Author(s)

A. Tura, P. Santini, D. Longo & L. Quareni

Abstract

We designed and developed a home telemonitoring instrument, and related Web application for management of clinical data. The instrument directly measures important physiological parameters (blood oxygen saturation, pulse rate, and respiratory parameters related to the use of pulmonary ventilators). The instrument also connects to external instruments (spirometer, capnometer, noninvasive blood pressure measuring device), thus collecting the corresponding clinical parameters. The instrument has a flexible architecture, which allows insertion of the necessary boards only, depending on the parameters that need to be measured and the external instruments to be interfaced for each patient. The measured and collected data are transmitted to a Web server, through direct connection to a local Internet POP (thanks to the TCP/IP protocol implemented at the instrument firmware level), thus avoiding long distance calls possibly occurring in traditional modem-to-modem configurations. Transmitted data are made available for consultation through a Web application from the health professionals, wherever they are (if an Internet connection is available). The advantage of using a Web application instead of a traditional one is that all installation problems are avoided, and the latest application version is immediately available for all the users. Within the Web application, the clinical data can be displayed and analyzed both in numeric and graphic format. It is also possible to mark some portions of data with proper indicators: for instance, for saturation curves all the desaturation events can be marked manually or after identification through an automatic algorithm. Furthermore, the Web application allows possible definition of a new instrument setup, which can be transmitted to the instrument thanks to the bidirectional connection with the Web server. The system is under test on fifteen patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and respiratory problems. In future, the system could also be used for telemonitoring of different categories of patients with chronic pathologies. Keywords: Internet, telemedicine, telecare, e-health, chronic pathologies.

Keywords

Internet, telemedicine, telecare, e-health, chronic pathologies.