International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)
Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org
Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2015
ISSN 2319 - 4847
Smart Saline Level Indicatorcum Controller
Manoj Kumar Swain1, Santosh Kumar Mallick2 , Rati Ranjan Sabat3
1
Asst. Prof. EEE Dept. GIET, Gunupur, Odisha, India
2
Sr.LecturerEEE Dept. GIET, Gunupur, Odisha, India
3
Associate Prof. EEE Dept. GIET, Gunupur, Odisha, India
ABSTRACT
This bio-medical device would do away with the most common problem encountered at hospitals. Whenever a saline is fed to
any patient, he/she needs to be constantly monitored by a nurse or any relatives. Most often due to negligence, inattentiveness
and more number of patient’s, the saline is totally consumed .Initially, this might be inferred as a small or casual phenomenon
.But the consequences are often fatal. Just after the saline finishes, blood rushes back to the saline bottle due to difference in
blood pressure and pressure in the empty bottle.The device aims at trouble-shooting the above mentioned problem effectively
.By means of this the nurse can monitor the amount of saline even in the control room. When the level of saline dips below a
certain level a red LED would glow along with a buzzer sound to alert the nurse. If due to some reason the nurse is still unable
to attend the patient immediately then arrangement is made to squeeze the saline pipe till it is fully flattened so that the reverse
flow of blood into the saline bottle is discontinued. This process is highlighted by a blue LED .Another important feature is
added to the device in which by means of a backup battery, the device can also operate for some time even when there is power
failure.
Keywords:Bio-Medical, LED, Buzzer, Saline, Backup Battery.
1. INTRODUCTION
Normally when a saline is fed to a patient, he/she is in a critical condition. It is a point to be noted that saline is fed
when the patient’s body is dehydrated. In most cases when the patient is not thoroughly monitored then it causes fatal
consequences. If due to negligence or any other unavoidable situation, the saline bottle is completely fed to the patient
and the needle is not instantly removed from the veins then the pressure difference between the patient blood pressure
and the empty saline bottle causes an outward rush of blood into the saline. Normally this may be perceived as a casual
event. But when the patient is seriously dehydrated then blood loss from the body can cause death. There have been
several instants of such casualties. Thus the device is fabricated keeping the above things in mind and all the problems
are eradicated by able and reliable automation.
The device aims to fully automatic the process with requirement of almost no supervision externally. This helps to get
rid of human errors and also provides a very reliable and highly efficient industry ready device. The main highlight of
the device is its cost-effectiveness without compromising with performance. In the long run we get guaranteed patient
safety and minimum human interference. With the large magnitude of research and development carried out in the
embedded system market it’s only apt that the ever growing medical sector gets a technology boost. This device aims to
bring about a revolution in the common medical sector which is sadly very primitive and risky. Considering that there
is a life and death involved in majority of the cases it’s high time the saline level indicator for patient safety is
implemented on a large scale basis. Normally this may be perceived as a casual event. But when the patient is seriously
dehydrated then blood loss from the body can cause death. There have been several instants of such casualties. Thus the
device is fabricated keeping the above things in mind and all the problems are eradicated by able and reliable
automation.
2. CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING
The saline is suspended in a small box like arrangement which has a spring system as shown in figure 1 below. The
spring is made to act as a weight sensor i.e. the weight of a filled bottle and an empty bottle is differentiated by the
spring. The operation is two-fold. First when the saline drops downs to a certain low level then an alarm is placed in
the close vicinity of the nurse chamber to alert the nurse that the saline fed to the patient is over. Moreover in addition
to the alarm a set of red light (figure 2) and greenlight (figure 3) are also provided where red indicates that level of
saline is low while green indicates a safe level of fluid inside the bottle.
Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2015
Page 299
International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)
Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org
Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2015
ISSN 2319 - 4847
Figure 1Complete arrangement ofSmart Saline Level Indicator cum Controller
But inspite of all the above measures it is also possible that the nurse by any chance may not be able attend to the
patient immediately and thus our very purpose to make the device fails. Under such circumstances we come to the
second part of operation of the circuit. As soon as the alarm is sounded in the nurse chamber a motor arrangement is
done which supresses and flattens the saline tube. This prevents the upward flow of saline from the veins to the bottle.
Then the nurse or attendant arrives at his own convenience and removes the saline bottle. If any further saline is
required by the patient then another saline bottle is placed on the chamber and a reset button is pressed to recur the
same process.
Figure 2 Normal Level Indicator
Figure 3Low Level Indicator
The circuit consists a combination of electro-mechanical components .The mechanical part is of a spring which acts as
a weight sensor and synchronized with electronic switch. The electronic circuit contains ICs like op-amp, voltage
regulator and components like transistors, resistors as shownin figure 4. A filled bottle of saline has more weight while
an empty one has less weight. This difference of weight is used to sense the amount of saline present in the bottle and
hence is used to provide an audible alarm presentin the indicator board at attender or nurse room.
Figure 4 Electronic Circuit
Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2015
Page 300
International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)
Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org
Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2015
ISSN 2319 - 4847
3. CONCLUSION
Smart Saline level indicator for patient safety is a low cost, low power consuming and highly efficient device that can
be used for monitoring the amount of saline present in the bottle. It is often noted that there is someone present
constantly to monitor the patient fed to a saline as a slight carelessness can cause fatal accidents. The device is a fully
automated the process with requirement of almost no supervision externally. This helps to get rid of human errors and
also provides a very reliable and highly efficient device for medical use. The main highlight of the device is its costeffectiveness without compromising with performance. In the long run we get guaranteed patient safety and minimum
human interference.With the large magnitude of research and development carried out in the embedded system market
it’s only apt that the ever growing medical sector gets a technology boost. This device aims to bring about a revolution
in the common medical sector which is sadly very primitive and risky. Considering that there is a life and death
involved in majority of the cases it’s high time the saline level indicator for patient safety is implemented on a large
scale basis.
References
[1] Hata Y., Komaozaki Y., Sawayama T., Taniguchi K.and Nakajima H. [2007]. “A heart Pulse Monitoring System
by Air Pressure and Ultrasonic Sensor Systems”, Proceedings of IEEE System of Systems Engineering, CD-ROM,
[2] Ishijima M [1993]. “Monitoring of Electro cardiograms in Bed without Utilizing Body Surface Electrodes”, EEE
Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, , 40(6),.
[3] “Fundamentals of Electric Circuits” by Charles K. Alexander and Matthew N.O. Sadiku, Fifth Edition, The Mc
Graw-Hill Publication.
[4] http://www.bipublication.com
AUTHORS
Manoj Kumar Swain received the B.Tech. and M.tech. Degrees in Electrical and Electronics
Engineering from Biju Patnaik University of Technology in 2004 and 2011, respectively. During
2004-2009, he worked asService Engineerin Endorse (Thermax Channel Associate), India And since
year 2012 working as Asst. Prof. in EEE Department of GIET, Gunpur, Odisha, India. He has 4
International publications and no.of NationalConferenceand attended various International and
National Seminar, Conferences, Conventions.
Santosh Kumar Mallick received the B.Tech. Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
from Biju Patnaik University of Technology in 2011 andpursuing M.tech. Degree in Electrical
Engineering from Biju Patnaik University of Technology. Since year 2012 working as Sr. Lecturer in
EEE Department of GIET, Gunpur, Odisha, India. He has 1 International publication and no.of
National Conferenceand attended various International and National Seminar, Conferences,
Conventions.
Rati Ranjan Sabat is Associate professorin Electrical Engineering GIET,He is presently working as
Head Of the Department, Electricaland Electronics Engineeringat Gandhi Institute of Engineering
and Technology, Gunupur, Odishasince year2005.He received his M.tech. in electrical engineering
from BPUT,Rourkela, in 2008 and pesuingPhdin Berhampur University respectively. His area of
research in the field of Renewable Energyboth Solar& WindEnergy. 3 publications in National
Conference and attended various International and national Seminar,Conferences,Conventions as
delegate
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