Home health monitoring – more than just connecting to the web

Everyone is talking about the wearables, smart home and the Internet of Things and all the different ways that our lives will be made more comfortable, convenient, and efficient. One of the biggest needs driving this move to smartness is the desire to help people live healthier and more secure lives.

China has become the leader in the rollout of new life monitoring technologies. Because of rapidly increasing numbers of senior citizens who wish to stay in their homes, living independently, and because of the cost of building and maintaining senior living centers, China is taking the lead. Systems are currently being rolled out by several Chinese phone service providers, including ZTE Health.

Lifestyle monitoring is a relatively new term that describes a smart home application which uses a network of sensors in a home, connected via ZigBee wireless to a local hub, which then connects to the internet. The data is sent to a cloud based intelligence which analyzes it, and from that analysis, makes decisions regarding what is happening in the home and whether or not an action needs to be instigated.

This is different from most connected health care applications which basically amass and collect data and then rely on the patient or a medical team to assess the information and then decide if action needs to be taken. The big difference is the intelligence – the cloud based algorithms which assess and analyses the incoming data, comparing it to what the system already knows, and then decides if and when to take action.

Easy example

An example is when a person gets up regularly at 8 AM. If one day the system registers no activity, even when it is 9:30 AM, it then generates a message to a friend or caretaker. The system can be inexpensive, simple to install and operate, and might consist of just four sensors and a gateway. One sensor is located in the bedroom, one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom and one on the front door. These sensors track the movement in the home, and then by using ZigBee and a ZigBee gateway, transmits the information into a cloud intelligence app. Within a period of one or two weeks, the cloud intelligence app learns the “normal” behavior and activities of the household. For example – when does the resident awaken, when do they make breakfast, when do they usually leave the home and return?

Figure 1: One example of a low cost, easy to install system is based on low power ZigBee transceivers.

In addition, the system is smart enough that it can also recognize gradual changes and slowly changing trends to the senior’s lifestyle. For example, if there is a change in the times they sleep and awake, or if it is taking them longer to travel to the kitchen, or if they no longer leave the house, a message can be generated.

A simple system

This simple four sensor system can provide incredible peace of mind, for both the senior citizen, as well as for care takers and caring family members. A serious concern of elderly people is: what if something happens to me, and I am incapable of warning anyone? Family members want to be able to provide care and oversight, but they also do not want to overly intrude into someone’s lifestyle. This system provides both: privacy and ease of mind, as well as a warm closeness without being intrusive.

In addition to the ease of use, this system offers several end user advantages. Unlike many other life style monitoring solutions, this system does not use any cameras – providing a level of privacy and security. There is no pendant, necklace, or watch that can be forgotten, lost or broken. The sensors and the connectivity require very little power, which means that these systems can operate for years without any management or maintenance. For many, the infrastructure for Sensor Living Solutions is already in place. Most of world’s leading cable and internet service companies are already shipping and installing set top boxes that have ZigBee inside for their remote controls.

Why ZigBee?

Based on IEEE 802.15.4 wireless standard, ZigBee is essentially the low power version of WiFi. Operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency range, it can transmit through walls and floors and cover an entire home. The low power requirement of ZigBee is a key for developers of health monitoring systems and wireless device can operate for up to ten years without having to change or recharge the battery.

Figure 2: A base lifestyle monitoring system allows families and care givers to check on the senior’s daily activities from a smartphone.

ZigBee offers various other advantages to the device developer. Unlike some non-standard wireless solutions like Zwave and EnOcean, it provides design engineers with the confidence that their device can be used anywhere in the world. Because ZigBee is an open international networking standard, there are many different companies that are offering ZigBee radio chips.

ZigBee technical features include global operation at 2.4 GHz, with a frequency agile solution operating over 16 channels, regional operation at 915 Mhz (Americas) and 868 Mhz (Europe), power saving mechanisms for all device classes, plus support for battery-less devices. ZigBee offers a discovery and pairing mechanism with full application confirmation, multiple star topology and inter-personal area network (PAN) communication, broadcast transmission, a security key generation mechanism, and AES-128 security.

The ZigBee network is also capable of handling a wide range of other medical, and health apps. Their data can be displayed and managed on the same basic cloud app. These can eventually include mobile in home sensing of blood pressure, blood sugar, heart rate, etc.

Will revolutionize

This kind of ZigBee connected, web based intelligence will revolutionize more than just the home health and medical users. Incorporating wireless sensors and web connectivity with intelligence will enable smart homes, smart businesses, and smart buildings. Within a few years, we will be seeing how sensor networks with web based intelligence will transform our entire world and how we as humans interact with it.

One example of an 802.15.4 ZigBee transceiver would be the GP501 from GreenPeak Technologies. It features, a compact QFN32 5 x 5 mm package, external controller SPI slave interface, and hardware accelerated AES and CCM encryption with 128, 192, and 256 bit keys. The chip uses a 2.1 to 3.6 V supply and takes just 800 µA in standby and only 10 nA in reset mode.