Wireless biosensor network for point of care preparedness for critical patients
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring the environmental conditions to which an individual is exposed whereby the individual is provided with one or more biosensors, each biosensor containing a hydrocolloid material which undergoes a change in its electrical properties in response to a change in environmental conditions, said method including the steps of measuring the change in the electrical properties of the hydrocolloid material, storing said measured data in digital form in an associated electronic memory, and issuing a warning or alarm to alert the individual or a monitoring caregiver when that individual is being subjected to a change in environmental conditions which could be injurious to their health.
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Abstract
A biodegradable, bio-compatible material is described for use in wireless biosensors for point-of-care applications. The biosensor made from this biomaterial is capable of sensing environmental effects and as well as presence of bio-logical entities in the environment of concern simultaneously. Such a sensor can be used for evaluating point-of-care environmental preparedness for a specific patient through continuous monitoring of patient health performance due to environmental exposure. A two-tier network architecture is established for real-time monitoring (static case) that also provides warning of accumulated exposure. Wavelet analysis can be used to identify anomalies in the sensed data to initiate a warning.
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Citations
14 Claims
- 1. A method for monitoring the environmental conditions to which an individual is exposed whereby the individual is provided with one or more biosensors, each biosensor containing a hydrocolloid material which undergoes a change in its electrical properties in response to a change in environmental conditions, said method including the steps of measuring the change in the electrical properties of the hydrocolloid material, storing said measured data in digital form in an associated electronic memory, and issuing a warning or alarm to alert the individual or a monitoring caregiver when that individual is being subjected to a change in environmental conditions which could be injurious to their health.
- 8. A biosensor for monitoring environmental exposure, said biosensor including a capacitor in which the capacitor dielectric comprises a mixture of an epoxy resin and a hydrocolloid biomaterial, said material capable of undergoing a change in its electrical properties in response to exposure to the environment, said biosensor including means for issuing a warning or alarm to alert an individual or monitoring caregiver that the individual is being subjected to a change in environmental conditions which could be injurious to their health.
Specification