Abishek Thekkeyil Kunnath

Voltage intensity based non-invasive blood glucose monitoring

Diabetes is one among the supreme health challenges of the current century. Most common method for estimation of blood glucose concentration is using glucose meter. The process involves pricking the finger and extracting the blood along with chemical analysis being done with the help of disposable test strips. Non-invasive method for glucose estimation promotes regular testing, adequate control and reduction in health care cost. The proposed method makes use of a near infrared sensor for determination of blood glucose. Near-infrared (NIR) is sent through the fingertip, before and after blocking the blood flow by making use of a principle called occlusion. By analyzing the variation in voltages received after reflection in both the cases with the dataset, the current diabetic condition as well as the approximate glucose level of the individual is predicted. The results obtained are being validated with glucose meter readings and statistical analysis of the readings where done. Analysis shows that the bias as well as the standard deviation decreases as the glucose concentration increases. The obtained result is then communicated with a smart phone through Bluetooth for further communication with the doctor.

Integrating Geophone Network to Real-Time Wireless Sensor Network System for Landslide Detection

Recent years has show an increase in the occurrence of natural disasters, threatening human life and property. Early warning systems could help in reducing the impact of such disasters. We have designed and deployed a real-time wireless sensor network for landslide detection, in one of the landslide prone areas in India. The current wireless sensor network for landslide detection system is real-time, 24/7 operational and uses heterogeneous wireless networks for reliable data delivery. This research work proposes to incorporate wireless geophones to detect and analyze ground vibrations that may arise before, during and after the landslide. A nested wireless geophone methodology is designed to collect and analyze the relevant signals. The proposed system incorporates a novel signal processing algorithm, to detect landslides. Pilot deployment has been performed with one axis geophone, and the new design of nested 3C geophone will be implemented and validated in our existing system. The newly developed Wireless Geophone Network captures the slope instability vibrations. This data is analyzed and used for disseminating landslide warnings.

Wireless Geophone Network for remote monitoring and detection of landslides

Recent years have shown an alarmous increase in rain fall induced landslides. This has facilitated the need for having a monitoring system to predict the landslides which could eventually reduce the loss of human life. We have developed and deployed a Wireless Sensor Network to monitor rainfall induced landslide, in Munnar, South India. A successful landslide warning was issued in June 2009 using this system. The system is being enhanced by incorporating a Wireless Geophone Network to locate the initiation of landslide. The paper discusses an algorithm that was developed to analyze the geophone data and automatically detect the landslide signal. A novel method to localize the landslide initiation point is detailed. The algorithm is based on the time delay inherent in the transmission of waves through the surface of the earth. The approach detailed here does not require additional energy since the geophones are self excitatory. The error rate of the approach is much less when compared to the other localization methods like RSSI. The proposed algorithm is being tested and validated, in the landslide laboratory set up at our university.

WiCard: A context aware wearable wireless sensor for cardiac monitoring

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the leading causes of death in rural India. Every year more than 3 million Indian citizens die from CVD [1]. The proposed Wearable Wireless Cardiac Monitoring (WiCard) system, aims to bring home state-of-the-art health care for people living in rural Indian villages, where thousands of death occur each year due to lack of experts and facilities. The architecture involves remote monitoring of the ECG by specialized health professionals via a heterogeneous wireless network. This paper discusses the development of a six lead custom hardware for transmitting data to a Smartphone or a compatible device via a Bluetooth. The data received by the mobile devices will be further processed and transmitted to a central repository located in a specialized hospital. The main disadvantage of wearable cardiac monitoring system is the introduction of Motion Induced Artifacts (MIA), which could mimic a cardiac event. A context aware architecture is proposed here to relate physical activity and physiological signals of the user, with the help of accelerometer sensors. The portion of ECG where the MIA has detected will be tagged and sent to the central repository. Classifications of physical movements are done using statistics based classifiers, which are computationally low cost. The results show that the developed algorithm is capable of classifying the user activity with an accuracy of 94%. The developed hardware achieved a power reduction of 10 %.

Channel modelling for ad-hoc communication in an underground sensor network

Wireless underground sensor network is an emerging area of research that can enable efficient communication between underground sensors. Underground sensor networks can be used for many applications like monitoring of soil properties in sports fields, in agricultural lands, in land slide prediction etc. Attenuation of radio wave in the soil is the main challenge prevailing in the communication medium. So the characteristics of the radio wave should be properly selected so as to make the attenuation at its minimum. Hence the characteristics of the soil should be thoroughly examined to make necessary changes in the properties of radio wave. In this paper, underground channel characteristics are discussed and are used to derive a path loss model for the underground communication. For deriving the path loss model, the channel characteristics and propagation effects are considered. For the derivation of path loss model, the soil has been considered as a mixture of sand, silt, clay and moisture. Propagation effects like reflection, refraction, absorption and scattering are also considered. Since we have included the attenuation of path loss due to silt content and attenuation due to scattering of radio waves at higher order frequencies, the results will be more close to practical results. The characteristics of the channel are simulated using MAT LAB and graphs are plotted which helps to analyze the properties of the soil very well.

Signal processing for Wireless Geophone Network to detect landslides

Rain fall induced landslides are a common cause of damages to life and property in the Western Ghats region in south India. Work have been in progress to develop a monitoring system to predict the landslides to reduce the loss of human life. We have developed and deployed a Wireless Sensor Network to monitor rainfall induced landslide, in Munnar, South India. A successful landslide warning was issued in June 2009 using this system. This paper discusses the enhancement of the existing system by incorporating a Wireless Geophone Network to locate the initiation of landslide, and the direction and velocity of motion of the slide. A nested geophone methodology and triangulation method was designed to collect and analyze the relevant signals. A novel signal processing algorithm was developed to analyze the geophone data and automatically detect the landslide signal. A feedback method used to reduce the traffic congestion in the network is also detailed here. The design and developed system was tested and validated, in the landslide laboratory set up at our university, for which results are shown in this paper.

Locating and monitoring emergency responder using a wearable device

When a disaster occurs, activities like search, rescue, recovery, and cleanup are carried out by emergency responders. This paper proposes a new framework for supporting the safety and health of emergency responders by locating their position and monitoring their vital signs using a Wireless Wearable Device. As an initial step towards the development of a wireless wearable tracking and monitoring system for emergency responders, this system uses an iterative localization based scheme, which provides the exact position of each emergency responder, and monitors their vital signs like skin temperature and pulse rate. Any change in the vital signs can be easily sensed and tracked, and could be used to provide warnings when critical events are detected. The system could be used to send early warning alerts and for communication between emergency responders.

ER-Track: A Wireless Device for Tracking and Monitoring Emergency Responders

Abstract In this paper we present a wireless wearable body area system for locating, tracking and monitoring emergency responders in harsh and remote environments. Tracking an emergency responder and monitoring their vital signs using various medical sensors is important in supporting the safety of the emergency responder. This work is the preliminary step towards the development of a collaborative real-time tracking and monitoring system for emergency responders. In this paper, we propose a design of a wrist worn wireless wearable body sensor device for localizing, tracking and monitoring an emergency responder. Any change in the physiological parameters like blood oxygen level, blood pressure and pulse rate of the emergency responder can be easily sensed and tracked, and could be used to provide a warning when a critical event is detected. This system uses an efficient iterative localization scheme for locating the emergency responder. The system could be used to send early warning alerts, route proper medical supplies to the area required, and for communication between the responders.

Locating Emergency Responders in Disaster Area Using Wireless Sensor Network

A worldwide increase in number of natural hazards is causing heavy loss of human life and infrastructure. An effective disaster management system is required to reduce the impacts of natural hazards on common life. The first hand responders play a major role in effective and efficient disaster management. Locating and tracking the first hand responders are necessary to organize and manage real-time delivery of medical and food supplies for disaster hit people. This requires effective communication and information processing between various groups of emergency responders in harsh and remote environments. Locating, tracking, and communicating with emergency responders can be achieved by devising a body sensor system for the emergency responders. In phase 1 of this research work, we have developed an enhanced trilateration algorithm for static and mobile wireless sensor nodes. This work discusses an algorithm and its implementation for localization of emergency responders in a disaster hit area. The indoor and outdoor experimentation results are also presented.

A Digitally Assisted Radiation Hardened Current Steering DAC

This paper studies the effect of radiation on the performance of a 12-bit current steering digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and proposes a digitally assisted radiation hardening technique to overcome the performance degradation due to radiation. Circuit level simulations in UMC 65-nm SP process show that Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the DAC falls from 74 dB to 41. 29 dB with radiation dose ranging from 0 to 100 Mrad and the proposed hardening technique overcomes this performance degradation.