A wireless low-power pulse oximetry system for patient telemonitoring

In this paper we present the realization of a wireless low power pulse oximetry telemonitoring system capable to measure and transmit patient's arterial blood-oxygen saturation (SpO2) level and heart rate (HR). The use of the proposed system is suitable for continuous long-time patient monitoring, as a part of a diagnostic procedure. The patient can achieve medical assistance of a chronic condition, or can be supervised during recovery from an acute event or surgical procedure. We use commercially available devices, low power microcontrollers and RF transceivers that perform the measurements (SpO2 and HR) and transmit them to the patient monitoring device. The monitoring device, in form of a PDA that running a personal SpO2 monitor application, receives the SpO2 level and HR, activates the alarms when the monitored parameters exceed the preset limits, and communicates periodically to the telemonitoring server by using WiFi or GSM/GPRS connection.