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Are Muscle Oxygen Sensors the Next Great Fitness Wearable? - Outside Online
The technology used to measure muscle oxygen is called near-infrared spectroscopy, or NIRS. By shining light through your skin and measuring what’s reflected, NIRS can assess what percentage of hemoglobin and myoglobin molecules in the muscle and tissue underneath are carrying oxygen. If that number is increasing toward 100 percent, it means the oxygen supply exceeds the muscle’s demands; if it’s drifting down toward zero, demand is outstripping supply. Pedaling as hard as you can for five minutes might get your quads down below 20 percent, and elite athletes can push even lower. (The basic idea is similar to pulse oximeters, but those measure oxygen in your bloodstream rather than in a specific muscle.)
Smartphones can tell when you're drunk by analyzing your walk -- ScienceDaily
"In 5 years, I would like to imagine a world in which if people go out with friends and drink at risky levels," Suffoletto says, "they get an alert at the first sign of impairment and are sent strategies to help them stop drinking and protect them from high-risk events like driving, interpersonal violence and unprotected sexual encounters."
Clinical-grade wearables offer continuous monitoring for COVID-19: Sticker-like medical device streams symptom data to physicians -- ScienceDaily
More recently, Rogers' team added a wearable, flexible pulse oximeter to pair with the suprasternal-mounted device. This allows physicians to continuously monitor for silent hypoxia, an often asymptomatic feature marked by alarmingly low blood oxygen levels. Adding this feature will help the device, and accompanying algorithms, give a fuller picture of the disease's onset, progression and response to treatment.
"The device measures very tiny vibrations on the skin and has an embedded temperature sensor for fever," Rogers said. "As you cough and breathe, it counts coughs, monitors the intensity of cough and senses labored breathing. The location on the throat also is close enough to the carotid artery that it can measure mechanical signatures of blood flow, monitoring heart rate."
Wearables like Fitbit and Oura can detect coronavirus symptoms, new research shows - The Washington Post
On Thursday, researchers at WVU’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute reported that Oura ring data, combined with an app to measure cognition and other symptoms, can predict up to three days in advance when people will register a fever, coughing or shortness of breath. It can even predict someone’s exact temperature, like a weather forecast for the body.
Sustainability | Free Full-Text | Emotional Status and Productivity: Evidence from the Special Economic Zone in Laos | HTML
The device, SilmeeTMW20, is produced by the TDK Corporation Tokyo, Japan. The device measures 20.5 x 65 x 12.5 mm and weighs about 29.5 grams. It has built-in sensors to detect acceleration, pulse wave, environmental ultraviolet light, temperature, and sound through which it continuously records physical activity, beat-to-beat pulse intervals, skin temperature, and sleep. The ethics committee at Hiroshima University, Japan, approved the study protocol.
Xsens DOT
The Xsens DOT provides endless application possibilities. The platform comes fully equipped with a mobile SDK for Android and iOS. So you have everything you need to build a commercially attractive application which is super easy to integrate.
CES 2020: The Withings ScanWatch Says It Can Detect Sleep Apnea
Getting FDA clearance is big—it certainly lent credibility to the Series 4's ability to read ECGs. But it’s also a gamble. Unless you’re Apple, getting the FDA to clear a product can take months—which is exactly what happened to the Withings Move ECG last year. Despite being announced in January 2019, the watch got stuck in regulation hell. It finally became available in Europe in September, and as of this writing, it’s still not available in the U.S. While it’s admirable that Withings is sticking to its guns with the ScanWatch, there’s a real chance we won’t see it for months. Maybe even years.
Time in range: a new blood sugar metric for people with diabetes - STAT
With nearly 300 blood sugar measurements a day, CGMs offer a new way to evaluate how well an individual is controlling his or her diabetes: time in range. This is expressed as a percentage of the time an individual’s blood sugar is within the target values. This metric, recently endorsed by the American Diabetes Association and by an international consensus committee, correlates nicely with control of diabetes and the implied development of complications such as vision loss, kidney problems, and low blood sugar excursions. Greater time in range has been linked to more stable glucose control, which should lead to fewer complications.
Wrist-worn step trackers accurate in predicting patient health outcomes -- ScienceDaily
In the study, researchers conducted a 12-week, blinded, randomized, cross-over trial with 52 patients, a group that included adults with a history of respiratory problems during periods of elevated air pollution. Wrist step counters tracked patient steps for those 12 weeks; and patients also filled out respiratory symptom questionnaires.
Researchers found they could effectively estimate a patient's 6MWD results by using step counters, instead of having patients come in a clinical setting to do the 6MWD test.
"Instead of having one measurement every few months, you could have weekly measurements, and have information at disease progression at more frequent intervals. This is a significant improvement and enhanced convenience for our patients," said Dr. Blagev.
The implications? Using wrist step counters will allow physicians to track how their patients are doing, the progression of the disease, and whether a patient requires an immediate intervention.
"Being able to distill step counts into this clinically important metric is a first step in being able to think about how to use step counters in order to better manage health and detect deterioration earlier," Dr. Blagev added.
Biosensor 'bandage' collects and analyzes sweat -- ScienceDaily
To make their device, the researchers coated a flexible polyester film with a super-hydrophobic silica suspension. They then etched microwells into the silica layer to collect perspiration. At the bottom of the wells, they placed dyes that change color with pH or concentration of chloride, glucose or calcium. The team added an adhesive backing and attached the biosensor bandage onto a volunteer's skin. When the person exercised, their perspiration collected in the microwells, and the spots changed colors. By imaging and analyzing the colors with a cell phone, the researchers determined that the sweat pH was 6.5-7.0, with a chloride concentration of about 100 mM and trace amounts of calcium and glucose. The researchers are now working on increasing the sensitivity of the device.
Sensor created to detect dopamine, brain disorders, in seconds -- ScienceDaily
Current methods to detect dopamine are time consuming, require rigorous sample preparation, including blood-plasma separation, as well as specialized laboratory equipment. With this device, however, a few drops of blood on a palm-sized, rectangular chip is all that is needed.
"A neurotransmitter like dopamine is an important chemical to monitor for our overall well-being so we can help screen out neural disorders like Parkinson's disease, various brain cancers, and monitor mental health," said Debashis Chanda, an associate professor in UCF's NanoScience Technology Center and the study's principle investigator. "We need to monitor dopamine so that we can adjust our medical doses to help address those problems."
Plasma is separated from the blood within the chip. Cerium oxide nanoparticles, which coat the sensor surface, selectively capture dopamine at microscopic levels from the plasma. The capture of dopamine molecules subsequently changes how light is reflected from the sensor and creates an optical readout indicating the level of dopamine.
Can wearable technology identify irregular heart rhythms? -- ScienceDaily
Researchers at Stanford Medicine, in collaboration with Apple, launched the Apple Heart Study last November to determine whether a mobile app that uses the optical sensor on the Apple Watch to analyze pulse rate data can identify atrial fibrillation. The condition, which is characterized by an irregular heartbeat, often remains hidden because many people don't experience symptoms. Atrial fibrillation can increase the risk of stroke and heart failure.
A paper to be published online Nov. 1 in the American Heart Journal describes the design of this unique clinical trial, the largest screening study on atrial fibrillation ever done. Enrollment, which was conducted through an iPhone app, is now closed.
The study has entered the final phase of data collection and will be completed early next year, the researchers said. The Stanford team is led by principal investigators Mintu Turakhia, MD, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine, and Marco Perez, MD, assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine, and by study chair Kenneth Mahaffey, MD, professor of cardiovascular medicine.
"We hope this study will help us better understand how wearable technologies can inform precision health," said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine. "These new tools, which have the potential to predict, prevent and manage disease, are finally within our reach."
Exploring the dark-side of fitness trackers: Normalization, objectification and the anaesthetisation of human experience - ScienceDirect
normalize/objectify the embodied subject and contribute to an anesthetisation of human experience.
Heart rate variability: Get to know what it brings to the fitness party
Bottom line, it's an exciting time that more wearables are being able to tap into heart rate variability whether it's for improving fitness or just being able to know when you're feeling a bit stressed. This is really just the start of the relationship between the two, so don't be surprised if more HRV tracking devices are on their way over in the not too distant future.
Non-diabetics are using diabetes technology to track their blood sugar and improve their health - MarketWatch
She has found out all kinds of things, including that a banana, for example, is “one of the things that will spike my glucose the highest” — more than a cookie, she says. “It’s raised more questions than answers, honestly.”
As glucose monitoring technology has improved in recent years, with new continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) making it easier and less invasive to track glucose levels comprehensively over the course of days or weeks, non-diabetics have also seen an opening.
Because the devices require prescriptions in the U.S. and insurance coverage varies, it can be a troublesome and expensive endeavor. But Grant and others believe the effort is worth it. Glucose tracking can help people understand their health, they say, gaining insight into things like diet, exercise and energy levels. And research has begun to suggest that the information could also help people who are at risk of diabetes or heart disease.
Pay to play
Exercise-based cardiac rehab programs have proven to reduce mortality in ischemic heart disease patients by 30 percent, but buy-in to excersise regiments has been historically low, according to the study's authors. They also noted that there has been a robust discussion around wearables’ ability to remotely monitor health behaviors, but little evidence that the devices lead to an improved behavior over a long period of time. However, past studies have showed that money does motivate behaviors.
Wearable technology and AI to predict the onset of health problems -- ScienceDaily
The study monitored active, healthy men in their twenties who wore a shirt for four days that incorporated sensors for heart rate, breathing and acceleration. They then compared the readings with laboratory responses and found that it was possible to accurately predict health-related benchmarks during daily activities using only the smart shirt.
"The research found a way to process biological signals and generate a meaningful single number to track fitness," said Richard Hughson, co-author and kinesiology professor at the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging.
Above Avalon: Apple Watch Is a Bridge to the Future
My recent Apple Store observation is not an isolated incident. More people are buying Apple Watches these days. During the three quarters leading up Apple's FY1Q18, Apple Watch unit sales have been up at least 50 percent year-over-year. From a unit sales perspective, this works out to Apple Watch sales trending at a little less than 20M units on an annual basis. In what will come as a surprise to most people, Apple Watch likely outsold Amazon Echo during the holidays despite Apple Watch selling for nearly 10x more money.
Based on unit sales, the Apple Watch business is currently about the size of the Mac business. When considering that the Apple Watch is less than three years old, for the product to be nearly outselling Mac on an annual basis is quite the achievement.
Analysis shows wearable data could help identify mental health conditions in diabetic populations | MobiHealthNews
Kumar said that individuals with mental health illnesses (MHI) are also at a higher risk for developing diabetes than those without. This is because MHI is associated with unhealthy eating habits, less physical activity and a potential increase in weight.
The analysis, which was complied by using data from general Achievement use, found that diabetes patients that self-reported symptoms of MHI walk on average 1,469 steps less per day than those without MHI symptoms. The mean daily steps taken by diabetes patients with no MHI symptoms was 7,032, compared to patients with MHI symptoms who walked 5,663 steps a day.
Participants with MHI symptoms had a lower frequency of days with high activity levels and more frequent days with lower activity levels than their counterparts without MHI symptoms. There was little difference in sleep between the two groups; patients with MHI symptoms slept an average of 6.48 hours and those with MHI symptoms slept an average of 6.72 hours.
The analysis looked at survey results from 1,330 participants with diabetes. Three hundred and thirty-six or 25.3 percent reported having some MHI in the last year. Of that 77 percent reported having anxiety symptoms and 23.7 percent reported having some form of depression.
A heartbeat-like vibration can reduce the anxiety associated with public speaking
“Rather than worrying about measuring physiological variables, such as heart rate, steps taken and burnt calories through the use of wearables, we can think of new ways to exploit this technology by making it more embodied, more embedded and more affective,” Tsakiris said. “We can use fundamental biological signals to change the way we think and feel.”
Wearing a 'heart' on your sleeve can reduce stress -- ScienceDaily
To test the efficacy of doppel, the researchers exposed volunteers to a socially stressful situation and measured their physiological arousal and their reported anxiety levels.
In a controlled, single-blind study, two groups of participants were asked to prepare a public speech -- a widely used psychological task that consistently increases stress. All participants wore the device on their wrist and a cover story was used to suggest to participants that the device was measuring blood pressure during the anticipation of the task. Importantly, for only one of the two groups of participants, the device was turned on and delivered a heartbeat-like vibration at a slower frequency than the participants' resting heart rate, while they were preparing their speech.
The researchers measured both physiological arousal and subjective reports of anxiety. The use of doppel had a tangible and measurable calming effect across both physiological and psychological levels. Only the participants who felt the heartbeat-like vibration displayed lower increases in skin conductance responses and lower anxiety levels.
"Wearable devices are becoming ubiquitous in everyday life, but across the board their primary aim is to quantify our activity. The results we got suggest that, rather than measuring ourselves, we can instead harvest our natural responses to heartbeat like rhythms in ways that can assist people in their everyday life." said Professor Tsakiris.
Long term heart rate elevation from past stimulant use
The effect on heart rate was in large part driven by current use of medication, although at one time point (8 years) there was a significant effect of cumulative exposure regardless of current use.
Verily Blog: Introducing Verily Study Watch
Study Watch will be used in several observational studies conducted by Verily’s partners, including the Personalized Parkinson’s Project, a multi-year study to identify patterns in the progression of Parkinson’s disease and provide a foundation for more personalized treatments. Also, Study Watch will be used in the forthcoming Baseline study, a longitudinal study exploring transitions between health and disease. In the future, we plan to incorporate Study Watch in a broad array of health applications.
Tech world aims to tackle the mental health issue next
“Jawbone and Basis have previously used GSR technology in their wearables to determine perspiration levels and heart rate, but I believe that its potential hasn’t been fully explored yet. I continue to believe that next year Fitbit and other major players in the wearables space will start expanding the capabilities of their device by adding additional sensors,” says Jijiashvili.
Towards a study of exercise impact on schizophrenia
We aim to conduct a trial where these methodological considerations are addressed by comparing a 12-week aerobic high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program to skills training of the same duration, with regard to: 1) aspects of cognitive function, especially memory, attention and executive function, and 2) psychiatric symptom load (negative and positive symptoms) and wellbeing. Post-treatment improvement in cognition and psychotic symptoms are anticipated. We hypothesize that the individuals in the Exercise Group (EG) will perform better than individuals in the Computer Skills Group (CSG) on aspects of cognitive function, especially memory, attention and executive function. In addition, we expect ameliorated positive and negative symptoms in the EG.
A Test That Finds the Perfect Drug? - The Atlantic
Brain Resource, meanwhile, gives depression patients an online test that gauges memory, self-regulation, and emotion. Their responses are then compared against a database that contains the results of 1,000 individuals who took the same test. The thinking is that patients who score similarly will be helped by similar drugs. Currently, Brain Resource evaluates a patient’s likely response to three common depression drugs, which are sold under the brand names Lexapro, Zoloft, and Effexor. The online test takes 40 minutes, and according to Brain Resource’s founders, the results are available within two minutes. (The test is currently awaiting FDA approval.)
