Real-Time Triage: Enhancing patient prioritization through wearable technology.

CWSF · 2026 Health & Wellness

Daniel Enerowo · Intermediate Division · Grades 9–10

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Overview

This project aims to improve the current triage system by using wearable technology to monitor vital signs such as heart rate, oxygen, blood pressure and temperature. By continuously collecting and analyzing this data, the system helps identify early warning signs of deterioration, allowing for faster and more accurate patient prioritization. Inspires by existing triage systems like CTAS and MEWS, this solution enhances decision-making by providing continuous, automated assessments rather that one-time evaluations. My goal is to improve response time in medical situations and support healthcare providers with reliable, real-time patient data.

Video

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Video

This video provides and in-depth explanation of Real-Time Triage, including how it works and it's key functions.

Why?

I was inspired to build this project because of the wait-time mortality rates and how technology could be used to solve this problem. Most people don't realize that while you're waiting in the ER, your condition can slowly and silently get worse, and if not treated quickly, It can become life-threatening.

Because of this, I developed a real-time triage system designed specifically to continuously monitor patients while they are waiting, and identify who needs urgent care first. By tracking vital signs and ranking patients based on their vitals, my project helps to reduce the wait-time mortality and gives doctors and nurses clear insights into each patients health.

How?

I conducted my background research by studying how hospital perform triage today and how wearables monitor vital sings. I also read medical concepts related to heart rate, oxygen and temperature to understand what were abnormal and normal level.

Using reliable sources such as CBC News and documentation from top universities that discussed this topic. My design process started with mainly identifying the problems that current triage methods posed today. I then proceeded to build a system that could monitor patients vitals and rank them based on priority.

My prototype was made by integrating sensor to measure heart rate and oxygen (MAX30102) and body temperature (MLX90614), I tested and calibrated the sensors for collecting live and accurate data that matched closely to professional devices that were used to measure the vital signs.

Materials used:

ESP8266 micro-controller

MAX30102 (heart rate and oximeter)

MLX90614(body temperature)

3.5v Lithium-ion battery

What?

The prototype that I built was tested in a simulated environment using controlled patient scenarios rather than a real hospital setting. It collected physiological data such as heart rate, oxygen and body temperature. The results showed that it was able to detect abnormal patterns and respond in real time by flagging higher-risk cases.

The graphical summaries of the data indicate the wearable-based system improved the speed of identifying potential risk conditions compared to baseline observations. A limitation of this study is that testing did not occur in a clinical environment, which may impact the performance of this device in a real healthcare setting. Also when patients leave the dedicated area of the Wi-Fi coverage it can impact the data being transmitted to the live dashboard

However, the results demonstrates that the system has strong potential to enhance patient triage and reduce wait-time mortality in the hospital .

So What?

In conclusion, the relevance of real-time triage and accurate monitoring in healthcare settings, especially in the emergency department, cannot be overstated. My project demonstrates the significant opportunities of real-time monitoring of critical vital signs using wearable technology and how early detection of deterioration in a patient’s health condition can mean the difference in outcomes, especially in today’s overcrowded emergency care units. I explored the use of three biomarkers: heart rate, oxygen levels, and body temperature. While these biomarkers provide a meaningful indication of a patient’s health condition, there is still an untapped potential in incorporating additional biomarkers to gain deeper insight and enhance patient care in the future

What's Next?

Moving forward, the project will be improved by adding new features and capabilities, including the use of biodegradable plastics such as Vivomer to reduce e-waste. The design would also incorporate an improved closure that enhances ergonomics, durability and ease of assembly. More advanced sensors similar to those used in smartwatches would also be used to increase the accuracy and speed. Connectivity would also be enhanced by reducing the dependence on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth interruptions to ensure more consistent and reliable data transmission.

Thanks

I would like to thank my mentors at Imhotep Legacy academy Jeffrey Lyn and Walid for the support and feedback they provided throughout this project. Their insights and questions were instrumental in helping proceed on this journey. My gratitude also goes to my family for their support in helping me free up my time so I could focus on my project.