Work

A novel healthcare 4.0 system for testing respiratory diseases based on nanostructured biosensors and fog networking

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Despite their substantial economic and financial burden, modern healthcare systems are frequently criticized for their poor efficiency and inclusivity, and substantial concerns arise about their capability to provide adequate responses to the population's needs in the near future. In such context, new digital healthcare models based on advanced bio-sensing technologies are regarded as a possible solution to improve the screening and prevention processes thus improving the overall performance of the healthcare supply chains. This is particularly relevant for respiratory diseases, which are currently among the first causes of death and medical expenditures in industrialized countries. In this research, a new approach to the testing and diagnosis of respiratory diseases is proposed as a new e-health model based on a fog-based architecture and a smart device. According to such a model, the fog-based system that allows for patients’ testing through the analysis of the exhaled breath is collected using a smart device based on a novel nanostructured sensor integrated into a breathing mask, and capable of transferring relevant patient information to a centralized decision-making process. The objective of this new healthcare model is thus to improve the diagnosis process of respiratory diseases by minimizing under-diagnosed or late-diagnosed cases. The practical relevance of the approach proposed is the possibility of enabling remote diagnostics of respiratory diseases without the need for skilled medical staff and bulky equipment only available in specialized labs, thus allowing for decentralized patient testing and self-testing. The original testing method and system proposed have been validated in the lab using samples extracted from real patients.

Source: Computers & Industrial Engineering

DOI: 10.1016/j.cie.2024.110698