Hum-activated Nurse Call System

How to Make a Nurse-Call System for a Paralyzed Person

More than 20 years ago, I helped a person in a nursing home. Let us call her Mary. Mary knew that her malady would eventually paralyze her completely. I listened to her. Her biggest concern was to have a way to call for the nurse, even when she eventually could not move or speak.

At that time, there were not many devices available for paralyzed people to call for help. The nursing staff did not have a solution, so they asked me as a volunteer inventor to help.

I thought about it for a while. I reasoned that even if she could not move at all, she probably could use her vocal cords to hum. Aha, I thought, and set out to make a Hum Activated Nurse Call System.

With what I had available at that time, I used an amplified microphone and a small programmable logic controller (PLC).

With the device, Mary could hum a specific pattern to call for the nurse. She used other hum patterns to control a small lamp and television. This system ignored normal speech. She, her family, and the nursing staff were very happy.

Eventually Mary died. Life went on for me. I disposed of the unit and forgot about it, until now. I thought in writing about it, that my work might help other inventors.

Here is what I would do today:

1. Buy the SparkFun Inventor's Kit that includes the Arduino Microcontroller. I like Arduino because it is open-source, cheap, and very flexible. I especially like that I can use other's open-source designs to build upon.

2. Download the free software from Arduino.

3. Use the Arduino Search box to find previous interfacing and programming designs, similar to what I want to do. For ongoing assistance, I would ask the Arduino Forum for help.

4. Interface a lapel microphone to the one of the kit inputs.

5. Interface kit outputs to call for the nurse, turn on devices, and the like.

6. Program the kit to activate various functions, using different hum patterns. Also, program the kit to ignore normal speech, if you are not interested in voice recognition.

7. Test it on myself first.

8. Protect myself legally against potential lawsuits from others, before I test it on others.

9. Test it on others. Improve or customize, as necessary.

10. Let the paralyzed person enjoy life, as best as they can.

11. Publish the design details on Arduino and maybe elsewhere, to benefit others.

12. Move onto the next invention.

Takeaways -

· A totally paralyzed person can still call for help, even if they cannot speak.

· Humming different patterns, similar to Morse code, can activate a Nurse Call System.

· Inventors can build on the work of others.

For more information -

Arduino - http://www.arduino.cc/

Arduino Interfacing with Hardware - http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Main/InterfacingWithHardware

Arduino Forum - http://arduino.cc/forum/

SparkFun - http://www.sparkfun.com/index

Similar activities -

Voice Activated "Nurse" Call Bell - http://www.ele.uri.edu/courses/bme281/F00/Rachel_George_CallBell.pdf

Hum-Power Controller for Powered Wheelchairs - http://mason.gmu.edu/~hghaffar/Documents/Thesis/HumPowerControllerForPoweredWheelchairs_HosseinGhaffariNik_ThesisSlides.pdf

Disclaimer - Article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.