Health monitor

A system which uses a mobile phone to transmit a person’s vital signs - including their ECG heart signal, to a hospital or clinic anywhere in the world - has been developed at Loughborough University.

Created by Professor Bryan Woodward and Dr. Fadlee Rasid from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, the system enables a doctor to observe remotely up to four different medical signals from a freely moving patient.

Signals that can be transmitted include the ECG, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and body temperature.

Talking about the invention, Professor Woodward said: “The idea of using mobile phone technology is that a doctor can monitor a patient who can be literally anywhere, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of miles away, and they can speak to each other at the same time. It could be used for a number of medical purposes, such as remote routine check-ups, as well as in emergency and rescue situations and to gather sports science physiological data.”