Low-cost head-mounted camera system for medication-error detection

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Effective monitoring of medication workflows in clinical settings is crucial for patient safety and operational efficiency.
• Existing solutions may be costly or lack adaptability for low-resource environments.
• There is a need for accessible, customizable wearable systems for real-time data capture.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop a low-cost, reproducible head-mounted wearable system for first-person video capture.
• To enable real-time monitoring of medication workflows.
• To provide an open-hardware platform suitable for low-resource operating room environments.

Main Methods:

• The system integrates a Raspberry Pi Zero W, Pi Camera Module v3, PiSugar 2 Pro battery, buzzer, and push button within a 3-D-printed enclosure.
• Software utilizes Raspberry Pi OS Lite with Python/OpenCV for autonomous capture, event flagging, and audible feedback.
• The device is designed for offline operation, local storage, and low-power embedded processing.

Main Results:

• The wearable system weighs approximately 145 g and costs around USD 100 for core components.
• Pilot deployment demonstrated stable operation for up to 7 hours of battery-powered use.
• The system proved practical and wearable in clinical settings, confirming its feasibility.

Conclusions:

• This work presents a cost-effective and reproducible open-hardware solution for wearable monitoring.
• The system is suitable for enhancing medication-workflow monitoring in resource-limited clinical environments.
• The platform facilitates further development and application of wearable technology in healthcare.