect, the idea is to minimize the contact between the infected patients and the medical staff by introducing robots in a ward to do the job of collecting a patient’s vitals to monitor their health. For now, the scope of our project is limited to a semi-autonomous robot that can reach the patient through line following mechanism, can successfully measure the vitals of a patient, and wirelessly communicate it to the healthcare professional at a remote location. The healthcare professional can view the vitals record of each patient to monitor their health and intervene where they think it’s necessary. The project uses knowledge from many different fields of engineering like image processing, machine learning, mechanics of a 4-wheel robot, and internet of things (IoT).  

Project Objectives

The main objectives of the project begin with a robotic structure that comprises of the physical structure of the robot and as well as the mobility drive for the robot. The robot will move in the ward through a line following mechanism. Furthermore, a communication system has to be designed for the robot so that it can communicate its collected data to a remote end wirelessly. The most important objective for the project is the vitals measurement mechanism (i.e., the data). The four main vitals that have been shortlisted for the scope of the project include heart rate, oxygen saturation level, blood pressure and temperature.  

Project Implementation Method

The structure used for the project is a modular 3-layer structure. Each layer is made of a square acrylic disc and are interconnected with aluminum rods at a distance of 1 foot. The first layer consists of the mobility equipment. The second layer consists of the processing devices. The final layer contains the support for the camera and pyrometer, the two sensing devices. 

Vitals Measurement: The main sensor is the camera. First of all, an imaging photoplethysmograph (iPPG) is extracted from the patient’s video and it is further processed to give the heart rate. Next, the oxygen saturation is measured via the red channel that was present in the patient’s video and the IR channel (the camera used will be equipped with both IR and RGB). The relationship between the light absorption of IR channel and the red channel is used to calculate the patient’s oxygen saturation level. We have the iPPG signal of a patient, each PPG signal corresponds to a certain blood pressure so using machine learning a patient’s blood pressure level is determined. The temperature will be measured using a pyrometer.  

Mobility: The drive used for the robot’s mobility is the Ackerman drive. It uses a car-like steering mechanism in the front and a single motor controlled rear wheels for smooth maneuverability of the robot. The robot will follow a line in a ward to reach patients. This method is more appropriate in a hospital setting as compared to other robot mapping and tracking techniques like SLAM as the beds in a ward stay at fixed locations.    

Communication: The robot will be equipped with tools to transfer data to a server wirelessly via IoT technology.  

Benefits of the Project

The project provides a sustainable solution to a pressing matter in the healthcare community. The project will not only minimize the healthcare worker to patient contact to contain the spread of diseases, but it will also ease the workload on the healthcare workers during a pandemic or an epidemic scenario. The data that will be measured and sent to the server can be easily stored in a database providing an efficient way of accessing a patient’s medical records if needed. Furthermore, the robot uses non-contact techniques for vitals measurement, in other words, the robot will not be touching or examining the patient up close so there will be little to no discomfort for the patient during the vitals measurement process.  

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The final deliverable will consist of a non-contact vitals measurement system based on computer vision and signal processing to collect the vital information. The camera proposed for the vitals monitoring will require to record videos at an FPS higher than 30. The camera should offer a minimum resolution of 1080p. Ackerman drive is proposed for the robot’s mobility to assist precise motion. For driving the wheels of the robot, a single shaft DC geared motor with a built-in encoder will be used. This motor will be driving two wheels, through a self-made gear and shaft system. For the steering wheels, a single stepper motor will be used to provide angular displacement to the steering wheels with the help of a trapezoidal geometry that is used to construct Ackerman steering mechanism. Line following Robot scheme will be used for navigation purpose. Infrared sensors will be installed on the robot to detect the line it has to follow. The robot will also be provided with the map, which would be realized physically with the lines that would be installed inside the hospital environment. For precise odometry, markers will be installed, where the average distance between two successive markers would be about 1 meter. The robot’s position information will be updated by determining the marker at which the robot is. Between two markers, the encoder will be used to estimate the robot’s position. IoT modules will be used to communicate the data that is measured by the robot. The data transmission will occur at fixed intervals, where the robot will transmit the data in a stationary position. To ensure a constant supply of the power that is needed for the robot, DC-DC converters and regulators will be used to efficiently design the power circuitry for the robot. 

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Medical

Other Industries

Health , Telecommunication

Core Technology

Robotics

Other Technologies

Others

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People

Required Resources

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