May-Aug '17
With recent advances in medicine, developed societies have reported a steady increase in lifespan with an accompanying decrease in mortality rates. As a result of this, the geriatric population is now the fastest growing demographic in modern society. This increase in size, however, has not been met with an increase in care facilities to address the complex chronic illnesses this population faces. The Dead Man Walking project strives to create a continuous health monitoring system that notifies elderly users, and their physicians, on their health status from their homes. By keeping an active record of vital signs, through facial recognition and infrared signals, the system will record the normal ranges, as well as alert emergency services in the case of adverse events. In addition, a wearable accessory will be designed for use outside of the home, syncing relevant data that is required to continue collecting accurate health records. The current model—a mobile robot with an infrared thermometer and facial tracking camera—uses infrared signals to collect accurate body temperature readings from regions on the face, while a Raspberry Pi computer will process thermal images from the infrared camera to non-invasively record a pulse rate (further additions will include recording respiration rate, as well as blood pressure). With this system, the geriatric community will ultimately be equipped with the knowledge to make informed decisions concerning their health, alongside their physicians, without being confined to a twenty-four hour health care facility.
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