Wireless body sensor design for intra-vaginal temperature monitoring

摘要

Sensor nodes are small devices able to collect and retrievesensorial data. The use of these sensors for medical purposesoffers valuable contributions to improve patients’ healthcare, bothfor diagnosis and therapeutics monitoring. An important andcommon parameter used on healthcare diagnosis is the bodytemperature. It is monitored on several matters related withgynecological and obstetrics issues but, usually it is measure atthe skin surface. Then, this paper proposes the design concepts ofa new intra-body sensor for long-term intra-vaginal temperaturecollection. The embedded IEEE 802.15.4 communication moduleallows the integration of this sensor in wireless sensor networksfor remote data access and monitoring. It is presented the sensorarchitecture, the construction of the corresponding testbed, and itsperformance evaluation. This sensor may be used on severalapplications, including fertile and ovulation period detection, andpreterm labor prevention.