Use of an automotive seat occupancy sensor for the functionalization of a nursing bed — An overview of the sensor and the possible applications in the clinic and care sector

摘要

A common procedure for the derivation of patient parameters is the use of measuring methods according to the so-called “gold standard”. This may be e.g. the electrocardiogram (ECG) to derive the cardiac activity of a human. A great advantage of these methods is that they are widely accepted and clinically recognized and that they provide very good measurement-and diagnostic-results. A major disadvantage of these methods is often the complex measurement setup, e.g. by means of special electrodes attached to the skin or the need of a trained specialist. This is, of course, irrelevant in the field of emergency medicine, but if the general state of a person is to be monitored over a longer period of time e.g. to detect possible negative changes in the patient's condition at an early stage, such methods are rather unsuitable. Furthermore, a measurement setup used in clinical settings often puts the patient into a mode of discomfort. To avoid these disadvantages and to be able to perform a long-term monitoring, the measurement should be preparation free by using e.g. functionalized furniture. Within the scope of the paper, a prototype of a preparation-free measurement setup based on a nursing bed is presented that is functionalized with load cell seat occupancy sensors from the automotive sector. Furthermore, the work carried out so far on the basis of the prototype is presented and discussed as an overview of our research activities in recent years.