Indian Journal of Medical Informatics, Vol 5, No 1 (2010)

Software Development for Alert Generation in Real Time Fighter Plane Pilot Monitoring

Goutam Chatterjee, Ajay Somkuwar

Abstract


Due to mission oriented high-G maneuvers, physiological parameters of the Fighter plane pilot undergo dramatic changes leading to stress accumulation. This work related stress in tern forces pilot to make inadvertent mistakes which often result in drastic consequence of aircraft accidents. In spite of high-G training of pilots on Human centrifuge and technological support, aircraft accidents attributable to high-G related stress, regularly take place worldwide. Fighter aircraft flying missions are intensely monitored through ground controllers on voice channels, radar coverage and metreological forecasts. Yet these measures have not prevented the accidents of fighter planes which were results of human error (pilot). Human errors are often due to the reduced cognitive responses of pilots who have just undergone the high-G induced stress.
Real time stress monitoring of pilots through non-invasive wireless sensors in Body Area Network (BAN) can dramatically alter the situation where ground based servers can be alerted indicating that pilot’s physiological condition is beyond normal. Preventive means then can be employed to recall pilot or abort mission. Successful implementation of BAN with the help of wireless sensors have been carried out to monitor ambulatory patients as well as life assisted products however, to implement the same on a young, healthy individual like pilot imposes a challenging task.
The solution in terms of single biomedical parameter signal from Electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring with only essential details pertaining to high-G related stress, its synthesis, pick up technique from the pilot body for transmission over a digital data channel from BAN to ground based server; has been already demonstrated by the authors in their previous published work.
The current paper offers the research results of developing software for the Alert generation on detection of abnormal ECG signal due to +Gz acceleration induced stress in fighter plane pilots.

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