HealthyPi v4 Wearable WiFi Vital Signs Monitor Follows Raspberry Pi HAT Form Factor

Following the success of their HealthyPI V3, ProtoCentral has launched a CrowdSupply campaign for an upgrade to the HealthyPi V3 simple called the HealthyPi v4. The HealthyPi V4 just like the V3 is a vital signs monitoring dev kit, that provide users with the opportunity to monitor parameters like the body temperature, oxygen saturation, and ECG/respiratory data. It is based on the Raspberry Pi like it’s predecessor but is however designed as a wearable device with wireless capabilities to solve the need of keeping users tethered to a machine round the clock so as to monitor vital signs.

According to ProtoCentral, one of the main inspiration behind the HealthyPi V4 was the desire  to solve the problem of round the clock tethering to machines that people have to go through for their health to be monitored in a realiable way.  To achieve this, the HealthyPi V4 comes with a simple physical switch which can be used to toggle between continuous mode, for use as a Raspberry Pi HAT, and wearable mode, which allows HealthyPi v4 to function as a standalone unit.

Irrespective of the mode, the HealthyPi v4 measures important parameters like:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG) data, heart rate, and heart-rate variability
• Respiration based on an impedance pneumograph
• Pulse oximetry (SPO₂)
• Body temperature

All of these parameters are monitored in real – time and and at high accuracy which opens the device up to use by different categories of people including researchers, makers and everyday users. The connected nature of the device also makes it invaluable and expands the use case as far as remote patient monitoring in regions where access to the health facilities is low.

HealthyPi v4 was designed to allow vitals monitoring in 2 ways:

1. Via the Android App
2. Using the Web Server Mode

The Android App was designed to simplify the process of viral monitoring. You only need to download the app from Playstore, connect it to the HealthyPi v4 device via BLE. Immediately your phone’s bluetooth comes on, you should see the device home page with a place for you to select the device. Immediately the selection is done, you should see the heart rate, respiration rate, temperature and SpO₂ levels displayed with an additional screen to render real-time ECG waveform.

The webserver mode, on the other hand,  allows you to stream live data over the local network. Simply push a button while starting up the device, and it will enter Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) mode. You can then connect to the “HealthyPi” Wi-Fi network using your computer or mobile device and point your browser to http://Healthypi.local. The HealthyPi home page will display live vitals as well as plots. This page also provides Over-The-Air (OTA) software and firmware updates.

Asides these two ways, HealthyPi v4 also maintains full compatibility with HealthyPi v3 through its continuous mode, which streams real-time data to a Processing-based application that is compatible with Raspberry Pi devices and desktop platforms (including Mac, Windows, and Linux). Upon successful connection, ECG, respiration, and PPG data will be displayed along with computed heart rate, respiration rate, SpO₂, and temperature readings

A highlight of the features of the HealthyPi v4 includes:

•  ESP32, in WROOM32 module format, with a Dual-core Xtensa 32-bit CPU, 4 MB of on-board flash, Wi-Fi, and support for BLE
• Wi-Fi and Access Point (AP) modes, a 2.4 GHz radio with an on-board PCB antenna that is compatible with Bluetooth 4.2 and BLE
•  Supports Arduino IDE as well as Espressif ESP-ID
• Texas Instruments (TI) ADS1292R 24-bit analog front end with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 107 dB for ECG and respiration front end:
•  TI AFE4400 pulse oximetry front end with integrated LED driver and 22-bit ADC
• Maxim MAX30208 digital body temperature sensor for monitoring skin temperature
• Raspberry Pi HAT form factor (65 mm X 56 mm)
• Comes with a 40-pin standard HAT-compatible headers for connecting to any Raspberry Pi
• 2x Qwiic connectors to enable connection to any Qwiic-compatible board for virtually limetless I²C sensor modularity
• On-board USB-to-UART converter for programming and data transfer
• Easily transition between wearable mode and HAT mode

HealthyPi v4 ships with firmware that enables all of this functionality out-of-the-box. If you want to make changes to the firmware, however, you will find the Arduino IDE – which is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux – easy-to-use for beginners but flexible enough for advanced users. In addition to Arduino IDE, HealthyPi v4 also supports Espressif IDF, so you can code in whichever environment you prefer.

While no price tag has been placed on the device yet, the Crowd Supply campaign states that the HealthyPi v4 will be avaialable as a HAT kit or a complete Kit. The hat kit will contain; the HealthyPi v4 main board, a 1000 mAh battery, three-electrode cable with ECG “snap connectors” on one end and a stereo connector on the other, Sheet of 20 single-use ECG electrodes, Finger-clip SpO₂ probe with a Nellcor-compatible DB9 connector, Qwiic-based temperature sensor, and the HAT mounting kit with headers and screws for stacking atop a Raspberry Pi. The complete Kit on the other hand will include everything in the HAT Kit along with; a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer, 16 GB microSD card with Raspbian and HealthyPi software, an official, 7” Raspberry Pi touchscreen LCD display, SmartiPi Touch enclosure for the Pi and the display, and an Isolated, medical-grade (5 V, 2.5 A) USB wall power adapter (100-240 VAC) with snap-on plugs for the following regions: US, EU, UK, and AU.

More infomation about the product and the campaign in general can be found on ProtoCentral Page on CrowdSupply.

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