Wearable medical package for monitoring physiological status and location.

Left- A picture of the spo2 sensor during sensor placement tests.
Middle- The vest containing sensor packages with the medical payload during field trials in the desert at Burning Man. The laptop pictured has the web browser displaying the data from the medical package.
Far Right-Prism, the integrator that combines the medical payload with the sensor packages and handles the tcp/ip communication through on board ethernet.

The wearable medical package was designed for use on forward deployed personnel. A reflectance SPO2 sensor is inside the brim of the hat, with a thin tethered connection to a vest or pouch containing Prism or any Palm OS device (a Handspring Visor was used in testing). Using Prism, the system will read in physiological data as well as a variety of options including:

• GPS
• MultiRae Chemical Detection System
• Hazmat Plus Chemical Detection System
• GM-10 Radiation Detector
• Any analog signal using Mindtel TNG A/D Boards

The vital signs, including any of the above sensor information, are wirelessly transmitted over 802.11 network. 802.11 networks can be infinitely expanded using repeaters or high gain antennas. Using 802.11 tcp/ip networks allows any number of units to be used at the same time without interference problems. The vital statistics can be transmitted locally to a palm pilot or any other portable web browser. Small teams of people can transmit location and vital statistics back to a single team member with a palm OS device or Ipaq.

A mirror from the Prism web page during field trials is here. The sensor information can be viewed by any internet web browser, without any plug-ins required. Forward deployed personnel can have their vital statistics and sensor payload information relayed through the 802.11 network and displayed on any computer across the world. For security purposes, the information can be encrypted and password protected. The medical payload can also restrict the machines that can talk to it.

This project is still in field trials and was funded by the US Navy.

Tim Murphy