Project

Our design team is participating in the Mondialogo Engineering Award contest, jointly run by UNESCO and DaimlerChrysler. For this contest, which ends on May 31, 2007, teams from developed and developing countries work together on projects that will improve the quality of life in developing countries.

Our partners, a team of six undergraduate electrical engineers in China and two graduate biomedical engineers in Italy, are working with us to address the issue of affordable health care in China. Lack of health insurance, especially in rural areas, prevent many Chinese people from seeking medical care. Therefore, many potentially serious symptoms are detected late or not at all.

The goal of our project is to develop a multifunctional biomedical measurement device that will help detect symptoms at no cost to the patients. Available for free use in rural hospital lobbies, the device will be simple, safe, and robust enough to be operated by trained volunteers or even by the patients themselves. A GUI, ideally picture-based, will direct users in the operation of each module, and a database will track patient data.

As many as possible of the following functions will be implemented:

Blood pressure measurement – to be done by the MSU group
High blood pressure affects 27% of the Chinese population age 35-74, half of whom are unaware of their condition. We will choose one of several compact, easy-to-use products for incorporation into our system.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) – to be done by the HuaZhong group
Cardiovascular disease kills 2.6 million people yearly in China. Many heart problems can be detected by analyzing ECG traces.

Oxygen saturation measurement – HuaZhong and Bologna groups
Abnormally low blood oxygen levels can indicate heart or lung disease. Pulse oximetry is a minimally invasive method of measuring the amount of oxygen carried by the blood, and also yields a measure of the pulse.

Temperature measurement – MSU group
A number of alternate methods exist for making this important medical measurement. We will choose one to adapt to our system’s interface.

Blood sugar measurement – MSU group
290 million cases of diabetes are expected in China by the year 2010. The disorder is under diagnosed in China, especially in rural areas. We will evaluate feasibility of blood sugar measurement methods and incorporate one, if possible.

Wireless infusion bottle warning system – HuaZhong group
Medical accidents caused by the failure to monitor infusion bottles could be avoided with a system to automatically warn when bottles are empty. Wireless control would allow such a system to be used throughout the hospital.