Requirement Specification and Modeling a Wearable Smart Blanket System for Monitoring Patients in Ambulance

Influence and analysis of ambulance on the containment of COVID-19 in China

New coronavirus (COVID-19) is a newly emerging and highly infectious form of typical pneumonia with a high rate of transmission. The COVID-19 pneumonia has spread to 147 countries and areas as of Mar.16th 2020, which has tremendous impact on the global public health. It is well known that, in China, the pandemic has been contained effectively with a series of emergency measures. It is necessary to share the existing experience of China in the fight against the pandemic to the world. Especially, during the process of prevention and containment of the pandemic, ambulances play an important role in transporting infectious patients. In this paper, focusing on the safety and quantity of negative pressure ambulances, the influence of ambulance on newly confirmed cases is given. Analysis of negative pressure ambulance on the containment of COVID-19 is shown. The potential development of ambulance is discussed. While the pandemic still continues spreading across the world, we hope to share our experience in the implementation of these strategies by China to save more life.

Wearable, Multimodal, Biosignal Acquisition System for Potential Critical and Emergency Applications

For emergency or intensive-care units (ICUs), patients with unclear consciousness or unstable hemodynamics often require aggressive monitoring by multiple monitors. Complicated pipelines or lines increase the burden on patients and inconvenience for medical personnel. Currently, many commercial devices provide related functionalities. However, most devices measure only one biological signal, which can increase the budget for users and cause difficulty in remote integration. In this study, we develop a wearable device that integrates electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), and blood oxygen machines for medical applications with the hope that it can be applied in the future. We develop an integrated multiple-biosignal recording system based on a modular design. The developed system monitors and records EEG, ECG, and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂) signals for health purposes simultaneously in a single setting. We use a logic level converter to connect the developed EEG module (BR8), ECG module, and SpO₂ module to a microcontroller (Arduino). The modular data are then smoothly encoded and decoded through consistent overhead byte stuffing (COBS). This developed system has passed simulation tests and exhibited proper functioning of all modules and subsystems. In the future, the functionalities of the proposed system can be expanded with additional modules to support various emergency or ICU applications.

The application of wearable smart sensors for monitoring the vital signs of patients in epidemics: a systematic literature review

Wearable smart sensors are emerging technology for daily monitoring of vital signs with the reducing discomfort and interference with normal human activities. The main objective of this study was to review the applied wearable smart sensors for disease control and vital signs monitoring in epidemics outbreaks. A comprehensive search was conducted in Web of Science, Scopus, IEEE Library, PubMed and Google Scholar databases to identify relevant studies published until June 2, 2020. Main extracted specifications for each paper are publication details, type of sensor, disease, type of monitored vital sign, function and usage. Of 277 articles, 11 studies were eligible for criteria. 36% of papers were published in 2020. Articles were published in 10 different journals and only in the Journal of Medical Systems more than one article was published. Most sensors were used to monitor body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure. Wearable devices (like a helmet, watch, or cuff) and body area network sensors were popular types which can be used monitoring vital signs for epidemic trending. 65% of total papers (n = 6) were conducted by the USA, Malaysia and India. Applying appropriate technological solutions could improve control and management of epidemic disease as well as the application of sensors for continuous monitoring of vital signs. However, further studies are needed to investigate the real effects of these sensors and their effectiveness.