System Level Approach towards Intelligent Healthcare Environment

Surgical procedures conducted without proper guidance and dynamic feedback mechanism could lead to unintended consequences. In-vivo diagnostics and imaging (the Gastro-Intestinal tract) has shown to be inconvenient for the patients using traditional endoscopic instruments and often these conventional methods are limited in terms of their access to various organs (e.g. small intestines). Embedding sensors inside the living body is complex and further the communication with the implanted sensors is challenging using the current RF technology. Additionally, continuous replacement and/or batteries recharging for wireless sensors networks both in-vivo and ex-vivo adds towards the complexity. Advances in diagnostics and prognostics techniques require development at multiple levels through systems approach, guided by the futuristic intelligent decision making environment that reduces the human interference. The demands are not only at the component level, but also at the connectivity of the components such that secure, sustainable, self-reliant, and intelligent environment can be realized. This thesis provides important breakthroughs required to achieve the vision of intelligent healthcare environment. The research contributions of this thesis provide foundation for developing a new architecture for continuous medical diagnostic and monitoring. The chapters in this thesis cover four fundamental technologies covering the in-vivo imaging, ex-vivo imaging, energy for sensors, and acoustic communication. These technologies are: locomotion mechanism for wireless capsule endoscope (WCE), multifunctional image guided surgical (MIGS) platform, shape memory alloy (SMA) thermal energy harvester and thermo-acoustic sonar using carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets. First, two types of locomotion mechanisms were developed, the first one inspired by millipede legged type mechanism and the second one based on the traveling waves that were induced onto the walls of the WCEs through vibration. Bot