Wearable device for disabled and elderly patients to interact and communicate
The Succor Smart Glove is a device that can be used by disabled or elderly patients to interact with others by sending signals through the wearable glove. The objective of this research is to assist the patient to provide an emergency command to the nurse or doctor regarding the patient's needs. In addition, the patient can control tasks in their room by moving their fingers.
This device consists of a glove with flex sensors and an electrical conditional circuit. The flex sensors bend with the patient's finger to determine the position of their finger. This paper is on the exploration and implementation of a finger position measurement system for one hand.
The smart glove combines multiple technologies for patient assistance and communication:
To determine the overall benefit of the Smart Glove, an experiment was designed to compare the effectiveness of the glove to working without it. The investigation tested the time it took to activate a fan, turn on a light, and send a message after receiving the signal from the glove, then compared it to the time it took to complete those tasks without the glove.
Results:
The Council of Disability Awareness states that one in four 20-year-olds will become disabled before retirement. In my family, my grandmother has suffered from knee problems for over 20 years, resulting in multiple surgeries and metal implants in her knee. As the son of immigrants, it is challenging to care for and monitor my grandmother from a distance during her physical therapy and everyday tasks.
While developing the Smart Glove, I learned many new things about technology, such as the concept of wireless communication and how devices pair with each other. I also learned about circuit boards and how they work.
Challenge: I faced several challenges with wireless communication between the two units while conducting Bluetooth tests.
Solution: After extensive testing, an alternative was discovered: RF (radio frequency) communication, which is a more reliable form of wireless communication compared to Bluetooth. Some of the benefits of RF communication include connecting over a long range while maintaining a stable connection.
In the future, my project can be integrated with gesture-based Cloud-enabled solutions and medical facilities to make the device more accessible. Planned improvements include:
The Smart Glove is cost-effective and highly efficient compared to similar devices described in related studies. Its battery-based power source makes it ideal for individuals with mobility and communication difficulties. With its simple and user-friendly interface, low cost, and low power consumption, this device offers a more efficient solution than most currently available options.
The experimental results demonstrate a 6,000% improvement in task completion time, proving the device's effectiveness in assisting disabled and elderly patients with communication and room control tasks.