A design of power supply for neonatal monitoring with wearable sensors

Continuous monitoring of health parameters is crucial for preterm new born babies admitted at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in hospitals. The critically ill neonates are extremely tiny and vulnerable to external disturbance. In the context of ambient intelligence and smart environments, non-invasive health monitoring with wearable sensors is promising for the survival of these neonates and the quality of their life later on. A key question for health monitoring with wearable sensors is how to obtain reliable electrical power for the sensors, signal amplifiers, filters and transmitters. In this paper, we propose a design of wireless power supply based on the principle of inductive contactless energy transfer for use in NICU. The design process consists of scientific and user research, idea generation and selection, proof of technology, prototype implementation, and experimental validation. The proposed power supply satisfies the requirements of neonatal monitoring and provides continuous power when the neonate is inside the incubator or during Kangaroo mother care. A prototype is designed and implemented to demonstrate the performance of the power supply and the possibilities for aesthetic features. Experimental results show that the prototype transfers approximately 840 mW of power.