ECE 477
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Group 14
Harold And Kumars
Homework 11: Ethical and Environmental Impact Analysis
Prepared by: Benny Wong
ECE 477
Group 14
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Spring 2005
Benny Wong
Contents
1. Introduction
3
2. Ethical Impact Analysis
4
2.1. Reliability
4
2.2. Proper Instruction
5
2.3. Durability
6
3. Environmental Impact Analysis
7
3.1. Fabrication
7
3.2. Natural Usage
8
3.3. Disposal/Recycling
8
4. References
9
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ECE 477
Group 14
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Spring 2005
Benny Wong
1. Introduction
The Wireless Patient Monitoring system is a design that measures the
heart rate (ECG) and body temperature of a patient and sends the
data to a database that is easily accessible by doctors through RF
communication. On top of that, it has an emergency detection system
that sounds a buzzer in case of emergency faced by the patient. The
measured values and the ECG are plotted out on an LCD display that is
connected to the monitoring unit.
The design is enclosed in black plastic encasing with an LCD display
mounted on the surface of the encasing along with two wires sticking
out for the body temperature and heart rate measurements. It will be
worn around the arm of the patient for easy viewing of the LCD display.
Along with the environmental concerns of the design, there are several
ethical challenges to overcome. This includes testing the design under
different conditions, placement of warning labels, and ensuring the
functionality of the design.
There are several environmental issues related to our design but are
fairly minimal. For instance, the components and wires contain lead,
which poses environmental concerns. In addition, problems will arise
upon the completion of the product’s life-cycle. When the unit is
discarded, the internal components together with the plastic encasing
are not biodegradable. Thus, careful handling is required to avoid
environmental issues. The remaining of the document will consider the
concerns mentioned above and present our resolution towards the
concerns.
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ECE 477
Group 14
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Spring 2005
Benny Wong
2. Ethical Impact Analysis
There are several important ethical challenges to overcome before
introducing our product into the market. These challenges are mainly
related to reliability, proper instructions, and the durability of the
product. It is very crucial that our product is reliable apart from being
safe and durable. This is because the users for our product are mainly
hospital patients, and the data being sent to the doctors are crucial to
monitor the patient’s health performance. Also, these data are very
personal to the patient and, thus, proper handling is required to
protect the privacy of the patients. Thus, improper analysis of these
challenges will not only lead to malfunctions and unpredictable
behavior, but also injury or death. The following will analyze some
potential ethical concerns and resolution with our design.
2.1. Reliability
The primary ethical concern for our product is the reliability of the
product. Because the heart rate and body temperature measurements
of the patient have to be accurate, these data have to be reported
accurately and reliably to the doctor at various intervals of time. Other
than that, safety mechanisms have to be added to the product in the
case of emergency. Apart from what was mentioned above, there is a
very important ethical challenge for our product. Since our product
measures the patient’s personal health performance, it is crucial that
these data are only accessible by the authorized [11]. Patient’s privacy
should be respected and it is a crime to invade a person’s privacy.
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ECE 477
Group 14
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Spring 2005
Benny Wong
To address the issues mentioned above, the system that receives the
data from the product was programmed to check for the availability of
the data every few seconds. In a case where data is not received, it
will sound an alarm to alert the doctors and nurses in the hospital
complex. On top of that, if the heart rate or the temperature of the
patient is not within the predefined threshold, it will sound an alarm on
the product and send an emergency signal to the main system
repeatedly. The alarm for emergency would be turned on longer than if
the data is not received do make a distinction between the two
problems. This would eliminate the risk of doctors not knowing when a
patient is at danger. As for the privacy of the patient’s health
information, our database is password protected. Due to time
constraints, we are unable to use any data encryption methods to
protect
the
data
being
sent
through
RF.
However,
future
improvements of the product would include this feature to ensure the
data sent are under reliable protection.
2.2. Proper Instructions
It is important to warn users of the possible danger that might occur
while using the product. Users should be warned not to touch the
product in the case where the product is broken to avoid injury. Also,
it should be clear to the users that the warranty is void if the encasing
is opened. This is to prevent users from dismantling or modifying the
product. In addition, the presence of hazardous materials contained in
the product (lead and fiberglass) should be informed to the users.
To ensure that the users are aware of the problems stated above,
warning labels should be placed on the product case itself to remind
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ECE 477
Group 14
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Spring 2005
Benny Wong
the users every time it is being used. In addition to placing warning
labels on the product, these issues should be well addressed in the
user manual. This is to provide the user with more in-depth
information about the warnings mentioned above.
2.3. Durability
The product is rather fragile at its current state. Its external wires are
connected to the sensors and the PCB with solder and the PCB is
secured to the encasing with four screws. As it will be worn on the
patient while they are mobile (exercising or walking), there is a high
possibility that the wires and the PCB will be detached. There is also a
high possibility that the patients might fall on the product and break it
as patients are potentially in a weakened condition. The product must
also operate in different conditions. For instance, patients might be
sweaty or they might walk to places that have direct sunlight contact.
Therefore, the product has to operate in dry, wet, warm and cold
conditions. In short, the product is not ready to be released to the
market as the sensor’s information being sent to the database is of
great importance.
To address these set of challenges, we made sure the wires are
wrapped tightly together to avoid entangling and the connections are
secured with masking tape in addition to the already available solder.
We have also added more screws to secure the PCB so it would not
come off so easily. To avoid the sensors from deteriorating due to
natural causes, e.g. water and heat, we have a wrapper for the
sensors and we specifically chose sensors that could withstand
extreme temperatures. We tested our product indoors and outdoors
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ECE 477
Group 14
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Spring 2005
Benny Wong
extensively and did not have any problems with the product
functioning with an average load. Last but not least, our software will
detect when sensors are detached from the PCB and send an error
message to the LCD and the computer to make sure random readings
will not be sent to the main system. This will avoid any false alarm.
3. Environmental Impact Analysis
As consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious, the
environmental impact of our design must be carefully studied
throughout the fabrication, natural usage, and disposal/recycling
phases of its life cycle.
3.1 Fabrication
During the fabrication of our design, specifically the printed circuit
boards (PCB), many hazardous wastes are generated. The primary
concern is the highly corrosive Ferric Chloride solution used to etch the
PCBs. This solution is highly toxic and should be disposed by dilution
with large amounts of water before sending it to the water treatment
center [1]. Another concern is the lead in the solder used to attach
electrical components to the PCB. Lead possesses very dangerous
characteristics that cause irreversible damage to the human body [2].
Examples are anemia, high blood pressure and kidney disorders
A more environmentally friendly solution to fabricate PCBs is to use a
PCB
milling
process
instead,
in
which
copper
traces
are
cut
mechanically rather than using chemical solutions [3]. Other than that,
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests alternatives such
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ECE 477
Group 14
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Spring 2005
Benny Wong
as dry plasma metal deposition during the fabrication process [4]. Also,
lead-free solder could be used to avoid the dangerous effects of lead
[5].
3.2. Natural Usage
During the natural use of our product, there is minimal impact on the
environment. However, when the nickel-cadmium batteries are weak,
it has to be replaced. The disposal of the batteries has to be guided in
the instruction manual as the batteries release toxic substances into
the environment [6].
3.3. Disposal/Recycling
When the product has outlived its life cycle, the disposal of the product
will pose threats to the environment due to the non-biodegradable
substances used to build the product. As mentioned above, the PCB
contains hazardous materials (e.g. lead) that would contaminate the
environment if not properly disposed. Other than that, the LCD display
and the batteries contain dangerous chemicals which are harmful to
the environment as well.
To resolve these problems, proper disposal or recycling methods have
to be instructed to the users through warning labels and the
instruction manual. The PCBs can be recycled to recover valuable
metals [7]; the LCD display [8] and the nickel-cadmium batteries [9]
can be recycled to recover nickel, iron, and cadmium. Recycling these
components
not
only
prevents
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further
contamination
of
the
ECE 477
Group 14
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Spring 2005
Benny Wong
environment, it reduces production costs and waste by reusing these
used components.
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ECE 477
Group 14
Digital Systems Senior Design Project
Spring 2005
Benny Wong
4. References
[1] “Ferric Chloride”. Materials Safety Data Sheets.
http://msds.ehs.cornell.edu/msds/msdsdod/a47/m23004.htm
[2] “Lead: An Ever-Present Danger”. University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey.
http://www.umdnj.edu/umcweb/marketing_and_communication
s/publications/umdnj_magazine/hstate/sprsm98/lead.html
[3] “Printed Circuit Board”. Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printed_circuit_board
[4] Environmental Protection Agency.
http://epa.gov
[5] “The Lead-Free Solder Project”. Center for Clean Products and
Clean Technologies.
http://eerc.ra.utk.edu/ccpct/lfsp.html
[6] “Nickel-Cadmium Battery”. Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel-cadmium_battery
[7] “Printed Circuit Board Recycling”. May 2003.
http://p2library.nfesc.navy.mil/P2_Opportunity_Handbook/2_II_
8.html
[8] Prösler, Martin. “Problems with disposal of LCD”. Oct. 27, 1999.
http://www.heise.de/ct/english/99/12/096
[9] “Battery Recycling”. Rathbone Energy. Feb. 24, 2005.
http://www.rathboneenergy.com/batteries/rbrc/rbrc.htm
[10] Splitt, Frank G. “Environmentally Smart Engineering Education: A
Brief on a Paradigm in Progress”. Jan. 2003. Northwestern University.
[11] IEEE Code of Ethics.
http://www.ieee.org
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