Smart oxygen monitoring in hospitals: a pilot study during COVID-19

Abstract During 2020-2021, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in hospital safety, with oxygen-related fires and explosions occurring at twice the usual rate. This highlighted insufficient preparedness for increased oxygen therapy demands and the associated risks of oxygen-enri...

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Main Authors: Jan Velicka, Martin Pies, Radovan Hajovsky, Katerina Barnova, Radek Martinek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87665-6
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author Jan Velicka
Martin Pies
Radovan Hajovsky
Katerina Barnova
Radek Martinek
author_facet Jan Velicka
Martin Pies
Radovan Hajovsky
Katerina Barnova
Radek Martinek
author_sort Jan Velicka
collection DOAJ
description Abstract During 2020-2021, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in hospital safety, with oxygen-related fires and explosions occurring at twice the usual rate. This highlighted insufficient preparedness for increased oxygen therapy demands and the associated risks of oxygen-enriched atmospheres. This study aimed to develop and test a smart monitoring system to detect increased oxygen concentrations in hospital environments, mitigating the risk of fires. Based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the system includes wireless sensors that measure oxygen levels at regular intervals and transmit the data to a database. Alerts are sent to hospital staff via short message service and e-mail when oxygen levels exceed predefined thresholds. The sensors were deployed in an intensive care unit and were validated through real-time measurements under hospital conditions. The system demonstrated high accuracy (±1%) in monitoring oxygen concentrations with low power consumption (345 µA for oxygen concentration measurements taken every minute). Notifications reliably informed staff of oxygen level thresholds, enabling timely interventions. The proposed IoT-based smart monitoring system is a cost-effective and efficient solution for improving safety in medical environments.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-82c51d0f1139445abf30a94d130af18e2025-01-26T12:30:36ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111610.1038/s41598-025-87665-6Smart oxygen monitoring in hospitals: a pilot study during COVID-19Jan Velicka0Martin Pies1Radovan Hajovsky2Katerina Barnova3Radek Martinek4Department of Cybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB-Technical University of OstravaDepartment of Cybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB-Technical University of OstravaDepartment of Cybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB-Technical University of OstravaDepartment of Cybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB-Technical University of OstravaDepartment of Cybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB-Technical University of OstravaAbstract During 2020-2021, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in hospital safety, with oxygen-related fires and explosions occurring at twice the usual rate. This highlighted insufficient preparedness for increased oxygen therapy demands and the associated risks of oxygen-enriched atmospheres. This study aimed to develop and test a smart monitoring system to detect increased oxygen concentrations in hospital environments, mitigating the risk of fires. Based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology, the system includes wireless sensors that measure oxygen levels at regular intervals and transmit the data to a database. Alerts are sent to hospital staff via short message service and e-mail when oxygen levels exceed predefined thresholds. The sensors were deployed in an intensive care unit and were validated through real-time measurements under hospital conditions. The system demonstrated high accuracy (±1%) in monitoring oxygen concentrations with low power consumption (345 µA for oxygen concentration measurements taken every minute). Notifications reliably informed staff of oxygen level thresholds, enabling timely interventions. The proposed IoT-based smart monitoring system is a cost-effective and efficient solution for improving safety in medical environments.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87665-6Oxygen-related fire preventionSmart medical gas detectionInternet of Things (IoT) technologyWireless oxygen monitoringLow power sensor.
spellingShingle Jan Velicka
Martin Pies
Radovan Hajovsky
Katerina Barnova
Radek Martinek
Smart oxygen monitoring in hospitals: a pilot study during COVID-19
Scientific Reports
Oxygen-related fire prevention
Smart medical gas detection
Internet of Things (IoT) technology
Wireless oxygen monitoring
Low power sensor.
title Smart oxygen monitoring in hospitals: a pilot study during COVID-19
title_full Smart oxygen monitoring in hospitals: a pilot study during COVID-19
title_fullStr Smart oxygen monitoring in hospitals: a pilot study during COVID-19
title_full_unstemmed Smart oxygen monitoring in hospitals: a pilot study during COVID-19
title_short Smart oxygen monitoring in hospitals: a pilot study during COVID-19
title_sort smart oxygen monitoring in hospitals a pilot study during covid 19
topic Oxygen-related fire prevention
Smart medical gas detection
Internet of Things (IoT) technology
Wireless oxygen monitoring
Low power sensor.
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87665-6
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AT martinpies smartoxygenmonitoringinhospitalsapilotstudyduringcovid19
AT radovanhajovsky smartoxygenmonitoringinhospitalsapilotstudyduringcovid19
AT katerinabarnova smartoxygenmonitoringinhospitalsapilotstudyduringcovid19
AT radekmartinek smartoxygenmonitoringinhospitalsapilotstudyduringcovid19