Designing a Care System based on the Internet of Things for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease that is a major health problem. This issue requires the development of new tools to control patients\' activity and reduce care costs. The monitoring system based on the Internet of things is a suitable solution for this concern. In this study, the researchers developed a tool that uses an Arduino board and four accelerometer sensors, heart rate and pulse oximetry sensors, temperature sensors, and Bluetooth modules to monitor the factors related to the health of multiple sclerosis patients. In this method, the information obtained from the sensors connected to the patient\'s body is placed on the memory board and displayed with the help of an LCD. In the next step, the Bluetooth module transmits the information obtained from these sensors to a mobile application. This application has the ability to share and store information. This information, together with the date display on the LCD, in addition to notifying the person of the resulting changes; it is also sent periodically to the doctor. In general, this tool, together with a mobile device, helps to increase the self-care of patients, increases the interaction between the patient and the doctor, reduces the frequeI. nt visits of patients to care centers, and helps to improve the quality of life of patients..

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, progressive and common demyelination disease of the central nervous system in young adults. According to the available evidence, currently more than 2.3 million people worldwide are suffering from this disease (1, 2). In the United States, approximately 500,000 people are suffering from multiple sclerosis, and every year about 8,000 new cases are diagnosed. This disease mostly affects people aged 20-40 and is the third leading cause of disability in the United States (3, 4).

In Iran, according to the information of the Multiple Sclerosis Association, there are nearly 50,000 patients with multiple sclerosis and the number is increasing (5). The increasing trend of MS patients increases the need to pay attention to patients' treatment issues and problems (1). The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the latest applications of information technology in healthcare. The Internet of Things can be defined as a network of smart measuring devices and physical objects that are digitally connected to collect, monitor and control healthcare data (6, 7). The Internet of Things in the health care sector can reduce the unnecessary hospitalization of patients in the hospital while reducing treatment costs and increase the well-being of patients (8, 9). In this project, a portable system was designed with the help of IOT tools, which can continuously measure movement, heart rate, pulse oximetry and body temperature by connecting to the patient's body. This tool displays information on an LCD board without any interruption of time by connecting to the patient's body, and if the information is transferred to a mobile phone, this information can be used in various ways. In this connection, authorized people can connect to the board with a personalized password, which prevents data security from being compromised.

II. PRESENTING THE SYSTEM

Three-axis accelerometer, heart rate, pulse oximetry and temperature sensors are used in this tool. By using the pedometer sensor and the movement of continuous physical activity, the patient increases his efficiency and physical fitness. This action will increase flexibility, improve balance and rehabilitate patients. Adequate sleep is necessary for the proper functioning of the MS disease body. Chronic stress reduces the quality of life of MS patients and aggravates the symptoms of the disease. Stress and sleep patterns are monitored through heart rate sensor and pulse oximetry of body temperature.

The information obtained from these sensors is displayed on the LCD board and transmitted to the mobile via Bluetooth. Bluetooth module is a safe and low-cost technology. Bluetooth is password protected to ensure that the system is secure and not exploited by any intruders. The Bluetooth range is 10 to 100 meters, the bandwidth is 2.4 GHz, and the speed is 3 Mbps. An interactive Python program has been used in the mobile phone to communicate with the board, which has the ability to store information up to infinity and share and transfer information in different networks and programs.

In this article, an electronic health monitoring system for MS patients, which is very cheap and available, is proposed. This system increases the level of medical services that patients receive with the ability to provide remote services. It helps to improve self-care and increase independence and self-confidence of patients.

Although there is no definitive cure for MS, the use of certain drugs can reduce the severity of these symptoms. On the other hand, cognitive disorders affect more than three-quarters of people with MS, which means thinking clearly and quickly. It is harder for them to remember things. Using the present application and the existing smart TV application to display reminders and notifications can be effective in increasing the self-care of patients.

III. PARTS SPECIFICATIONS

A. ADXL335 Accelerometer Sensor

The ADXL335 provides full 3-axis accelerometer measurement. This module measures acceleration in the range of ± 3 g in the x, y and z axis. The output signals of this module are analog voltages that are proportional to the acceleration. This sensor consists of a micro-machined surface polysilicon sensor and signal conditioning circuit. It is small in size (1 inch x 1 inch) and can be used for tilt measurement applications as well as dynamic acceleration due to movement, shock or vibration.

H. Hardware Design

A remote health monitoring system using IOT is proposed where a person can receive, store and send data. The motion sensor can show the patient's mobility. The LM35 temperature sensor is a precision integrated circuit temperature device with linear output voltage proportional to Celsius temperature and has advantages over linear temperature sensors calibrated in Kelvin. MAX30100 is also a multipurpose sensor that displays heart rate along with pulse oximeter. Bluetooth HC05 is commonly used to connect small devices such as mobile phones using a short-range wireless connection for file exchange. Arduino UNO board is based on ATMega328P (receive datasheet). This board has 14 digital input and output (I/O) pins. The speed of data transfer in this board can vary up to 1 megabit per second and is within 10 meters. This board uses the 2.45 GHz frequency band. The Arduino processes the code and displays the patient data on the LCD screen. The HC05 Bluetooth module provides the connection through which the communication with the mobile application is established and the data appears on the mobile screen. By storing, sharing and transferring information, any disturbances in vital parameters and changes in life patterns are diagnosed by remote doctors.

IV. METHOD

The motion sensor and the temperature sensor display the body temperature; the oximeter sensor measures the heart rate and blood oxygen level when the patient is in contact with the sensors. The Arduino processes the code and displays the patient data on the LCD screen. The HC05 Bluetooth module provides the connection through which data is displayed and monitored on the application. Therefore, the patient and other relatives connect to the board through the application, and the doctors and relatives of the patient can access the data. As a result, this method causes self-care and better control of the patient's health level.

A. Experimental Results Related to Hardware

When the device is connected to the patient's body, the body temperature is measured by the LM35 temperature sensor, the acceleration and mobility by the ADXL335 accelerometer sensor, and the oxygen level and heart rate by the MAX30100. These measured values are also displayed on the LCD screen. When the device is connected with the mobile application by Bluetooth sensor, the measured values are displayed on the mobile phone. An example of these items is shown in the pictures below.

Conclusion

In this article, a device is proposed to monitor the health of MS patients. This device is affordable and practical. Since no similar system has been designed for the monitoring and care of MS patients, this system can be used for self-care and remote monitoring of MS patients.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2024 Fatemeh Mahdizadeh , Faezeh Mahdizadeh, Iman Firouzian. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.