In-bed Posture and Night Wandering Monitoring Using Force-Sensing Resistors

Overnight postural changes and surveillance are two important issues to provide assistance to older individuals particularly when there is reduced mobility and cognitive decline. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of a cost-effective monitoring system based on force sensing resistors, to provide assistance to caregivers and facilitate the prevention of falls and pressure ulcers. A prototype of the proposed solution is presented, and the preliminary tests and measurements obtained using a real setup in a nursing home are analysed. The solution based on force-sensing resistors seeks simplicity, reduced costs, unobtrusiveness and privacy preservation. The prototype consists of 3 force-sensing resistor strips installed under the mattress and microcontroller board with wireless connectivity, to record measurements, transfer data, perform local analysis and generate warning messages. The positioning of the sensors has been analysed during the test to achieve a successful identification of the most relevant in-bed postures. The proposed solution can also be employed to monitor daily activities and assess sleep quality in combination with other sensors such as inertial measuring units in wearable devices or cameras.