Smart brief monitoring system for assisted living

Abstract

A system for monitoring the moisture level and temperature of an adult disposable brief has been designed and tested. The system uses an inexpensive (< $0.05) disposable moisture sensor combined with a re-usable temperature sensor and a Bluetooth Low-Energy transceiver module costing less than $15. The battery lifetime using the CR2032 coin cell is greater than 3 years while sampling data at 10s intervals. This sensor data can be used for monitoring, alerting, statistical analysis, and potentially reducing the incidence of infections. The data can be monitored and processed locally or stored on a server to be analyzed remotely. The prototyped devices were tested and shown to detect as little as 10 mL of tap water when poured into the smart brief. The temperature resolution of less than 0.25° F was observed and a wireless range of 20 m indoors and 100 m outdoors was measured.