Smart Face Mask with an Integrated Heat Flux Sensor for Fast and Remote People's Healthcare Monitoring.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology
• Public Health

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic necessitated enhanced public health safety measures.
• Traditional temperature checks at public entrances are inefficient and inaccurate.
• Smart mask technology offers a potential solution for real-time health monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a smart mask for non-invasive monitoring of body temperature and breathing rate.
• To integrate a low-power, long-range communication system for data transmission and location tracking.
• To assess the accuracy and functionality of the smart mask in detecting physiological signs and cough events.

Main Methods:

• A non-invasive dual-heat-flux system with four sensors measures body temperature.
• A thermistor near the nose detects temperature changes to determine breathing rate.
• Long-range (LoRa) backscattering enables low-power communication and relative mask location tracking via two receivers.
• Low-cost LoRa transceivers with WiFi capabilities upload data to a server.

Main Results:

• Body temperature measurements demonstrated accuracy comparable to traditional thermistor methods.
• The system successfully monitored breathing rate and detected correct mask placement.
• Sudden temperature fluctuations from the thermistor indicated episodes of coughing.
• LoRa backscattering significantly reduced average power consumption.

Conclusions:

• The developed smart mask provides an accurate and efficient method for monitoring key physiological parameters.
• The integrated LoRa communication system offers a viable solution for real-time data collection and location awareness.
• This technology has the potential to enhance public health surveillance and safety measures, particularly in response to infectious disease outbreaks.