International Journal of Emerging Technology in Computer Science & Electronics (IJETCSE)

ISSN: 0976-1353 Volume 13 Issue 2 MARCH 2015.

REMOTE HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM

USING PIC MICROCONTROLLER
S.Sakuntala #1 and R.Ramya Dharshini *2
#
*

B.E, ECE, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi,India

B.E, ECE, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi,India

Abstract In this paper, the technology advances on sensors,

connected to human body enables the design of health
monitoring system. The system was developed to monitor the
vital signs such as body temperature, pH level, Heart beat rate,
Oxygen saturation level and ECG.
Index Terms Biomedical sensors, Hyperterminal software,
PIC microcontroller, Zigbee.

PIC is an electronic circuit that can be programmed to carry

out various tasks.PIC Microcontrollers are produced by
Microchip technology. It is a very powerful device that
includes many built in modules such as EEPROM, 2 Timers,
10 bit ADC, Comparators and UART. The most important
features of PIC microcontroller is that, it can be
re-programmed as they use flash memory. In this paper,
PIC16F877A is used which is available in 40/44 pin packages
has 5 I/O ports namely PORTS A,B,C, D and E.

I. INTRODUCTION
Health monitoring systems become a hot topic and
important research field today. Now-a-days the maximum
new research is emphasizing on improving the quality and
healthy life by designing and fabricating sensors which are
either in direct contact with the human body (invasive) or
indirectly (non-invasive). The main reason behind this
development is rapid increasing of population worldwide.
The monitoring system allows an individual to closely
monitor their changes in vital signs and also provide feedback
which helps to maintain an optimal health status. The device
is designed to integrate into a telemedical system, as it can
even alert medical personnel providing life-threatening
changes to occur. ZigBee wireless module is used to sense the
remote patient data. Wireless sensors and sensor networks
drag more attention to the research community because of its
wide applications such as scalability, power management and
flexibility of architecture. All sensor data from the parameters
which are in the direct contact with body parts such as Heart
beat rate, Oxygen saturation level, body temperature, pH
level, and ECG are transferred by using a group of ZigBee
wireless module. The system adopted the wireless sensor
ZigBee for using as a real-time health monitoring system on a
patient.
Fig. 1 Pic Architecture

II. HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM USING PIC

Bio-Medical Sensor Network have the ability to diminish
the workload of medical care. The introduction of Personal
Area Network greatly simplifies the collection of
physiological data. The patients can be engaged in their day to
day life activities while being monitored. The physician can
have the surveillance of patients health condition for 24
hours using this system. Using PIC(Programmable Interface
Controller), it provides a low cost health monitoring system.

The PIC at the transmitter obtains the analog input from the
Sensors, does the signal analysis and converts the analyzed
output into digital data. The digital data is sent serially
through TX pin to the ZigBee module[2]. At the receiver, the
ZigBee receives the sent data and serially transmits it to a PC
using RS232. The received data is displayed in the PC using
Hyperterminal software. The fig. 2 depicts the block diagram
of health monitoring system.

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ISSN: 0976-1353 Volume 13 Issue 2 MARCH 2015.

B. Heart Beat Sensor

Heartbeat sensor TCRT100 in fig. 4 consists of both
the infrared light emitter diode and the detector are arranged
side by side in a leaded package. The output produced is a
digital pulse which is synchronous with the heart beat. The
output pulse can be fed to an ADC channel of a
microcontroller for processing and retrieving the heart rate in
beats per minute (BPM).

Fig. 4 Heartbeat Sensor

Fig. 2 Block diagram of health monitoring system

III. SENSORS
A. Temperature Sensor
The body temperature is measured by using the
temperature sensor LM35[2]. It is a three terminal device. Pin
number one is 5 volt voltage supply and three are for ground.
Pin two is analog voltage output with respect to temperature.
There is no need of extra circuitry to operate it. PIC16F877A
microcontroller is used to read temperature value. The
Relation between the temperature and analog output voltage
is:
1oC = 10m volt

(1)

Hence for every 1 degree increase in temperature there

will be a increment of 10m volt in output voltage of LM35
sensor. The output of sensor is given to analog channel of
PIC16F877A. Now after reading ADC value, using voltage
and temperature relationship voltage is converted into
temperature..These conversion has been done through
programming.

Fig. 3 Temperature Sensor

Photoplethysmography(PPG) is a non-invasive method

used in measuring the variation of blood volume in tissues by
a light source and a detector. The blood volume changes in
synchronous to the heart beat, hence this technique is used to
calculate the heart rate[4]. The basic types of
photoplethysmography are transmittance and reflectance. In
the transmittance PPG, a light source is emitted into the tissue
and a photo detector which is in the opposite side to the tissue
measures the resultant light. Due to the limited penetration of
the light intensity through the tissue of organ, transmittance
PPG is applied to the finger or the ear lobe which are the
restricted body parts. However, in the reflectance PPG, the
light source and the detector, placed on the same side of a
body part. The light is then emitted into the tissue, the
reflected light is therefore measured by the detector. As the
light doesnt need to penetrate through the body, the
reflectance PPG can be applicable to any parts of human
body. According to the pulsatile blood flow, the detected
light reflected from or transmitted through the body part will
fluctuates as the beat of the heart.
The PPG signal consists of two components, referred to
as AC and DC. The AC component is mainly due to the
pulsatile variation in arterial blood volume, that is
synchronous with the heart beat. Therefore, AC component is
rendered as the source of heart rate information. This AC
component is superimposed with the large DC component
which relates the tissues and the average blood volume.
Thus, DC component should be removed to measure the AC
waveform that consists of high signal-to-noise ratio. The DC
component. can be get rid by passing the output from the
sensor through a RC high-pass filter (HPF). The HPF sets the
cut-off frequency to 0.7 Hz. In the next stage, an active
low-pass filter (LPF) is made of an Op-Amp circuit. The LPF
sets the cut-off frequency and gain to 2.34 Hz and 101,
respectively. Thus the HPF and LPF, combination helps to

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ISSN: 0976-1353 Volume 13 Issue 2 MARCH 2015.
remove the unwanted DC signal and also the high frequency
noise which includes 60 Hz (50 Hz in some countries), this
amplifies the low amplitude pulse signal (AC
component)10times.
The output obtained from the first signal conditioning
stage leads to a similar HPF/LPF combination which under
goes further filtering and amplification . So, the cascading of
two stages leads to calculation of the total voltage which is
101*101 = 10201. These two stages consisting of filtering and
then amplification process converts the input PPG signals to
approximate TTL pulses, which are synchronous along with
the heart beat. The heart rate (BPM) are related to the
frequency (f) of these pulses which is denoted as follows,

The rise of heart rate abruptly increases gradually during

exercises and then returns slowly back to the rest value after
exercise. The rate at which the pulse goes back to normal
forms an indication of the fitness of the person. The heart rate
lower than the normal forms an indication of a condition
termed as bradycardia, while the rate higher than the normal
are termed as tachycardia. Table I shows the heart rate of
students during the exercising period.

Table I Heart rate of students during Exercise

Heart Rate(BPM)
Students
I

1min
Exercise
88

2mins
Exercise
98

3mins
Exercise
102

4mins
exercise
110

II
III

92
87

96
100

103
112

105
112

IV

93

109

115

120

V
Average

90
90

93
99

101
107

112
114

Fig. 5 Pulse Oximeter Sensor

Two wavelengths, 660 nanometers (red) and 940 nanometers

(near infrared) of light are used. At 660nm, reduced
hemoglobin absorbs light ten times more than oxy
hemoglobin. Similarly, at (940nm), the oxy hemoglobin
absorbs light greater than the reduced hemoglobin as shown
in fig. 6. By the direct absorption of light in pulse oximetry
senses the ratio of pulsatile to non-pulsatile light at the two
wavelengths, it is then translated to a function of the arterial
oxygen saturation through complex signal processing.

C. Pulse Oximeter
Oxygen gas is essential for human to survive. It is integral
for countless biological processes. The circulatory system
performs the oxygen transportation throughout the human
body and more specifically, hemoglobin in red blood cells. By
detecting the amount of oxygen in blood, any critical
condition regarding medical care can be obtained.
Now-a-days, Pulse oximetry
is a standard device for
measuring the blood-oxygen saturation in the operating
room. This device use of light to measure the oxygen content
in blood and heartbeat rate is called pulse oximetry. Pulse
oximetry depends on sensing of a physiological signal called
Photoplethysmography (PPG),which gives the optical
measurement of blood volume in arteries .Pulse oximetry
obtains PPG signal by irradiating two wavelengths of light
such as Infrared and red LED through the tissue and compares
the absorption coefficient of light by blood under these two
wavelengths. This comparison helps for the measurement of
the oxygen content of blood and is known as blood oxygen
saturation[1].

Fig. 6 Light absorption characteristics of HbO2 and Hb

at different wavelengths

The red blood cells are made up of protein molecules are

known as Hemoglobin The principle of Hemoglobin is to
carry oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues and returns
carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs.
Hemoglobin with more oxygen content is called oxygenated
hemoglobin (HbO2) and less oxygen content is called is
called
deoxygenated hemoglobin(Hb). The ratio of
oxygenated hemoglobin to deoxygenated hemoglobin is
called oxygen saturation. Hence,

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ISSN: 0976-1353 Volume 13 Issue 2 MARCH 2015.
range of 0-14 generates the output voltage from 0 to 5 V. The
op-Amp generally used was IC1 7680 and IC2 CA3140.
D. pH Level Sensor
pH changes occur in the oral cavity, which are
indicative of bacterial activity leading to dental caries. pH
measurement is necessary as it measures whether the solution
is acidity or
basic. The sustainability of living things are based on the
maintenance of proper pH level. The internal mechanisms of
all human beings and animals rely on the maintenance of the
pH level in their blood. The blood contents in our veins must
consists of a pH level between 7.35 and 7.45. The level
exceeding this range nearly as one-tenth of a pH unit would be
proved as fatal. Fig. 7 shows the ph glass electrode.

Fig. 8 pH probe Amplifier

The Fig. 8 shows the amplifier circuit, which was used to

condition the small voltage signal of pH probe. The amplifier
was used in an inverting configuration. This design was made
such that, by indicating the solution was neutral at pH 7 (i.e.
water) its output voltage was 2.5 V (ranges 0-5V), for an
acidic solution (pH 4) the output voltage was 1.429V and for a
solution which was alkaline (pH 9.2) the output voltage was
3.286. The designed circuit would be more reliable due to its
accuracy and inexpensive. Now the output from the amplifier
circuit was sent to the PIC microcontroller.

Fig. 7 pH Glass electrode

1) Development of pH meter:
A pH probe has the capability to generate different
voltage levels with different solutions of different pH. In
neutral and acidic solutions (below pH 7) a positive output
voltage is generated whereas in basic solutions (above pH
7), a negative output voltage is generated. So an ideal pH
probe, may give either positive or negative voltage outputs
proportional to the acidity or alkalinity of the test solution.
The output of a pH probe is in the millivolt range. The
sensor selected was a general purpose glass electrode. It is a
standard laboratory use electrode which when inserted in a
solution, produces a small voltage (in mv), which is
proportional to hydrogen ion concentration. It has little ball
at the tip with a special pH glass. The probe output was fed
into the amplifier through a shielded cable. The output of
this pH sensor is very weak and the voltage very low. It
requires additional circuitry for amplification and stable
output voltage.
2) pH probe Amplifier
The output voltage, for various pH values can be adjusted
by making connection to amplifier circuit. The volt/pH
conversion was done using op-Amp amplifiers, hence the pH

E. ECG Sensor
The Electrocardiograph (ECG) signal is a diagnostic tool
beating, which is the main function of heart. The principal
corresponding signal frequency also range of 0.01 to 250 Hz.
Electrocardiography is the measurement of the electrical
activity of the heart. Electrical sensing devices or electrodes
are placed strategically on top of the body to detect the
electrical activity of the heart and diagnose patients with
different heart anomalies. The trace depends on the position
of the lead. The leads placed on the body can be described as
a positive lead and a negative lead[3]. The fig. 9 shows the
main causes of positive and negative deflection occurrence in
the heart.

Fig. 9 Causes of deflection

The electrical impulse that is generated in the heart travels

in parallel to the direction of the lead. A positive deflection
takes place, if the impulse moves toward the positive lead and

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ISSN: 0976-1353 Volume 13 Issue 2 MARCH 2015.
a negative deflection takes place if the direction of the
impulse moves toward the negative lead. Electrodes are
placed in the arms and legs, which forms the Einthoven's
triangle. Fig. 10 depicts the Einthoven's triangle which is
composed of Leads I, II, and III.

free C compilers which are provided to a wide variety of

development platforms. These compilers generally form a
part of an IDEs with ICD support, single stepping,
breakpoints, and an assembly window.
B. HyperTerminal Software
HyperTerminal can be used to set up a dial-up connection to
another computer through the internal modem using Telnet It
can also access, bulletin board service (BBS) to another
computer. This process is mainly used to set up a connection
to perform data transfer between two computers (such as one
desktop computer and a portable computer) using only the
serial ports. The serial-port controls all the external devices or
systems such as scientific instruments, radio communications
stations. HyperTerminal was designed as a troubleshooting
tool during the process of setting up and in using a modem.

V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Fig. 10 Three lead system

"Three lead" ECG, is made with the measurements taken

from any three points on the body which is known as the
Einthoven's recording .(defining the "Einthoven triangle" - an
equilateral triangle with the heart at the center.) The
difference between potential readings from L1 and L2 is what
is used to make the trace of the ECG output. The L3
connection is designed to establish a common ground for the
body and to the recording device.

By implementing the wireless health monitoring system using

PIC Microcontroller, these are the results displayed using
hyper terminal in PC. The ZigBee wireless module is used to
receive data from the remote patient. Fig. 12 shows the output
value obtained.

Fig.11 Typical ECG waveform

IV. PIC SOFTWARE DETAILS

MikroC Pro and Proteus is used for programming and
simulating the Microcontroller. HyperTerminal software is
used for displaying the output data.
A. MikroC Pro
The PIC is programmed using MikroC which is the
acronym for Micro-Controller Operating Systems. It is
intended for use in embedded systems. Embedded C remains
a very popular language for micro-controller developers due
to the code efficiency and reduced overhead and development
time, so that is used here. Covers low-level control and is
considered more readable than assembly. There exists many

Fig. 12 Implementation of heartbeat measurement

VI. CONCLUSION
This paper presents the design and implementation of wireless
sensor network for health monitoring system by using ZigBee
module. It is concluded that Programmable Interface
Controller (PIC) has been the low cost implementation used

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ISSN: 0976-1353 Volume 13 Issue 2 MARCH 2015.
for recording and transmitting the bio-medical signals by
wireless technology and very useful to the remote patients.
This system was developed to minimize the devices size
and allow for daily life usage. This system can also be made
to include other health monitoring module like EMG, EEG for
complete monitoring system.
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[2] Md.Moyeed Abrar and Rajendra R.Patil,Multipoint
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[3] R.Prakash and B.Paulchamy, Remote monitoring of ECG and
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[4] S.Josephine Selvarani, Online Health Monitoring System
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.

S.Sakuntala is pursuing B.E degree in the

Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering at Mepco Schlenk Engineering
College, Sivakasi in 2015. She is a member of
Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication
Engineers. Her area of interest is Digital Electronics,
Embedded Systems and Computer Networks. She has worked on the mini
project based on microcontroller in 2013 .Her aim is to do Higher Studies.

R.Ramya Dharshini is doing final year B.E

in the Department of Electronics and
Communication Engineering at Mepco Schlenk
Engineering College, Sivakasi in 2015. She is also a
member of
Institution of Electronics and
Telecommunication Engineers. She is interested in
the Wireless Communication field. Her ambition is
to seek job in research field.

214

Meenalakshmi M was born at Tamil Nadu, India in the year 1987.She

pursued her B.E., in Electronics and Communication
Engineering from Mepco Schlenk Engineering College,
Sivakasi in the year 2008 and M.E., Embedded System
Technologies from Srisairam Engineering College,
Chennai in the year 2013.She has published two
international journals and presented papers in
International and National conferences Her research
interest includes Embedded Systems, Renewable
energy sources, WSN. Mrs. Meenalakshmi is a member
of professional bodies like IETE and ISTE.