• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.133-142
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• 2008

Respiration is induced by muscular contraction of the chest and abdomen, resulting in the abdominal volume change. Thus, continuous measurement of the abdominal dimension enables to monitor breathing activity. Conductive rubber cord has been previously introduced and tested to develop wearable application for respiratory measurements. The present study implemented wireless wearable respiratory monitoring system with the conductive rubber cord in the patient's pants. Signal extraction circuitry was developed to obtain the abdominal circumference changes reflecting the lung volume variation caused by respiratory activity. Wireless transmission was followed based on the zigbee communication protocol in a size of 65mm${\times}$105mm easily put in pocket. Successful wireless monitoring of respiration was performed in that breathing frequency was accurately estimated as well as different breathing patterns were easily recognized from the abdominal signal. $CO_2$ inhalation experiment was additionally performed in purpose of quantitative estimation of tidal volume. Air mixed with $0{\sim}5%\;CO_2$was inhaled by 4 normal males and the respiratory air flow rate, abdominal dimension change, and end tidal $CO_2$ concentration were simultaneously measured in steady state. $CO_2$ inhalation increased the tidal volume in normal physiological state with a correlation coefficient of 0.90 between the tidal volume and the end tidal $CO_2$ concentration. The tidal volume estimated from the abdominal signal linearly correlated with the accurate tidal volume measured by pneumotachometer with a correlation coefficient of 0.88 with mean relative error of approximately 8%. Therefore, the tidal volume was accurately estimated by measuring the abdominal dimension change.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.363.2-363.2
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• 2016

Stretchable strain sensors are becoming essential in diverse future applications, such as human motion detection, soft robotics, and various biomedical devices. One of the well-known approaches for fabricating stretchable strain sensors is to embed conductive nanomaterials such as metal nanowires/nanoparticles, graphene, conducting polymer and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) within an elastomeric substrate. Among various conducting nanomaterials, CNTs have been considered as important and promising candidate materials for stretchable strain sensors owing to their high electrical conductivity and excellent mechanical properties. In the past decades, CNT-based strain sensors with high stretchability or sensitivity have been developed. However, CNT-based strain sensors which show both high stretchability and sensitivity have not been reported. Herein, highly stretchable and sensitive strain sensors were fabricated by integrating single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and nylon textiles via vacuum-assisted spray-layer-by-layer process. Our strain sensors had high sensitivity with 100 % tensile strain (gauge factor ~ 100). Cyclic tests confirmed that our strain sensors showed very robust and reliable characteristic. Moreover, our SWNTs-based strain sensors were easily and successfully integrated on human finger and knee to detect bending and walking motion. Our approach presented here might be route to preparing highly stretchable and sensitive strain sensors with providing new opportunity to realize practical wearable devices.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.24-32
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• 2007

Conductive rubber material was molded in a belt shape to measure respiration. Its resistivity was approximately $0.03{\;}{\Omega}m$ and the resistance-displacement relationship showed a negative exponent. The temperature coefficient was approximately $0.006{\;}k{\Omega}/^{\circ}C$ negligible when practically applied on the abdomen. The conductive rubber belt was applied on a normal male's abdomen with the dimensional change measured during resting breathing. The abdominal signal was differentiated ($F_{m}$) and compared with the accurate standard air flow rate signal ($F_{s}$) obtained by pneumotachometry. $F_{m}$ and $F_{s}$ differed in waveform, but the start and end timings of each breaths were clearly synchronized, demonstrating that the respiratory frequency could be accurately estimated before further processing of $F_{m}$. $F_{m}-F_{s}$ loop showed a nonlinear hysteresis within each breath period, thus 6 piecewise linear approximation was performed, leading to a mean relative error of 14 %. This error level was relatively large for clinical application, though customized calibration seemed feasible for monitoring general variation of ventilation. The present technique would be of convenient and practical application as a new wearable respiratory transducer.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.209-215
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• 2019

The most important personal health care in digital health care is a very important issue mainly for chronic diseases. Therefore, it is important to develop a simple wearable device for real-time health management. Existing blood pressure estimation wearable devices use PPG characteristics to analyze PTT and propose blood pressure estimation algorithms. However, the influencing factors of the algorithm such as the reproducibility of PPG, whether to apply various PTTs, and variables generated from the physical differences of the measurers are actually very complex. Therefore, in this study, the correlation between PTT, SBP, and DBP was analyzed, and it was designed to use PPG sensors for device miniaturization. The blood pressure estimation algorithm took into account differences in PPG, heart rate, and personal variables.

• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.71-75
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• 2019

Sleep apnea is a disease that causes various complications, and the polysomnography is expensive and difficult to measure. The purpose of this study is to develop an unrestricted wearable monitoring system so that patients can be examined in a familiar environment. We used a method to detect sleep apnea events and to determine sleep satisfaction by non-constrained method using SpO2 measurement sensor and 3-axis acceleration sensor. Heart rate and SpO2 were measured at the finger using max30100. After acquiring the SpO2 data of the user in real time, the apnea measurement algorithm was used to transmit the number of apnea events of the user to the mobile phone using Bluetooth (HC-06) on the wrist. Using the three-axis acceleration sensor (mpu6050) attached to the upper body, the number of times of tossing and turning during sleep was measured. Based on this data, this algorithm evaluates the patient's tossing and turning during sleep and transmits the data to the mobile phone via Bluetooth. The power source used 9 volts battery to operate Arduino UNO and sensors for portability and stability, and the data received from each sensor can be used to check the various degree between sleep apnea and sleep tossing and turning on the mobile phone. Through thisstudy, we have developed a wearable sleep apnea measurement system that can be easily used at home for the problem of low sleep efficiency of sleep apnea patients.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2024

Soft-pressure sensors have numerous applications in soft robotics, biomedical devices, and wearable smart devices. Herein, we present a highly sensitive electronic skin device with an isotropic wrinkled pressure sensor. A conductive ink for soft pressure sensors is produced by a solution process using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), poly 3-hexylthiophene (P3HT), carbon black, and chloroform as the solvents. P3HT provides high reproducibility and conductivity by improving the ink dispersibility. The conductivity of the ink is optimized by adjusting the composition of the carbon black and PDMS. Soft lithography is used to fabricate a conductive elastic structure with an isotropic wrinkled structure. Two conductive elastic structures with an isotropic wrinkle structure is stacked to develop a pressure sensor, and it is confirmed that the isotropic wrinkle structure is more sensitive to pressure than when two elastic structures with an anisotropic wrinkle structure are overlapped. Specifically, the pressure sensor fabricated with an isotropic wrinkled structure can detect extremely low pressures (1.25 Pa). Additionally, the sensor has a high sensitivity of 15.547 kpa^-1 from 1.25 to 2500 Pa and a linear sensitivity of 5.15 kPa^-1 from 2500 Pa to 25 kPa.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2007

The aim of this paper is to design and implement a new ECG signal monitoring and analysis method for the home care of elderly persons or patients, using wireless sensor network (WSN) technology. The wireless technology for home-care purpose gives new possibilities for monitoring of vital parameter with wearable biomedical sensors and will give the patient freedom to be mobile and still be under continuously monitoring. Developed platform for portable real-time analysis of ECG signals can be used as an advanced diagnosis and alarming system. The ECG features are used to detect life-threatening arrhythmias, with an emphasis on the software for analyzing the P-wave, QRS complex, and T-wave in ECG signals at server after receiving data from base station. Based on abnormal ECG activity, the server transfer diagnostic results and alarm conditions to a doctor's PDA. Doctor can diagnose the patients who have survived from arrhythmia diseases.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.2435-2441
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• 2010

A global healthcare system based on M2M technology is proposed to support a good mobility, flexibility and scalability to the patients in 6LoWPAN. Sensor nodes integrated with wearable sensors are linked to gateway with IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and 6LoWPAN protocol for data acquisition and transmission purpose via external network. In the server, heart rate variability signals are obtained by signal processing and used for time and frequency domain performance analysis to evaluate the patient's health status. Our approach for global healthcare system with non-invasive and continuous IP-based communication is managed to process large amount of biomedical signals in the large scale of service range accurately.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.1014-1035
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• 2013

With recent advances in wireless communication and low-power miniaturized biomedical sensor and semiconductor technologies, wireless body area networks (WBAN) has become an integral part of the disaster aid system. Wearable vital sign sensors can track patients' status and location, thus enhancing disaster rescue efficiency. In the past few years, most of the literatures in the area of disaster aid system based on WBAN have focused on issues concerning wireless sensor design, sensor miniaturization, energy efficiency and communication protocols. In this paper, we will give an overview of disaster aid, discuss about the types of network communication as well as outline related issues. We will emphasize on analyzing six key issues in employing the disaster aid system. Finally, we will also highlight some of the challenges that still need to be addressed in the future in order to help the disaster aid system be truly and widely accepted by the public.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1330-1338
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• 2011

Social activities of the elderly have been increasing as our society progresses toward an aging society. As their activities increase, so does the occurrence of falls that could lead to fractures. Falls are serious health hazards to the elderly. Therefore, development of a device that can detect fall accidents and prevent fracture is essential. In this study, we developed a portable fall detection system for the fracture prevention system of the elderly. The device is intended to detect a fall and activate a second device such as an air bag deployment system that can prevent fracture. The fall detection device contains a 3-axis acceleration sensor and two 2-axis tilt sensors. We measured acceleration and tilt angle of body during fall and activities of daily(ADL) living using the fall detection device that is attached on the subjects'. Moving mattress which is actuated by a pneumatic system was used in fall experiments and it could provide forced falls. Sensor data during fall and ADL were sent to computer and filtered with low-pass filter. The developed fall detection device was successful in detecting a fall about 0.1 second before a severe impact to occur and detecting the direction of the fall to provide enough time and information for the fracture preventive device to be activated. The fall detection device was also able to differentiate fall from ADL such as walking, sitting down, standing up, lying down, and running.