Development of a wireless intravenous drip rate monitoring device

Abstract

Biotelemetry increases the efficiency of the healthcare professionals. This study proposes the development of a wireless-communication-enabled low-cost, automated drip rate monitoring system, used for intravenous (IV) therapy. The proposed system monitors the falling fluid drops inside the drip chamber, and subsequently calculates and displays the drip rate on a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. It is capable of wirelessly notifying the central monitoring station when the drip rate is outside the set range. The system was designed using a light emitting diode (LED), a light-dependent resistor (LDR), a microcontroller and an Xbee wireless module. The proposed device is simple, user-friendly and can reduce the workload of the healthcare givers by reducing their regular visit to the patient site.