Enabling Technologies for the In-house Monitoring of Vital Signs in Chronic Patients

Abstract

The in-house monitoring of vital signs represents a real opportunity to improve the effectiveness of the healthcare of chronic patients, integrating the traditional in-hospital healthcare model with a new out-of-hospital follow-up based on frequent monitoring of the clinical status. It allows clinicians and practitioners to realize and act promptly suspect aggravations, before they become irreversible and lead to hospitalization. This model relies on ICT, in particular biomedical sensors and concentrator devices (i.e. gateway) that enable to acquire vital signs at patient’s home and to transmit collected data in secure way, making them remotely available for medical personnel. This paper presents two gateway devices enabling the in-house monitoring of vital signs according to the kind and severity of the diseases, being the first conceived to be used by the patient while the second studied for professional caregivers. Moreover, it presents a novel sensor for the self-acquisition of the ECG signal.