Accelerometer-based human abnormal movement detection in wireless sensor networks

ABSTRACT

Wireless sensor networks have become increasingly common in everyday applications due to decreasing technology costs and improved product performance. An ideal application for wireless sensor networks is a biomedical patient monitoring tool. Wireless patient monitoring systems improve quality of life for the subject by granting them more freedom to continue their daily routine, which would not be feasible if wired monitoring equipment were used. This paper explores an application of wireless biomedical sensor networks, which attempts to monitor patients for a specific condition in a completely non-invasive, non-intrusive manner. This non-invasive technique uses an accelerometer to determine if a person's arm movement is similar to that of a person suffering from a seizure. The effectiveness of the presented algorithm has been verified on test subjects and showed rare occurrences of false positives.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  J. Computer Applications
  J.3 LIFE AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
      Subjects: Health

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
accelerometer, movement detection, wireless biomedical sensor network