Home-care nursing controlled mobile robot with vital signal monitoring

This study describes the development (design, construction, instrumentation, and control) of a nursing mobile robotic device to monitor vital signals in home-cared patients. The proposed device measures electrocardiography potentials, oxygen saturation, skin temperature, and non-invasive arterial pressure of the patient. Additionally, the nursing robot can supply assistance in the gait cycle for people who require it. The robotic device’s structural and mechanical components were built using 3D-printed techniques. The instrumentation includes electronic embedded devices and sensors to know the robot’s relative position with respect to the patient. With this information together with the available physiological measurements, the robot can work in three different scenarios: (a) in the first one, a robust control strategy regulates the mobile robot operation, including the tracking of the patient under uncertain working scenarios leading to the selection of an appropriate sequence of movements; (b) the second one helps the patients, if they need it, to perform a controlled gait-cycle during outdoors and indoors excursions; and (c) the third one verifies the state of health of the users measuring their vital signs. A graphical user interface (GUI) collects, processes, and displays the information acquired by the bioelectrical amplifiers and signal processing systems. Moreover, it allows easy interaction between the nursing robot, the patients, and the physician. The proposed design has been tested with five volunteers showing efficient assistance for primary health care. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]