Eric Campo

Design and evaluation of a device worn for fall detection and localization: Application for the continuous monitoring of risks incurred by dependents in an Alzheimer’s care unit

The Homecare project, which is part of a research project funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), aims to define a new multi-sensor monitoring system for the elderly with cognitive disabilities in a care unit. Two subjects were recruited to participate to experimental trials. The main objective of this project is to design and test a complete monitoring system at a real site. It is a new clinical and technical approach which is complex to implement: Homecare is intended to propose a possible technical solution, demonstrate its feasibility and illustrate its use working at a protected site. The system consists of a motion sensor network deployed on the ceiling to monitor motion and an electronic patch worn by the subjects to identify them and detect falls. In order to locate tagged subjects inside the care unit, a network of anchor points is used. From these positions and movement data, an analysis algorithm detects an abnormal situation and alerts the nursing staff in real time. A Web application allows the medical staff to access movements and alarms. The complete monitoring system has been functioning for several months and continuously monitors two patients around the clock. In this paper, we present the implementation of the system, the method of localization inside the care unit, and the characterization of the fall detector, and we show certain results relating to activity data.

A telemetry system embedded in clothes for indoor localization and elderly health monitoring.

This paper presents a telemetry system used in a combined trilateration method for the precise indoor localization of the elderly who need health monitoring. The system is based on the association of two wireless technologies: ultrasonic and 802.15.4. The use of the 802.15.4 RF signal gives the reference starting time of the ultrasonic emission (time difference of arrival method). A time of flight measurement of the ultrasonic pulses provides the distances between the mobile node and three anchor points. These distance measurements are then used to locate the mobile node using the trilateration method with an accuracy of a few centimetres. The originality of our work lies in embedding the mobile node in clothes. The system is embedded in clothes in two ways: on a shoe in order to form a “smart” shoe and in a hat in order to form a “smart” hat. Both accessories allow movements, gait speed and distance covered to be monitored for health applications. Experiments in a test room are presented to show the effectiveness of our system.

Improving robustness and flexibility of MAC layer for guaranteed QoS indoor monitoring in wireless mesh sensor networks

The objective of this work is to build an efficient WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) with long lifetime for indoor monitoring application, which requires network auto-organization and robustness against node failure and node association. In this paper, a novel MAC protocol, ADCF (Adaptive and Distributed Collision-Free), is proposed. ADCF uses CFBS (Collision-Free Beacon Slot) and CFDS (Collision-Free Data Slot) mechanisms to guarantee QoS (Quality of Service) while reducing energy consumption in a mesh WSN. The simulation results show better performances of ADCF compared with IEEE 802.15.4 standard MAC protocol in terms of energy and guaranteed medium access with the flexibility of mesh topology.

An Adaptive and Distributed Collision-Free MAC Protocol for Wireless Personal Area Networks

Abstract While IEEE 802.15.4 protocol is being considered as a promising technology for WPANs (Wireless Personal Area Networks), several issues are still open. In particular, how to construct a mesh topology and how the router/coordinator can save energy while being effective. This paper deals with these problems, discusses the ambiguities regarding the use of mesh topology and proposes a new collision-free beacon scheduling mechanism to construct a mesh WPAN. The details of the protocol, ADCF MAC (Adaptive and Distributed Collision-Free Medium Access Control), will be fully described and analyzed. Preliminary simulation results show the performance of this algorithm.

Self Adaptative Trajectory Learning for Monitoring the Elderly Wandering

Recently, the outdoor and indoor mobility behaviour of elderly has received great attention due to the constant increasing of dependent people. In this paper we describe the architecture of a self adaptive monitoring system which allows detecting cases of wandering or getting lost for people suffering from Alzheimers disease. The system is composed of Wi-Fi/GPS-based location platform that communicates with a server through a wristwatch. An optimised algorithm embedded on the server processes the stored location data using learning techniques. In result of this operation, safe areas are automatically defined in indoor and outdoor environment according to the usual displacements and time slots. If the person is located out of the safe areas or shows some unusual trajectories, an alert indicating the location of the person is sent by the wristwatch to the medical assistance via GSM/3G service.

A Smart Insole to Promote Healthy Aging for Frail Elderly Individuals: Specifications, Design, and Preliminary Results

Background Older individuals frequently experience reversible “frailty syndrome,”, increasing incidence of disability. Although physical exercise interventions may delay functional decline, there are difficulties in implementing them and performing seamless follow-up at home. Very few technological solutions attempt to address this challenge and improve individual participation. Objective Our objectives are to (1) develop a technological solution designed to support active aging of frail older persons, (2) conduct a first laboratory evaluation of the device, and (3) design a multidimensional clinical trial to validate our solution. Methods We conducted a first phase of multidisciplinary meetings to identify real end users and health professional’s unmet needs, and to produce specifications for the architecture of the solution. In a second phase, we performed laboratory tests of the first proposed prototype (a smart insole) with 3 healthy volunteers. We then designed an ongoing clinical trial to finalize the multidimensional evaluation and improvement of the solution. Results To respond to the needs expressed by the stakeholders (frailty monitoring and adherence improvement), we developed a prototype of smart shoe insole to monitor key parameters of frailty during daily life and promote walking. It is a noninvasive wireless insole, which automatically measures gait parameters and transmits information to a remote terminal via a secure Internet connection. To ensure the solution’s autonomy and transparency, we developed an original energy harvesting system, which transforms mechanical energy produced by the user’s walking movement into electrical energy. The first laboratory tests of this technological solution showed good reliability measures and also a good acceptability for the users. We have planned an original iterative medical research protocol to validate our solution in real life. Conclusions Our smart insole could support preventive strategies against disability in primary care by empowering the older patients without increasing the busy health professional’s workload. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02316600; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=NCT02316600&Search=Search. Accessed: 2015-05-13 . (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6YUTkObrQ).

Un réseau sans fil adapté à la robotique mobile coopérante basé sur IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee

Today, wireless communication technologies are numerous and complementary. Nevertheless, few technologies can propose some real guaranties on timed-bounded delivery. However, such guaranty is mandatory in some application cases, like the communications between cooperating robots. Our research works plan to propose a new communication system based on IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee technology. Time-bounded message delivery is possible thanks to a deterministic radio medium access method. In this paper, the proposed medium access method is defined; it has been simulated through a specially designed simulation tool and tested on a couple of real devices. At last, the results are presented.

Intégration multicapteur pour un habitat intelligent : Spécifications des détecteurs de présence et perspectives

This paper deals with a new integration step for home automation functions: comfort and security, that give higher performances and decrease in installation costs. From experiences on previous projects: ERGDOM, PROSAFE, we focus our discussion on the analysis and specifications of the desirable characteristics for a generic presence sensor. This sensor is thought to be the key element to constitute a learning basis both for comfort and behaviour monitoring. In this article, two technological ways are investigated leading to an industrial device in pyroelectrical approach and to a compatible laboratorys device in thermoelectrical approach. Finally, we discuss about a new tendency which is to introduce at home a mobile mini-robot to improve diagnosis and to give the first assistance to the users.

SmartGec: A multisensor System for network monitoring in Civil Engineering

Up to now, much interest has been generated by sensor network. This paper presents a network system node for civil engineering application. A modular wireless sensor node communicating to a base station and integrating micro-displacement measurement with 1.4 mu accuracy has been developed. Working life calculated is more than 25 months with total energy autonomy. This system allows to show feasibility of efficient sensor network with low cost off-the-shelves components

Multisensor Monitoring Applied to the Behavioural Follow up of the Elderly

Abstract To reduce the daily health hazards of the elderly and disabled living alone, an original, non intrusive monitoring multisensor system based on the knowledge of the living habits has been developed. It is composed of sensors, a communication system and algorithmic methods. The functionality retained, is that of the presence/absence. To do so, learning is performed and followed by a comparison of the learned database with the real instantaneous situations. This processing by neural networks and expert system allow detection of any abnormal situation triggering the alarm.