Gateway Device for Wearable Sensor Data Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Healthcare practitioners face challenges in integrating wearable patient monitoring devices with electronic health records and other systems due to issues such as size, connectivity, and power supply constraints, limiting their ability to effectively communicate and store physiological data.
Innovation Solution
A gateway device with a transceiver and processor that communicates wirelessly with body-worn sensors, utilizing multiple protocols for data transmission and storage, and includes indicator lights for status monitoring, enabling seamless data collection, processing, and forwarding to central servers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If wearable sensors are made small and wireless for patient monitoring, then portability and comfort are improved, but connectivity reliability and power supply duration deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
A gateway device is introduced as an intermediary between the wearable sensor and the central server. The gateway receives data wirelessly from the sensor via Bluetooth, stores it locally, and then transmits it to the central server via WiFi or cellular networks. This mediator approach allows the small wearable sensor to maintain reliable data transmission without requiring direct continuous connection to the central server, thus resolving the contradiction between small size and connectivity reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple communication protocols are integrated for seamless data transmission, then adaptability and versatility are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway device is designed with multi-functionality to support multiple communication protocols including Bluetooth for sensor communication, WiFi for wireless network connectivity, and cellular modems for mobile network access. By integrating these diverse communication capabilities into a single universal gateway device, the system achieves high adaptability and versatility in data transmission while consolidating complexity into one dedicated component rather than distributing it across multiple devices.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for storing data collected by a body-worn sensor includes a central processing unit (CPU) that is configured to control operation of a gateway device; and one or more computer readable data storage media storing software instructions that, when executed by the CPU, cause the gateway device to: receive a MAC address of a new sensor and a protocol version associated with the new sensor from a server; attempt to contact the new sensor using the protocol version and the MAC address; when a response is received, send the response to the server for validation; when the response is validated by the server, establish communications with the new sensor; and forward data from the new sensor to a second server.