Smart Ward Assistant: Low-Cost Patient Monitoring System

Rural Primary Health Centers (PHCs) often face staff shortages, making continuous patient monitoring difficult, especially during night shifts. Critical changes in patient vitals such as Heart Rate (HR) and Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) can go unnoticed, leading to delayed medical intervention.

To address this challenge, I developed the Smart Ward Assistant, a low-cost, scalable patient monitoring system using ESP32 technology. The system consists of wearable vital monitoring tags for patients and a centralized smart hub at the nurse station. Patient vitals are monitored continuously and transmitted wirelessly to the hub, where alerts are generated instantly if abnormal conditions are detected. This system reduces manual workload, improves patient safety, and enables faster medical response in resource-limited healthcare environments.

Smart Alert & Display Hub

Wearable Patient Tag Connections

MAXREFDES117 Bio-Sensor → ESP32

Powered via 3.7V Li-Po battery

TP4056 module used for battery charging and protection

Smart Hub (ESP32-S3-BOX-3) Connections

Built-in Touch Display used for configuration

Built-in Microphone & Speaker used for voice alerts

External speaker connected for loud audio alerts (if required)

Wearable Patient Monitoring Tag

Connect the MAXREFDES117 sensor to the ESP32 using I²C pins.

Connect the Li-Po battery to the TP4056 charging module.

Power the ESP32 from the TP4056 output.

Secure all components on a small PCB or perfboard.

Place the assembled circuit inside a compact enclosure suitable for wrist or finger mounting.

Smart Alert & Display Hub

Place the ESP32-S3-BOX-3 at the nurse station.

Connect the SD card module for data logging.

Connect an external speaker if higher volume alerts are needed.

Power the BOX-3 using a USB adapter.

Verify wireless connectivity with all wearable tags.

Detailed Project Description

Smart Ward Assistant: Low-Cost Patient Monitoring System continuously measures the patient's vital signs and makes them visible in real time — on a local display and, over Wi-Fi, on a dashboard or phone — so that abnormal values trigger an alert instead of going unnoticed.

How It Works
1. The biomedical sensors are attached to the user and sampled by the microcontroller at a fixed rate.
2. Raw signals are filtered and converted into meaningful values (BPM, SpO2, temperature, ECG waveform).
3. Values are shown locally and pushed to the cloud/dashboard so a caregiver can watch remotely.
4. If a reading crosses a configured threshold, an alert (buzzer, app notification or message) is raised.

Key Components and Their Role
- ESP32: dual-core Wi-Fi + Bluetooth microcontroller that runs the firmware, reads the sensors and hosts the network connection.
- Bluetooth Low Energy: short-range low-power wireless link to a phone or browser.
- Li-ion battery + charger (TP4056): portable power with charge management.

Implementation Steps
1. Collect the components and study each module's datasheet (pin-out, voltage, interface).
2. Wire the circuit on a breadboard following the pin mapping; power sensors from the correct rail (3.3 V / 5 V).
3. Install ESP32, BLE, SPI and the required libraries; flash a minimal test sketch for each module separately.
4. Write the main firmware: read sensors → process → drive outputs / send data.
5. Configure network or cloud credentials and test communication end-to-end.
6. Calibrate thresholds, add error handling (reconnect, sensor time-out) and run a long-duration test.
7. Finalise on a PCB / enclosure and document wiring, code and results.

Key Features
- Real-time vital-sign readings
- Remote monitoring dashboard
- Threshold-based alerts
- Low-cost, portable hardware

Expected Output
On completion the student will have a live plot/table of vitals that updates every few seconds, with alerts when a limit is crossed.

Deliverables
- Complete source code with comments
- Circuit diagram and pin mapping
- Project report with screenshots and results
- Demonstration-ready build