How to make sensors work for mobile health

This altimeter sensor is 3-by-3-by-1 mm, and could go into a pendant for a fall alert device. [Photo by managing editor Chris Newmarker]

Healthcare systems in the U.S. and around the world are increasingly turning to mobile health – keeping people out of expensive hospitals and instead treat people’s health problems from their homes. Sensors have a major role to play in enabling the shift.

Sensor technology can help make up for the lack of well-trained staff available to operate equipment in a healthcare setting, said Pete Smith, TE Connectivity‘s senior manager of product knowledge and training for sensor solutions, during a Medical Design & Outsourcinginterview last week.

“They have to redevelop the machines so they can take them home and they’re safe and effective and do what the patient needs,” said Smith, who was at MD&M West in Anaheim, Calif.

There are two main things that sensors can achieve in mobile health devices, according to Smith. Sensors can measure an array of vital signs including blood pressure, temperature, pulse oximetry and more. And just as important, they monitor the machine itself to make sure it is working properly.

“Say someone in the home knocks it down. When they pick it up, is it still working properly? … If there’s something wrong with the machine, it will report back on its own,” Smith said.

Go to our sister site Medical Design & Outsourcing and discover four ways TE Connectivity (Schaffhausen, Switzerland) has sought to ensure that its sensors meet today’s mobile health challenges.

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