IPMA—An Automated System to Capture Biomedical Signals and Help the Diagnosis of Respiratory Diseases

This work shows the development of a multisensory equipment termed Integrated Portable Medical Assistant (IPMA), which makes an automated data acquisition of oxygen saturation, temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, cough, and audio from the individual. The collected data is used to create a database to feed a neural network to infer the possibility of contamination by respiratory diseases, such as cold, flu, pneumonia, and COVID-19. IPMA was developed using medically certified devices that cannot be opened or electronically modified since it would make them lose their certification. Linear actuators are used to press the devices’ start buttons, to power them, and cameras are used to capture their displays’ images and send them for optical character recognition by an embedded computer. The goals of the IPMA are to automatize the process of collecting and organizing biomedical data, through friendly equipment, that can disinfect itself automatically using UV-C light, and to create a local database related to respiratory diseases and the biomedical signals acquired. In the trials conducted using the IPMA, the individuals spent about 10 min to have their biomedical data captured, and, after data acquisition, they filled out the System Usability Scale and Post Study System Usability Questionnaire to evaluate the equipment. The results showed that the IPMA is a user-friendly equipment, which can quickly acquire biomedical data in places, such as clinics, hospitals, and schools, especially during times of pandemic.