Design of a wearable device for physiological parameter monitoring in a COVID setting M. De Santis 1 and E. Barcali 1 and Y. Bardacci 2 and L. Rasero 2 and S. Bambi 2 and L. Bocchi 1 Abstract— The study focuses on the realization of an accurate device for the detection of different physiological parameters. It has been realized a simple portable system containing the necessary electronics and ensuring the monitoring of the blood oxygenation, the body temperature, the air quality, the respira- tory rate and the ECG. The main processing unit consists in a Raspberry Pi Zero W connected to the Healthy Pi4. The latter provides the interface for the clinical pulse-oxymeter while the measures of temperature and quality air are provided using the I2C protocol. The Bluetooth module is finally used to provide the ECG and blood rate data. The collected data are elaborated using Matlab and Python. To evaluate the accuracy of the realized device some experimental tests have been conducted on different subjects, comparing subjects working in Covid area with others resting at home. In both cases the monitoring time was 4 hours. Results have shown good performances of the system, detecting accurately the differences of the parameters values between the two situations. The usability of the device was assessed by administering a questionnaire to the healthcare personnel involved in the experimentation. The outcome shows a good usability of the system as well as an acceptable dressing time. Index Terms— Raspberry, COVID management, operator discomfort, monitoring. I. I NTRODUCTION The severe acute respiratory syndrome CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-Cov-2) is a new type of coronavirus that starting from the end of 2019 has spread from Wuhan to all over the world. COVID-19 is the name of the disease associated to this virus [1]. Collected data have demonstrated that this virus is transmitted among people through close contact and droplets. Therefore, the ones most at risk of infection are those in close contact with COVID-19 patients or that are caring for them [2]. Preventive and mitigation measures, such as sanitizing the hands frequently, have became crucial for all the community. Additional measures are required for healthcare workers to protect themselves and prevent the virus from spreading in an healthcare environment. These include the appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE), besides administrative, environmental and technical controls [2], [3]. PPEs include N95 or KN95 respirators, corresponding to FFP2 or FFP3 in Europe, and single-used nitrile gloves to 1 Martino De Santis, Eleonora Barcali and Leonardo Bocchi are with Dept. of Information Engineering, University of Florence, Florence, Italy eleonora.barcali, leonardo.bocchi@unifi.it, martino.desantis@stud.unifi.it 2 Yari Bardacci, Laura Rasero and Stefano Bambi are with Dept. of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy yari.bardacci, l.rasero, stefano.bambi@unifi.it protect both the workers and patients health. Also, the health workers are clothed in impermeable suites and, because of the elevate virus transmittivity through mucous membranes, they wear eye protection such as goggles or face shield [3], [4]. The prolonged use of PPEs causes discomfort, especially for the intensive care unite (ICU) nurses, provoking compli- cations [5] such as face and head pressure injures PIs due to the respirator or other face protective equipment. [4]. Considering also the great discomfort and the work-related stress our study is aimed at monitoring the physiological parameters of nurses on the COVID-19 ward at Careggi University Hospital (Florence). In this preliminary work we developed a simple portable device, and assessed its performance and easiness of use by acquiring and comparing measurements in a COVID settings with the ones acquired in a resting phase. Evaluating variations of the healthcare personnel parameters while wearing total barrier PPEs can lead to the realization of better protecting systems for the nurses and improve their ability to withstand stresses for longer periods of time. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS Blood oxygenation, body temperature, air quality (con- centration of volatile organic compounds, VOCs, in the breath), respiratory rate, and ECG were monitored under both resting conditions at home and operating conditions inside a COVID-19 protection suit. Nurses wore a T-shirt with a pocket cut out at chest level, inside which the monitoring station was placed. The air quality sensor was applied to the FFP2 mask, the temperature sensor was attached to the body, while for the measurement of SPO 2 was used a sensor with an adhesive backing instead of the classic ”clothespin”, so as to avoid artifacts created by the presence of nitrile gloves. Respiratory Rate and ECG were monitored by us- ing BioHarness Physiology Monitoring System (BIOPAC), attaching a module to a chest strap by insertion it into a custom receptacle. Details of the components of the system are reported below. A. System architecture The acquisition device consists of a custom-designed en- closure, containing all electronics (see Fig. 1), with connec- tors for the pulse-oxymeter, the temperature and air quality sensors, an on-off push button, and the recharge plug. The box includes a Raspberry Pi Zero W, constituting the main processing unit and storing all collected data. The Pi is connected with an HealthyPi v. 4, that provides a standard 2021 43rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC) Oct 31 - Nov 4, 2021. Virtual Conference 978-1-7281-1178-0/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE 7352