Design of a Remote Monitoring System Based on Optical Sensors to Prevent Medical Accidents during Fluid Treatment

Abstract

It is essential to measure and monitor the intravenous (IV) infusion rate of inpatients. Medical staff monitor the IV infusion rate continually to ensure that a constant value is maintained. Developing an IV infusion monitoring system can help alleviate the workload of medical staff. Therefore, this paper proposes a method based on optical sensors, in conjunction with the Internet of Things, to overcome the challenges of IV therapy. To increase the sensitivity of the system, both optical sensors and load cells are used to compensate for their disadvantages. Our system yielded accuracies of 87.9% and 89.9% under horizontal and vertical motion conditions, respectively. The proposed system can send notifications to nursing stations regarding the residual IV fluid, current infusion rate, and expected end time, which can be monitored remotely by medical staff. Furthermore, this system can help prevent possible medical accidents during fluid treatment. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.