Axel Activity Monitor System

Just posting an article which was around in the internet for a while. One of the member is my cousin Sheila Baticulon (the team is brilliant!).

Filipino scientists develop inexpensive body monitoring device

By Helen Flores Thursday, August 30, 2007

A group of young Filipino scientists has developed an inexpensive device that will monitor the various bodily functions of patients who have undergone surgery.

Behind the Axel activity monitor system, which has the features of an ordinary wristwatch, are Allan Estrella, Sheila Marie Baticulon and Sheryll Anne Joson of the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

The device consists of the Axel monitor worn by the patient, the Axel reader that downloads the data logged by the monitor to the computer, and the Axel viewer that allows the viewing and analysis of the data.

Estrella, who presented the device at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza recently, said the activity monitor, also known as the actigraph, is not new as it is now a widely accepted device for patient monitoring, especially in the United States.

He said they wanted to develop an affordable actigraph that would help in the rehabilitation of patients, especially those who had undergone heart surgery.

Actigraphs measure body movements and sleep behavior and pattern by assessing the acceleration of the body part where the activity monitor is worn. The activity monitor is usually composed of an accelerator, filter, memory, and timer.

Estrella said the device would cost around P8,000 once it is commercialized. It is run by three triple-A batteries.

The Department of Health said heart disease is one of the 10 leading causes of deaths among Filipinos.

Based from 2003 data, it said 67,696 per 100,000 die of heart ailments.

Estrella, meanwhile, said based on latest data from the Philippine Hearth Center more than 1,000 patients undergo open-heart surgery every year.

Estrella graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. Electronics and Communications Engineering degree.

He was one of the awardees of the 2007 Magsaysay Young Engineers/Technologists Competition Program, given by the National Academy of Science and Technology of the Department of Science and Technology.