Telemonitoring of vital signs – An effective tool for ambient assisted living

Abstract

Telemedicine and e-health solutions provide (chronic) patients and elderly people services that enhance their quality of life. Advances in wireless sensor network technology and the overall miniaturization of their associated hardware low-power integrated circuits have enabled the design of low-cost, miniature and precise physiological sensor modules. These modules are capable of measuring, processing, communicating one or more physiological parameters, and can be integrated into a wireless personal area network (WPAN). This paper is dedicated to the most complex Romanian telemedical pilot project, TELEMON, that implemented a system for automatic and complex telemonitoring, everywhere and every time, in real time, of the vital signs of persons with chronic illnesses, of elderly people, of those having high medical risk and of those living in isolated regions. The main objective of this pilot project is to enable personalized medical tele-services delivery, and to act as a basis for a public service for telemedical procedures in Romania and abroad.