Design and Implementation of a Fail-Safe IoT-Based Real-Time Health Monitoring System for Comatose Patients Using ESP32

Abstract

Continuous observation of vital parameters is indispensable for comatose patients, who are unable to notify caregivers of any abnormality. Standard intensive care unit configurations are characterised by accuracy, yet they remain expensive and immobile, and cannot easily be transported. This work presents a cost-efficient, IoT-enabled system that provides real-time patient monitoring using an ESP32 microcontroller and a set of biomedical sensors. The monitor measures heart rate and blood oxygen saturation with a MAX30102 sensor, body temperature with a DS18B20 sensor, and performs electrocardiography and electroencephalography monitoring with an AD8232 amplifier and an AD620 analog amplifier, respectively. In addition, the proposed prototype includes a power management subsystem that switches automatically from mains supply to a backup battery source. The monitor operates over two communication networks: Wi-Fi, which connects the device to the Blynk IoT cloud application, and GSM, which delivers short message alerts through a SIM800L module. This arrangement enables live monitoring and notification of abnormalities, and early testing showed high stability and efficiency of the prototype in terms of data acquisition, alert delivery and visualisation on an OLED interface. The proposed system offers a low-cost, portable and scalable solution suitable for both hospital-based and home-based monitoring of comatose patients.