Wearable Care System for Elderly People

Abstract

A growing number of elderly persons in Poland and Europe forces us to looking for new solutions for the continuous monitoring of their health state. This approach allows for early action in case of dangerous situations for elderly person life (state before heart attack or stroke, etc.). The system for continuously monitoring the health state also allows for quick action of first contact doctors in the case of emergency situations. This described system also allows the remotely monitoring of elderly people in their home by their relatives. The monitoring system is portable, comfortable to use and uses non-invasive measurement methods. This kind of clothing is full user-friendly product. The textronic system is a new product for monitoring selected human physiological parameters, such as: pulse, frequency of breathing, underclothing temperature, positioning inside and outside the house. Textile sensory elements and signal lines are implemented in the structure of the clothing and it is a main innovation of this kind of systems. System of a textile sensor is part of a garment, the monitoring system is fully portable, easy for using, does not require specialized medical services. Furthermore, measurement of physiological parameters is non-invasive which means that does not interfere directly in the human body. The system is completely safe, because it is supplied by a miniature battery such as the one that are used in mobile phones. The combination of textile clothing interface with specialized software for data acquisition and generation of alarm signals provides a continuous overview of the health status of the monitored person.