CeBIT 2016: Medical Monitor with Eyes and Ears

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

In intensive care Units (ICU), every second counts. In emergencies, doctors and nurses need to make the right decisions quickly. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a smart „proxemic monitor“ which has optimized the processes in the most sensitive area of a hospital and clearly shows the data of the connected medical devices while avoiding false alarms. The screen can be controlled from a distance, without contact, by means of gestures and voice commands, thereby reducing the risk of transmitting pathogens.

Everything had just been quiet in the control room of the intensive care unit. Suddenly, though, there is excitement: the alarms on several medical devices in different rooms are sounding. Monitors are flashing and beeping. A drop in blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia – the computer monitors show exactly what has to be done and where. Doctors and nurses rush to the rooms of the patients. Medical equipment there provides detailed information on the status of the critically ill patients. „It‘s not easy to keep track of everything here during hectic situations", says Paul Chojecki, scientist from the „Vision & Imaging Technology" Department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, HHI, in Berlin.

Controlled by contact-free gestures

Together with his team as part of the joint project „control room", the scientist has developed an intelligent monitor. It quickly shows doctors and nurses the most important information about the vital signs of their intensive care patients. The screen has interfaces to the medical equipment in the room, as well as with the information systems in the hospital, and can be controlled by contact-free gestures and voice commands. The graphics of its display adapt to the distance from which it is viewed. „From the door, the doctor sees the data in a correspondingly large size. As he gets closer, the screen displays detailed information", Chojecki explains. A 3D camera provides the necessary data. The user interface is programmed based upon the web, so it is also suitable for mobile devices, such as tablets. The scientists are presenting a demonstration of the „proxemic monitor" at CeBIT 2016 (Hall 6, Stand B36). A practical test in cooperation with Uniklinik RWTH Aachen is planned for later this year.　

The system evaluates the data of the medical devices on the basis of the smart alarm design of the project partner, the Medical Engineering Department of Aachen University Hospital. This prevents false alarms. „Intensive care doctors have told us that this is a big problem. Current devices stick stubbornly to determined limits, without including all of the relevant factors that are necessary in order to comprehensively assess the risk situation. In addition, the acoustic signals produce a very loud noise, which is not beneficial to the health of either the staff or the patient", Chojecki says. 

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