Safe patient transfer system with monitoring of location and vital signs.

In recent years, ubiquitous computing technologies have been applied in the field of medicine. Especially radio frequency identification (RFID) and small sensor networks could provide information about medical practices and patient status in order to prevent malpractices and improve the quality of medical care. As an example of this application, we developed a new system, named "a smart stretcher," which continuously monitors the patient's vital signs and detects apnea during transfer within a hospital. This system consists of a small air-mat type pressure sensor measuring both heart rate and respiration rate and a wireless network transmitting these vital data as well as patient ID to an alerting system to notify hospital staff of patient emergencies. Results of experiments in a clinical setting indicated that the system was reliable in continuous respiration monitoring and detection of apnea during patient transfer on the stretcher; however, detection of heartbeat rate was practically difficult because of the motion noises. Moreover patient ID and location were also correctly detected in real time. These results suggested the feasibility of our system for real clinical use.