Communications of the ACM
Nsf Funds 'wearable Doctor'
The prototype three-piece sensor pods connect together to wrap around the wrist of the patient to monitor movement, heart rate, respiratory rate, the amount of oxygen in the blood, skin impedance and wheezing in the lungs.
Credit: NCSU
The U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Health and Environmental Tracker (HET) project, currently in the fourth year of a decade-long development process, recently unveiled a functional prototype.
The tracker is designed to tap the wearer's own bodily energy as a power source, and to anticipate attacks of asthma or other chronic maladies and recommend immediate remedial action.
The device consists of a wrist-worn sensor hub, a chest-adhering patch, and a handheld breathalyzer or spirometer. The wristband monitors airborne volatile organic compounds and ozone along with ambient humidity and temperature, then transmits collected data wirelessly to medical professionals. The patch features sensors that track a patient's movement, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen levels in the blood, skin impedance, and wheezing in the lungs, while the spirometer measures lung function.
Clinical trials to start this year will be used to determine the conditions for an imminent asthma attack, so a specialized and less expensive model can be created. Should different factors induce attacks in different people, individualized versions will be developed.
The HET project won an award for the energy-tapping spirometer, featuring an electrical generator powered by the user blowing their breath into it.
From EE Times
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