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>