A Cost-Effective Tracking Method in the Healthcare Field

James Fasoline

Michael Kilgarriff

Stephen Miller

John Mullen

Danielle Siegel

Team # 74

Friday, April 21, 2023

Technical Advisor: Professor Timothy Kurzweg

Overview

• Problem Background

• Project Goals

• Initial Research

• Proposed Solution

• Conclusion

Problem Background

• Hospitals• Babies • Nursing Homes• Alzheimer’s

Left: http://www.assistedservicesinc.com/serv02.htm

Alzheimer’s Disease

• 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s

• 5% of people 65-74

• 50% of people over 85

• 60% of Alzheimer’s patients get lost during their illness

Right: http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2002/wrigglesworth/brainimaging.htm

Project Goals

• Develop Tracking System– Cost-effective– Reliable– Redundant– Minimal Interference

Right: http://www.100thpenn.com/colmaxwellmuseum.htm

Initial Research

• Global Positioning System (GPS)• Global System for Mobile

communications (GSM)• WiFi (802.11)• Radio Frequency Identification

Left: http://www.maptech.com/products/outdoornavigator/images/overview.gif Middle Left: © 2004 Stephen MillerMiddle Right: wireless_laptop01.jpg - http://www.markjciardi.com/website.htm Right: © 2004 Stephen Miller

Global Positioning System (GPS)

• System of 24 satellites and ground stations

• Time Difference of Arrival

• Advantages– GPS is a proven

technology

• Disadvantages– Cost– Accuracy

Left: http://www.soi.city.ac.uk/~dk708/pg3_3.htm

Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)

• Time Difference of Arrival

• Mobile phone tracking– Emergency Services

• Advantages– Currently in use

• Disadvantages– Monthly fee– Network availability

Top: http://www.accessscience.com/server-java/Arknoid/science/AS/ResUpdates/2000/YB_001541_frameset.htmBottom: © 2004 Stephen Miller

WiFi (802.11)

• Wireless Fidelity• Popular internet

medium• Radio Frequency• Not currently a tracking

method• Advantages

– Easy, affordable

• Disadvantages– Signal Obstructions

Left: © 2004 Stephen Miller

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

• Tag Price:$0.01 - $10

• Used in various fields

• Advantages– Cost effective

• Disadvantages– Interrogator cost

Left: © 2004 Stephen Miller

Proposed Solution

• WiFi (802.11)– Relates signal strength to distance

• RFID– Checkpoints for redundancy

• Environmental concerns• Overall costs

Left: http://www.net4nowt.com/isp_news/news_article.asp?News_ID=1316Right: http://www.kennedygrp.com/home.cfm

Work Towards Solution

• Focus on WiFi technology

• WiFi prototype for tracking

Right: © 2004 Stephen Miller

WiFi Prototype

• 3 Access Points• Signal Strength vs.

Distance

All Images: © 2004 Stephen Miller

Prototype Testing

All images © 2004 Stephen Miller

Prototype Testing

All Images: © 2004 Stephen Miller

Distance vs. Signal Strength

-80

-70

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Distance (ft)

Sig

nal

Str

eng

th (

db

)

Blue: John’s APMagenta: Steve’s APYellow: Danielle’s AP

Prototype Calculations

Above: © 2004 Stephen Miller

Perl Script

• Convert Signal Strength to Distance

• Find angle based on AP and Laptop Locations

• Find x- and y-coordinates in XY plane

All Images: © 2004 John Mullen

Prototype In Action

• Location of Access Points• Determine position in room• Position calculated as

laptop moves

Top: © 2004 Stephen MillerBottom Images: © 2004 John Mullen

Conclusion

• Summary– Tracking using WiFi and RFID for

healthcare industry– Signal Strength Difference of Arrival for

WiFi Access Points

• Future Work– Improve accuracy/reliability– Create marketable device– Other fields

Q & A

A Cost-Effective Tracking Method in the Healthcare Field

James Fasoline

Michael Kilgarriff

Stephen Miller

John Mullen

Danielle Siegel

Team # 74

Technical Advisor: Professor Timothy Kurzweg

Thank you for your time and attention

Works Cited• Bogan, Larry. Global Positioning System – How it Works. 7 Feb. 2004• <http://www.go.ednet.ns.ca/~larry/gps/gps_talk.html>• Callaway, Edgar H., Jr. “Wireless Sensor Networks: Architectures and Protocols.”

ENGnetBASE. Boca Raton: Auerbach Publications, 2004. 2004. 20 Feb 2004. <http://www.engnetbase.com//books/1107/AU1823_fm.pdf>.

• Dana, Peter H. “Global Positioning System Overview.” 01 May 2000. 04 Feb 2004. <http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html>.

• “GPS Solutions.” www.qinetiq.com. 11 Feb 2004. Qinetiq. • <http://www.qinetiq.com/homepage/markets/telecoms/gps_solutions.html>• Kleinberg, Kenneth. “Wireless interference in healthcare is real but manageable.”

TechRepublic. 21 Feb. 2004 <http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6265_11- 5034728-1.html>.

• Kuhn, Cynthia and Wilson, Wilkie. "'Tagging' Alzheimer's Patients". WebMD (Health). 17 October 2002. WebMD Inc. 2 Feb 2004. <http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/52/50224.htm>.

• “New Digital Tracking Devices.” About.com. 5 August 2001. About Inc. 2 Feb 2004. <http://portables.about.com/library/weekly/aa050801.htm>

• RFID Products. RFID Inc. 4 Feb 2004. <http://www.rfidinc.com/>.• Solutions – Overview. SMARTCODE Corp. 04 Feb 2004. • < http://www.smartcodecorp.com/solutions/rfidi_overview.asp>.• Stone, Adam. “Wi-Fi Wireless Networks, Hospitals and the Medical Profession.” Wi-Fi

Technology. 21 Feb 2004 <http://www.wi-fitechnology.com/printarticle233.html>.• “What is a Geometer?” www,IQObject.se. 9 Feb. 2004. IQObjects. • <http://www.iqobject.se/pagesign/visitor/default.asp?sChain=2,5,76>