Remote health monitoring in ambulance and traffic control using GSM and Zigbee

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ITSI Transactions on Electrical and Electronics Engineering (ITSI-TEEE)

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ISSN (PRINT) : 2320 – 8945, Volume -2, Issue -2, 2014 25

Remote health monitoring in ambulance and traffic control using GSM and Zigbee

Deepak. C. Pardeshi

Department of Instrumentation Engineering, Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune, India

Abstract — Improving the present day safety measures and transport facilities for patients for further ensuring their wellbeing with the help of technology is the aim of this dissertation.

In this paper a networking system for ambulance that can interact and communicate with the traffic signals (rather order and alter the status of traffic signals) and collect the crucial parameters of the patient’s health and broadcast it to the dedicated hospital via the GSM and Zigbee module.

Also the live status of the traffic on route can be checked by the signals and would inform the ambulances driver about the alternative route (further improving the system for reducing the route time).

So this paper shows a system installed that would help the ambulance to command the traffic signal and change its status so as to reach the destination (hospital or site) as soon as possible. Also inform the hospital about patient’s health status via GSM, Zigbee module so as to be prepared with prerequisites for saving a life.

Keywords: Ambulance, GSM, Zigbee module, emergency healthcare, traffic density switches, wireless communication.

I. INTRODUCTION

Today with the boost in the lifestyle and perception towards way of life the living, human health is facing so many issues. Infants are born with tumors and due to inevitable stress in life people are prone to many cardiovascular diseases. Apart from this death due accidents daily are ever increasing. These alerts how unpredictable are the situations are and how the safety systems should be ready to meet an emergency situation [1][2][3][4][7].

People with the hemorrhage cannot survive for more than an hour unless given proper medication but the safety carriers-ambulances require more time to reach site and return to hospital which leads to a sad death.

The existing method of traffic control system is not aware of emergency vehicles, thus resulting in the need of traffic police for handling traffic control for emergency vehicles, which is improper as availability of recent technology in wireless communication. So the intelligent system that would safely and rapidly direct the ambulances to the hospitals, further improving and saving a life.

So harnessing the power of technology for overcoming the above stated problems is the main aim of this paper.

II. SYSTEM DESIGN

The purpose of this system is to transmit the health parameters of the patient from ambulance to monitoring system in the hospital with controlling the traffic signal with indication of traffic density using GSM and Zigbee module so as to reach the hospital as early as possible to provide proper medical treatment to the patient to save their life.

It consists of three units: ambulance unit, traffic signal unit and hospital unit.

Fig. 1. Block diagram of the ambulance unit.

A. Sensor:

It is most important basic unit of this networking system. It consists of LM35 which is a precision integrated temperature sensor that gives output in the form of voltage, which is linearly proportional to temperature.

B. Pulse rate sensor:

It is used to measure the pulse rate of the patient. In this case, IR based obstacle sensor (IR LED) is used.

Temperature sensor

Pulse rate sensor

Processing unit (ARM 7)

LCD

Zigbee

GSM Traffic

switches

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Fig. 2. Circuit diagram of pulse rate unit.

Measurement of pulse rate is achieved by placing the finger between IR transmitter (D7) and IR receiver (D1).

Fig. 3. IR transmission method.

Radial artery of human finger reflects light at intensity proportional to the change in blood volume. A part of light which does not reflected is refracted to IR receiver.

Output of IR receiver is very small pulse, it requires amplification.

100Ω resistor is used for current limiting. Capacitor is used to avoid DC component.

Current through LED is 5V/100Ω = 50mA, which is high for LED, but increases the range of obstacle sensor.

IR receiver is connected in reverse biased condition.

Here two stage non inverting amplifier is used for amplification. Voltage gain for first stage amplifier,

Voltage gain=5V=R₃+R₄/R₃=1K+330K/1K=331K.

Voltage output for second stage amplifier, V_out=V_in*65K/65K+3K=Vin*65K/68K.

This provides high gain to give proper square pulse irrespective of change in volume of blood flow, which is given to the transistor. Due to switching action of transistor, diode D2 turns on or off, that indicates pulses.

These pulses are given to counter mode of the ARM processor that gives pulse rate measurement.

Zigbee is communication module. Sensor outputs are given to the ARM processor, which process on this. It is given to Zigbee and GSM module. Zigbee operates within the ISM 2.4GHz frequency band can transmit data upto 100m at the rate of 25 kbps. The 16*2 LCD displays the pulse rate and temperature of patient in the ambulance unit.

C. Ambulance unit:

This unit is responsible for transmitting health parameters of the patient to hospital. In this unit bio- sensors are attached to the body of patient to grab the health signals (for example-body temperature, pulse rate, ECG etc). These signals are processed using ARM processor, these signals are transmitted to doctors mobile and hospital server using GSM, and Zigbee module. These signals are analyzed by physician or expert doctor. If any emergency is there, physician can guide co-doctor which is present in Ambulance. So that pretreatment can be provided to the patient before reaching to the hospital. This possibly saves the patient’s life. Ambulance unit is responsible for controlling traffic signal and it will know traffic route condition on road sides. Co-driver or driver will change traffic signal condition as well as increasing signal time of green signal as per requirement on road using Zigbee module.

Switches operated by driver or co-driver are used in unit to know the traffic conditions in terms of HIGH density traffic, MEDIUM density traffic and LOW density traffic, which is displayed on LCD display on control panel available in ambulance unit. So as per traffic density route can be changed if required. This unit knows traffic condition as communication between it and Traffic signal unit is done by Zigbee module.

Fig. 4. Block diagram of the traffic signal unit.

Processing Unit ARM 7 Traffic

Density switches

LED Green*4

LED Red*4

Zigbee

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D. Traffic signal unit:

This unit is responsible to provide first priority to ambulance to cross traffic signal so as to avoid delay in ambulance reaching to hospital for providing necessary treatment to the patient in case of emergency. This unit coordinates with ambulance unit for controlling the traffic signal using Zigbee module, ARM7. Ambulance when reaches the traffic signal and comes within the range of Zigbee module of traffic signal, if required green signal time can be increased also for providing priority for ambulance signal sequence can be altered only after completing present green signal which is going on to avoid unwanted condition or any accidental situation to be take place.

Fig. 5. Traffic road side with location of the sensors.

E. Traffic density indication:

There are two sensors or switches are placed on each side of road at a distance apart from traffic signal with traffic switches on driver control panel in ambulance for providing information about traffic condition as shown in above figure.

Traffic switches T1(North), T2(East), T3(South) and T4(West) are provided on drivers control panel in ambulance, with S1, S3, S5 and S7 sensors or switches(traffic density switches) are on road side 50m apart from traffic signal, and S2, S4, S6 and S8 sensors or switches are on road side 100m apart from traffic signal. As per traffic on roads these switches are operated when ambulance comes in contact with switches that provide traffic condition, which is displayed on ambulance display unit of control panel.

If none of the switch or sensor is actuated pressed on the road, it indicates LOW traffic on display unit in ambulance, when traffic switches are pressed by driver or co-driver to know the traffic condition.

Consider one side of road, T1 switch is pressed to know the traffic condition with, If S2 is pressed, it indicates HIGH density traffic and S1 is pressed, it indicates MEDIUM density traffic on display unit of ambulance.

It is same for all switches which are placed on road side this information is used by ambulance driver for changing route if required .These signals are communicated using Zigbee module.

Fig. 6. Block diagram of the hospital unit.

This is the consulation unit. It receives patient parameters on doctors mobile using GSM module as ambulance is far from hospital, also on line data is observed on server as Zigbee module of ambulance comes in the range of Zigbee module of hospital unit.

This data is analyzed by the expert doctor. So that expert doctor or physician can convey or consult to doctor which in the ambulance, to provide pre treatment to patient, so that human life can be saved.

III. RESULTS

Using GSM technology patients pameter are transmitted over doctors mobile so that patient is analysed.With Zigbee module traffic density is observed on driver control panel, is as shown in following table.

TABLE I. TRAFFIC DENSITY INDICATION.

Traffic density switch condition

Traffic density indication on display of panel

S1- ON MEDIUM

S3- ON MEDIUM

S5- ON MEDIUM

S7- ON MEDIUM

S2- ON HIGH

S4- ON HIGH

S6- ON HIGH

S8- ON HIGH

All switches are OFF LOW

Also using Zigbee module, the patient’s health parameter in real time is monitored and displayed on hospital server using Visual Studio 6.0. Graph showing body temperature varying with time.

Fig. 7. Screenshot of the hospital monitoring system.

Zigbee PC unit of Hospital,

mobile GSM

RS 232

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IV. CONCLUSION

In this dissertation, we proposed a network system for health monitoring of the patient in the ambulance using GSM and Zigbee. The results were formulated and validated for the successful reception of data at the hospital from the patient in the ambulance. From the experimentation and obtained results of the proposed system we point the unique advantage of traffic control and density indication achieved in an accurate and timely manner using this technique which the traditional health monitoring systems lack.

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