Vital signs monitoring system on a smart bed

Abstract

Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a longitudinal periodic variation of the index of refraction in the core of an optical fiber. Only certain wavelength (Bragg Wavelength) of light will be reflected if a broad spectrum of light is incident into the FBG. When the FBG encounters strain or temperature change, the Bragg Wavelength will shift accordingly.

In this project, fever detection feature was implemented in the vital signs monitoring system on the smart bed to enhance the robustness of the system. We developed three packaging approaches for FBG temperature sensors, which cater to the requirement of temperature monitoring in the system. We identified the FBG temperature sensor with best temperature sensitivity (29.52 pm/℃) and ensured its strain-free capability throughout numerous experimental testing of sensors. In addition, Java programming was applied to design a graphical user interface and data processing algorithm. We set 37 ℃ as the threshold value for fever detection, thus the graphical user interface will display warning if the detected temperature is higher than 37 ℃. To our best knowledge, such a health status monitoring system on a smart bed with fever detection function is being developed for the first time. To ensure the better temperature sensitivity of FBG sensor, it is suggested that manufacturers with sophisticated technologies should process the packaging of FBG sensor. Moreover, more functionality can be implemented in the graphical user interface providing user more informative and comprehensive information.