KIRINYAGA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES

DEPERTMENT OF MEDICAL ENGINEERING

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN MEDICAL ENGINEERING

FINAL YEAR PROJECT PROPOSAL

HME 2418 MEDICAL ENGINNERING RESEARCH PROJECT 1

NAMES REG NO:

1.) KIPLANGAT GEOFFREY HB107/G/10744/20

2.) JAMES KARUGU HB107/G/7018/19
3.) DAMARIS WAMJIKU NYAWIRA HB107/G/9899/20

TITLE: INFANT CONTACT THEMOMETER

Project proposal submitted to the department of Medical engineering in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of bachelor of
technology in medical engineering.
Description

The document proposes an infant contact thermometer project that monitors an infant's
temperature continuously and alerts caregivers to potential fever. It would use a temperature
sensor in contact with the baby's wrist connected to an Arduino Mega microcontroller. The
microcontroller would display the temperature readings on an LCD screen and trigger alarms via
LED lights and a buzzer if the temperature is above or below normal levels. This low-cost,
portable device could allow for temperature monitoring outside of an incubator and help provide
quicker medical attention for infants.

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Declaration

This project proposal is our original work, to the best of our knowledge it has never been

submitted to Kirinyaga University or any other institution for the award of degree.

SUPERVISOR CONFIRMATION:

This project proposal has been submitted to the Department of Medical Engineering, Kirinyaga

University, with my/our approval as the supervisor:

Sign: _______________________ Date: ___________________________

SUPERVISOR NAME : DR JANEROSE MURUIKI

Sign: _______________________ Date: ___________________________

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Abstract
Premature or ill Infants may seem complex that their mothers may not be able to tell when they

have fever, which is usually a sign that their bodies are waging war against infections. In a

developing country like Kenya, continuous monitoring of an infant can only be done in an

incubator. It cost up to KSH 1, 500 per day to incubate a baby in Kenya . Moreover, it is only in

some few specific hospitals that these incubators are found since incubators are expensive to

purchase. Most of the infant temperature monitoring devices found today in hospital, an example

an incubator, is heavy and non-portable hence a baby has to be in hospital in the incubator for the

temperature monitoring. Incubator is also not fully automated for real time monitoring of its

controlled environment.

Temperature monitoring using mercury thermometers requires a user to manually measure the

parameter every time hence, it is laborious and tiresome. Leaving the mercury thermometer at

any point of the child's body to measure the temperature is also inconvenience since, it will not

alarm when the temperatures go below or above the normal points.

Infant Contact Thermometer would be a system equipped to monitor the newborn’s body

temperature at all times serving a perfect means for exposure of possibly fatal infections causing

diseases and would be a very useful product for quick medical attention since it is also an alarm

system. The main objective of this project is to design a low power system that at all times

monitor the body temperature of the newborn and alerts the user during fever attack by means of

LEDs lights and buzzer sounds. This will result in a low cost effective system. This device

collects the data from the temperature sensor in contact with the wrist of the baby, codes the data

into a format that can be understood by the controlling section of the system and display the

body temperature readings on the LCD.

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Table of Contents

TITLE: INFANT CONTACT THERMOMETER........................................................................................i

Declaration..................................................................................................................................................ii
Abstract......................................................................................................................................................iii
Acronyms...................................................................................................................................................vi
List of Figures............................................................................................................................................vii
List of tables.............................................................................................................................................viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1
1.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION..................................................................................................1
1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT................................................................................................................2
1.2 OBJECJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................2
Main objective.....................................................................................................................................2
Specific objectives...............................................................................................................................3
1.3 JUSTIFICATION..............................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................................................4
2.1 Overview...........................................................................................................................................4
Analysis of LM35................................................................................................................................5
2.2 Existing System.................................................................................................................................6
2.3 Problem Associated With Existing System........................................................................................6
2.4 Proposed System...............................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 3: REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS.............................................................................................9
3.1 Temperature sensor............................................................................................................................9
3.2 Arduino Mega..................................................................................................................................10
WHY ARDUINO..............................................................................................................................10
3.3 LCD Display....................................................................................................................................12
3.4 LED.................................................................................................................................................12
3.5 Buzzer..............................................................................................................................................13
CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................................14
4.1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................14
4.2 Hardware design..............................................................................................................................14
4.2 Software Design..............................................................................................................................15

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 4.5 FLOW CHART OF THE SYSTEM................................................................................................16
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................17
5.1 Advantages................................................................................................................................17
5.2 Disadvantages............................................................................................................................17
5.3 Future Scope..............................................................................................................................18
WORKPLAN AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS…………………………………………………………………………………………………19
REFERENCES…………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………..20

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Acronyms

LED : Light Emitting Diode

ADC : Analogue to Digital Converter

ECG : Electrocardiography

PC : Personal Computer

GSM : Global System for Mobile Communication

LCD : Liquid Crystal Display

USB : Universal Serial Bus

IDE : Integrated Development Environment

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List of Figures

Fig 2.1 internal circuit of LM35 temperature sensor

Fig 2.2 Block Diagram of the system

Fig 3.1 LM35

Fig 3.2 LCD display

Fig 3.3 LED

Fig 3.4 Piezo Buzzer

Fig 4.1 Data Flow Diagram

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Without this microcontroller based system, newborns’ temperature monitoring process

will be very expensive since it is provided only in some hospitals and in specific clinics. Due to

the fact that the existing devices are neither fully automated nor portable, this new device will

solve this problem. The newborn and parents will not be restricted by the area of the device and

thus their daily life will not be affected or changed. Thus this device will be important and

critical. This will be an efficient way of home infant management system wherein a parent is pre-

warned of fever conditions of the infant which could be an indication of an infection causing

disease. This monitoring system will also be an alternative for monitoring temperature by kissing

or touching the baby on the forehead hence reducing the risks of late treatment of infections

causing diseases.

The design and implementation will also provide portability, flexibility and low power

consuming system hence less costly. It will also be the most reliable and cost effective to use.

Infant’s temperature abnormalities will cause the activation of the buzzer and LEDs. To

do this, LEDs, Buzzer, LCD and LM35 sensor will be interfaced with the microcontroller. The

analogue quantities of Temperature will be taken from the wrist of the baby using a temperature

sensor and converted into corresponding digital values using an Arduino inbuilt ADC. This

converted digital value is sent to the microcontroller for temporary storage. The parent will view

the readings of the infant temperature on the LCD at any time.

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Proteus Simulator will be used to design and simulate electronic circuit. Arduino Software (IDE)

compiler will be used to edit, test, simulate and dump the code into the microprocessor. The

performance will be verified both in software simulator and hardware design. The total circuit

will completely be verified functionally following the application of the software.

1.1PROBLEM STATEMENT

As we know

i. Existing systems require someone to watch the baby at all times. This is very expensive

and takes a lot of manpower which are valuable resources that can be used elsewhere.

This system will solve this problem of having someone to watch the baby at all times

since it is real time.

ii. The current systems for this type of monitoring are prohibitively expensive since they are

found in certain hospitals only. This project will solve this problem.

iii. Systems used in hospitals are also complex that only certain people can understand them.

The new system will provide an easy to use user interface with easy to understand the

readings.

1.2 OBJECJECTIVES

Main objective

To develop a cheap prototype of a system that will monitor the infant body temperature in home

and in the hospital, in incubators and out of the incubators.

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Specific objectives

i. To interface temperature sensor with the microcontroller in order to measure infant’s

body temperature signal and then convert the temperature analogue signal into binary

information using the Arduino inbuilt ADC for processing using the Arduino micro

controller.

ii. To compute the temperature signal then display the readings on the LCD.

iii. To design an automatic temperature alarm system using LEDs and Buzzer to indicate

abnormal temperature readings.

1.3 JUSTIFICATION

This project will be made of cheap materials. A complete system that measures temperature is so

far expensive. This system will be fully automated and will not require any human control.

Automatic alert system enabled by Arduinowill gives intimacy to the user. The system will

determine the temperature readings of the baby and displays it on the LCD. If there will be

abnormalities in the readings, the system will alert through LEDs indications and buzzer sounds

for an immediate attention. It will also be cost effective due to low power consumption and

portability. It will easy to handle and will also be efficient. It will not be as complex as the

current systems since it will provide an easy to understand user interface.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Overview

Not so much has been done in this field. Among the researches and proposals in this area include

the following.

Purnima, Puneet Singh , uses both Zigbee and GSM to transmit the data obtained from a patient.

GSM is used for purpose of mobile phones while zigbee is for PCs where the transmitted signals

are processed.

Shrenik Suresh Sarade proposed a project having a simple, microcontroller based heart beat rate

& body temperature measuring device with display the information on LCD display. The device

alarms when the heart beat & the body temperature exceed the provided threshold value. This

threshold value is defined by the programmer at the time of programming of microcontroller.

The threshold value is as 20 to 120 pulses per minute for heart beat indication & 18°C to 38°C

for temperature.

Wan Seribahiyah [4] does a project where he uses Zigbee, Arduino Uno, and ECG circuit and

temperature sensor. He uses Lab View to process the signals. The problem is complex and

expensive.

This information transmitted wirelessly to the doctor which is not in the vicinity of the patient

through GSM technique. The problem with the use of infrared Device is that the LED light must

be very bright or it will not be sensed by the photodiode.

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Analysis of LM35

Fig 2.1 Internal circuit of LM35 temperature sensor

Source: circuitwiring.com

The circuit diagram is shown above. There are two transistors in the centre of this circuit. One

has ten times the emitter area of the other. This means it has one tenth of the current density,

since the same current is going through both transistors. This causes a voltage across the resistor

R1 that is proportional to the absolute temperature, and is almost linear across the range we care

about. A special circuit straightens out the slightly curved graph of voltage versus temperature.

The amplifier at the top ensures that the voltage at the base of the left transistor (Q1) is

proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) by comparing the output of the two transistors.

The amplifier at the right converts absolute temperature (measured in Kelvin) into Celsius. The

little circle with the "i" in it is a constant current source circuit.

The two resistors are calibrated in the factory to produce a highly accurate temperature sensor.

The integrated circuit has many transistors in it -- two in the middle, some in each amplifier,

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some in the constant current source, and some in the curvature compensation circuit. All of that

is fit into the tiny package with three leads.

2.2 Existing System

Many existing system for temperature monitoring and controlling generally uses micro-controller

ATMEL 89C51 (μc 8051). It does the same job by using additional devices. The

microcontroller-controlled system contains essentially four parts, i.e., the process, the analog to

digital converter, the control algorithm, and the clock. The times when the measured signals are

converted to digital form are called the sampling instants; the time between successive samplings

is called the sampling period and is denoted by h. The output from the process is a continuous

time signal. The output is converted into digital form by the A – D converter. The conversion is

done at the sampling times.

2.3 Problem Associated With Existing System

Many existing system for temperature monitoring and controlling generally uses micro-controller

ATMEL 89C51 (μc 8051). Due to using micro controller 8051 the process of making whole

device becomes not only very complex but also difficult and tedious. For operation it requires A-

D converter, external clock, microcontroller development board.

Consequently, the problems are as follows:-

i. It takes comparatively more time to process.

ii. It requires additional devices for operation.

iii. It requires external clock.

iv. Programming for microcontroller 8051 is difficult.

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 v. For programming it requires development system.

vi. Circuit size becomes large.

vii. PCB making becomes complex, difficult and tedious.

2.4 Proposed System

Existing system uses ATMEL 89C51 which has many disadvantages as seen above in the section

2.3 above; to overcome these problemsI will use another advanced microcontroller

calledArduino Mega (ATmega2560). It has in built with many components like analog to digital

converter,clock of 16 MHz, shift registers.

In this system I will use temperature sensor LM35to detect temperature and convert it

intoappropriate voltage. This voltage will then be given to Arduino. According to program, it

will process theanalog signal into digitalforms of a particular voltage level for a

particulartemperature.

16x2 LCD will be used to display the outpu of LM35 indegree centigrade units.

At the same time it will also send the data to LEDs and Buzzer, if the temperature becomes

higher from set point Buzzer and Red LED become activate while the other LEDs are

deactivated. If the temperature becomes lower from set point Buzzer and Green LED become

activate while the other LEDs are deactivated.If the temperature is within the set points Blue

LED become activate while the other LEDs and Buzzer are deactivated.In this manner it will

monitorand controlthe temperature of the infant.

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Fig 2.2 Block Diagram of the system

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CHAPTER 3: REQUIREMENT ANALYSIS

3.1 Temperature sensor

The LM35 series are precision integrated-circuit temperature devices with an output voltage

linearly-proportional to the Centigrade temperature. The LM35 device has an advantage over

linear temperature sensors calibrated in Kelvin, as the user is not required to subtract a large

constant voltage from the output to obtain convenient Centigrade scaling. The LM35 device does

not require any external calibration or trimming to provide typical accuracies of ±¼°C at room

temperature and ±¾°C over a full −55°C to 150°C temperature range. Lower cost is assured by

trimming and calibration at the wafer level. The low-output impedance, linear output and precise

inherent calibration of the LM35 device makes interfacing to readout or control circuitry

especially easy. The device is used with single power supplies, or with plus and minus supplies.

As the LM35 device draws only 60 µA from the supply, it has very low self-heating of less than

0.1°C in still air. The LM35 device is rated to operate over a −55°C to 150°C temperature range,

while the LM35C device is rated for a −40°C to 110°C range (−10° with improved accuracy).

The LM35-series devices are available packaged in hermetic TO transistor packages, while the

LM35C, LM35CA, and LM35D devices are available in the plastic TO-92 transistor package.

The LM35D device is available in an 8-lead surface-mount small-outline package and a plastic

TO-220 package.

Fig 3.1 LM35

Source: http://www.ti.com/product/LM35

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3.2Arduino Mega

The Mega is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega2560. It has54 digital input/output

pins (of which 14 can be used as PWM outputs), 16 analog inputs, a 16 MHz quartz crystal

oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header and a reset button. It contains

everything needed to support the microcontroller. It is simply connected to the computer using a

USB cable or powered with an AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get it started. Never fear for

accidental electric discharge, either since the Mega also includes a plastic base plate to protect it.

The Mega 2560 R3 also adds SDA and SCL pins next to the AREF. In addition, there are two

pins placed near the RESET pin. One is the IOREF that allow the shieldto adapt to the voltage

provided from the board. The other is not connected and is reserved for future purposes. The

Mega 2560 R3 works with all existing shield but can help adapt to new shields which use these

additional pins.

WHY ARDUINO

Cheap - Arduino boards are inexpensive when compared to other microcontroller platforms.

Cross-platform - The Arduino Software runs on Windows, Macintosh OSX, and Linux

operating systems. Most microcontroller systems can only run on Windows.

Simple, clear programming environment - The Arduino Software (IDE) is easy-to-use for

beginners, yet flexible enough for advanced users to take advantage of as well.

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Open source and extensible software - The Arduino software is published as open source tools,

available for extension by experienced programmers. The language can be expanded through C+

+ libraries.

Open source and extensible hardware - The plans of the Arduino boards are published under a

Creative Commons license, so experienced circuit designers can make their own version of the

module, extending it and improving it. Even relatively inexperienced users can build the

breadboard version of the module in order to understand how it works and save money.

Table 3.1Technical Specs of Arduino Mega

Microcontroller ATmega2560

Operating Voltage 5V

Input Voltage (recommended) 7-12V

Input Voltage (limit) 6-20V

Digital I/O Pins 54 (of which 14 provide PWM output)

PWM Digital I/O Pins 14

Analog Input Pins 16

DC Current per I/O Pin 20 mA

DC Current for 3.3V Pin 50 mA

Flash Memory 256 KB (ATmega2560) of which 8 KB used by bootloader

SRAM 8 KB (ATmega2560)

EEPROM 4 KB (ATmega2560)

Clock Speed 16 MHz

Length 101.52mm

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Width 53.3 mm

Weight 37 g

The ATmega2560 on the Mega comes preprogrammed with a boot loader that allows one to

upload new code to it without the use of an external hardware programmer. The Mega can be

programmed with the Arduino Software (IDE).

3.3 LCD Display

Below is a typical LCD display

Fig 3.2 LCD display

Source: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/HelloWorld

The LCD will display the body temperature.

3.4 LED

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a two-lead semiconductor light source. It is a p–n junction

diode that emits light when activated.When a suitable voltage is applied to the leads, electrons

are able to recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of

photons. This effect is called electroluminescence, and the color of the light (corresponding to

the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy band gap of the semiconductor. LEDs are

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typically small (less than 1 mm2) and integrated optical components may be used to shape the

radiation pattern.

Fig 3.3 LED

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

3.5 Buzzer

A buzzer is an audio signaling device,which may be mechanical, electromechanical, or

piezoelectric (piezo for short).

Fig 3.4Piezo Buzzer (Source: http://www.instructables.com)

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CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY

4.1 Introduction

This chapter describes the method which will be used to implement this project. This project is

divided into two main parts which are hardware design and software design. For the hardware

design, it is focus on the main controller hardware, Arduino Mega board which connects to the

temperature sensor (LM 35). Meanwhile, for the software design, Arduino and Proteus are used.

4.2Hardware design

Arduino Mega Board

Arduino Mega board is the main function system in this project because it reads and interprets

the data from the heart rate and the temperature sensor outputs. Arduino software is downloaded

directly through the internet from the Arduino main page in order to build a specific

programmed. Arduino needs a USB cable to power up the board in 5V. Excess power will cause

irreparable damage to the Arduino board.

Temperature Sensor Circuit

Body temperature circuit is to measure the body temperature of patient. The normal temperature

for human is 37.0 degree Celsius. Temperature sensor contains three pins that are connected

directly to the Arduino Mega board. They are 5V, GND and analog output pins.Other common

sensors used for temperature measuring are thermistors, thermocouples and resistance

thermometers but LM35 is used because it can measure temperature more accurately than the

others and generates a higher output voltage than thermocouples. LM35 sensor may not require

that the output voltage be amplified. The LM35 is an integrated circuit sensor. Its electrical

output signal is proportional to the temperature in degree Celsius temperature.

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4.2 Software Design

Proteus Simulator will be used to design and simulate electronic circuit. Arduino Software (IDE)

compiler will be used to edit, test, simulate and dumpthe code into the microprocessor.

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4.5FLOW CHART OF THE SYSTEM

Fig 4.1Data Flow Diagram

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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION

Infant Contact Thermometer will be an excellent choice for blooming babies in developing

courtiers like Kenya because it will be cost effective due to low power consumption. It will be

ofgreater efficiency since itwill provides a friendly user interface that will be easy to read the

readings and understand. The system will also act as a watch dogin case of high or low

temperature by alarming for immediate medical attention.

In my project, I willdesign and implement an efficient Infant Contact Thermometer with an

Arduino board. Output will be verified by setting the temperature atdifferent levels and

observing the LEDs and Buzzer turn on and off when the device crosses the setvalues. There is

still much room for futuredevelopment that would enhance the system and increase its business

value.

5.1 Advantages

 This project will be used in Hospital as well as in Home, in and out of the Incubator.

 To monitor the baby that is not comfortable, or not possible for humans to monitor

manually, especially for extended periods of time.

 It will prevents waste of energy due to low power consumption.

5.2 Disadvantages

 It will only be maintained by technical person. Thus, it will becomedifficult to be

maintained.

 Due to temperature variation, after sometimes its efficiency may decrease.

 Comparatively itwill be costly.

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5.3 Future Scope

Inclusion of other body parameters such as:

1. Pressure

2. Humidity

3. Heart Beat

Use of wireless (GSM Technology) to transmit the output of the system to the user’s mobile

phone.

WORK PLAN

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REFERENCES

[1] https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/1144007581/hospitals-face-acute-shortage-

of-incubators

[2] Purnima, PuneetSingh “Zigbee and GSM Based Patient Health Monitoring System” 2014

International Conference on Electronics and Communication System (lCECS -2014)

[3] Shrenik Suresh Sarade et. al “ patient monitoring and alerting system by using gsm”

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) Volume: 02

Issue: 03, June-2015

[4] Wan Seri BahiyahBinti w SudinPatient monitoring system using wireless sensor network

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 APPENDIX

A. List of Hardware Components: These are the components needed for the development of

the project.

LM35 temperature sensor

Arduino Mega microcontroller board

LCD display (16x2)

LEDs (Red, Green, Blue)

Buzzer

Resistors, capacitors, and other electronic components.

B. Software Tools and Platforms: Software tools and platforms refer to the applications,

programs, and development environments utilized in the creation, testing, and

deployment of software solutions.

Arduino Software (IDE) compiler for code development and uploading

Proteus Simulator for electronic circuit design and simulation.

C. Technical Specifications of Key Components: The technical specifications of key

components provide detailed information about the characteristics and capabilities of

essential hardware and software elements used in the project.

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LM35 Temperature Sensor:

Operating temperature range: -55°C to 150°C

Output voltage proportional to temperature in degrees Celsius

Accuracy: ±0.25°C (at room temperature)

Arduino Mega:

Microcontroller: ATmega2560

Operating Voltage: 5V

Digital I/O Pins: 54 (14 PWM outputs)

Analog Input Pins: 16

Clock Speed: 16 MHz

Flash Memory: 256 KB

LCD Display (16x2):

Character display: 16 characters per line, 2 lines

Interface: Parallel interface

Operating Voltage: 5V

D. Work Plan:

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The work plan outlines the timeline, tasks, and responsibilities for executing the Infant Contact

Thermometer project.

E. Financial plan. The financial plan outlines the cost analysis, revenue projection, profit

analysis, and return on investment (ROI) for the Infant Contact Thermometer project.

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