A Multi-communication-Fusion Based Mobile
Monitoring System for Maternal and Fetal
Information
Pei Lyu
1
, Manman Peng
1
, Yongqiang Lyu
2
,
3
, Yu Chen
2
,
3
, Jijiang Yang
2
,
3
1
College of Information Science and Engineering, Hunan University, China
2
Research Institute of Information Technology, Tsinghua University
3
Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology
Email: lvpei@hnu.edu.cn
Abstract—Measurements of vital signs can be translated into
accurate predictors of pregnant diseases, even at an early stage.
They can also be combined with alarm-triggering systems to
initiate the appropriate actions. Because of the emphasis on
healthcare awareness and their specific needs, gravidae prefer
regular vital signs monitoring in a flexible manner. Thus, different
types of sensors are used that involve complex operations,
networks, and results. To enhance usability and feasibility, we
propose a mobile vital signs monitoring system based on multi-
communication fusion and the Android OS so pregnant women
can monitor maternal and fetal information anywhere they want.
They can also access comprehensive care by transferring data
to the server for further processing and remote diagnosis. The
accuracy of remote diagnosis is also improved.
Keywords—multi-communication-fusion, mobile monitoring,
maternal and fetal
I. INTRODUCTION
At present, the increasing incidence of gestational diseases
demands the rapid development of pregnancy monitoring tech-
nology. Regular pregnancy monitoring is essential for ensuring
the healthy development of infants and their safe delivery[1].
However, most pregnancy monitoring devices are currently
located in hospitals due to their high costs. Thus, pregnant
women must endure bad weather, busy traffic, long queues, and
other troubles to obtain regular monitoring. Some sensors can
be used at home as a household monitoring service. However,
most gravidae and their families lack medical knowledge so
they cannot assess the vital signs. Thus, all they can do is accu-
mulate various values rather than obtaining a clinical diagnosis.
Given the demand for pregnancy monitoring, the disadvantages
of the present system, and the development of a medical
services framework[2], we propose a mobile pregnancy vital
signs monitoring system based on multi-communication fu-
sion. This system comprises user data acquisition, a central
server, and a remote doctor. The user end integrates vital
sign data collection, a power amplifier, display, calling, data
exchange, and other functions so pregnant women can acquire
vital signs data by themselves. The data are uploaded to the
central server for further processing and storage. Using these
data, doctors can provide a relevant diagnosis and advice. This
system associates the monitoring devices, users, and doctors in
a flexible manner. Thus, our system could relieve the pressure
This work is funded by NSFC (no. 61201357, 61173037)
on limited medical services and provide a comprehensive and
easy-to-use service for gravidae. In the following sections, we
will introduce the system architecture at first, and describe each
of them at the next section.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Section
2 introduces the system architecture, Section 3 gives the
implementation of each part and Section 4 gives the results.
Section 5 finally draws the conclusion.
II. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
The monitoring system has three components: the user side,
server side, and doctor side, which have the roles of vital
signs collection/display, processing/storage, and remote diag-
nosis, respectively. The system provides a complete solution
for mobile pregnant multi-vital signs monitoring. The multi-
communication fusion-based user terminal shown in Fig.1
is responsible for collecting, uploading, and displaying the
original data acquired using monitoring sensors. These data
are transferred to the multi-vital signs server via a 3G or Wifi
network. The server is responsible for the storage, processing,
and transmission of the data and requirements. Using the
processed data, doctors can check the physiological status of
remote users and send reminders or advice. For scalability, we
can use more selective sensors in this multiple input system so
users can select the specific services they require. This makes
our system suited to further development.
Speech
exchange
module
Data
exchange
module
Data acquisition
module
Telephone
Switching
center
Ethernet
Switching
center
Data management
Resource scheduling
Database
Speech module Data module
Remote Doctor Side
Multi-communication-Fusion
based User Terminal
Multi-vital-sign
Server
Fig. 1. System Architecture.
2013 IEEE 15th International Conference on e-Health Networking, Applications and Services (Healthcom 2013)