RTOS-BASED SYSTEM FOR TODDLER NUTRITIONAL STATUS DETECTION

Abstract

Determining the nutritional status of toddlers is essential for monitoring growth and preventing long-term health problems. Manual assessment requires significant time and is prone to human error; therefore, an automatic detection system based on height and weight parameters is needed. This study aims to develop a Real-Time Operating System (RTOS)–based system to detect the nutritional status of children aged 24–60 months, capable of managing task priorities, ensuring timely execution, and preventing race conditions using semaphores. The system employs an ultrasonic sensor to measure height, load cell sensors to measure body weight, and a web-based interface to input gender and age. Nutritional classification is determined through Z-score calculations using WHO reference data. Tests conducted on 200 children in various locations showed that the ultrasonic sensor achieved an average absolute error of 0.39 cm, a relative error of 0.409%, and an accuracy of 99.59%, while the load cell sensor achieved an average absolute error of 0.22 kg, a relative error of 1.587%, and an accuracy of 98.41%. The average execution times for the measurement and Z-score computation tasks were 4014.4 ms and 11.31 ms, respectively. The nutritional status classification results showed accuracy levels of 99.5% for Weight-for-Age (W/A), 99.5% for Height-for-Age (H/A), and 97.5% for Body Mass Index-for-Age (BMI/A) compared with manual assessments. The developed system demonstrated reliable performance in measurement and classification, with results consistent with conventional methods, indicating its potential as an efficient and accurate tool to assist healthcare workers in monitoring toddler nutrition status