Wearable Fabric Loop Sensor Based on Magnetic-Field-Induced Conductivity for Simultaneous Detection of Cardiac Activity and Respiration Signals.

In this study, a noncontact fabric loop sensor based on magnetic-field-induced conductivity, which can simultaneously detect cardiac activity and respiration signals, was developed and the effects of the sensor's shape and measurement position on the sensing performance were analyzed. Fifteen male subjects in their twenties wore sleeveless shirts equipped with various types of fabric loop sensors (spiky, extrusion, and spiral), and the cardiac activity and respiratory signals were measured twice at positions P2, P4, and P6. The measurements were verified by comparing them against the reference electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiratory signals measured using BIOPAC (MP150, ECG100B, RSP100C).

Efficacy of tooth brushing via a three-dimensional motion tracking system for dental plaque control in school children: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: School children are in a developmental period in which permanent teeth replace primary dentition. It is also a period with a high incidence of gingivitis and caries, which can be improved with adequate tooth brushing. Advances in information technology have led to the development of smart health devices that assist in tooth brushing.

Conditions for CNT - Coated Textile Sensors Applied to Wearable Platforms to Monitor Limb Joint Motion.

Despite recent research on joint motion measurement to monitor human body movement, current measurement techniques and tools have significant limitations, including requiring large space for measurement and causing discomfort in test subjects wearing motion sensors. Our study aims, first, to develop carbon nanotube (CNT)-based textile joint motion sensors. Second, ours study aims to identify the most suitable CNT-based sensor structure and attachment method for use on a wearable platform during general exercise speeds.

The Effect of Electrode Designs Based on the Anatomical Heart Location for the Non-Contact Heart Activity Measurement.

This research is an extension of a previous research [1] on the different effects of sensor location that is relatively suitable for heart rate sensing. This research aimed to elucidate the causes of wide variations in heart rate measurements from the same sensor position among subjects, as observed in previous research [1], and to enhance designs of the inductive textile electrode to overcome these variations. To achieve this, this study comprised two parts: In part 1, X-ray examinations were performed to determine the cause of the wide variations noted in the findings from previous research [1], and we found that at the same sensor position, the heart activity signal differed with slight differences in the positions of the heart of each subject owing to individual differences in the anatomical heart location.

Removal of baseline wandering in ECG signal by improved detrending method.

The very first step to process electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is to eliminate baseline wandering interference that is usually caused by electrode-skin impedance mismatch, motion artifacts due to a patient's body moment or respiratory breathing. A new method is thus suggested to remove baseline wandering in ECG by improving the detrending method that was originally proposed for eliminating slow non-stationary trends from heart rate variability (HRV). In our proposed method, a global trend is estimated in terms of baseline wandering by merging the local trend based on an ECG segment that represents a part of the ECG signal.

Measurement of high-resolution mechanical contraction of cardiac muscle by induced eddy current.

There are many types of devices which help to manage a personal health conditions such as heartbeat chest belt, pedometer and smart watch. And the most common device has the relationship with heart rate or ECG data. However, users have to attach some electrode or fasten the belt on the bare skin to measure bio-signal information.

Efficacy of computer-assisted, 3D motion-capture toothbrushing instruction.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of computer-assisted TBI using a smart toothbrush (ST) and smart mirror (SM) in plaque control to that of conventional TBI.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated the plaque removal efficacy of a ST comprising a computer-assisted, wirelessly linked, three-dimensional (3D) motion-capture, data-logging, and SM system in TBI. We also evaluated the efficacy of TBI with a ST and SM system by analyzing the reductions of the modified Quigley-Hein plaque index in 60 volunteers.

Toothbrushing region detection using three-axis accelerometer and magnetic sensor.

Due to the possible occurrence of periodontal disease at an early age, it is important to have proper toothbrushing habits as early as possible. With this aim, the feasibility and concept of a smart toothbrush (ST) capable of tracing toothbrushing motion and orientation information was suggested. In this study, we proposed the advanced ST system and brushing region classification algorithm.

Analysis of lower limb bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease patients.

Aim: Bradykinesia of the lower limb is an important limiting factor of the quality of life in parkinsonian patients. This study aims to develop quantitative measures of bradykinesia and to investigate the possible dissociation of amplitude and velocity measures and their dependence on movement direction during toe-tapping.

Methods: Subjects included 39 patients with PD, as well as 14 healthy control subjects.

SPECT Reconstruction with Sub-Sinogram Acquisitions.

Described herein are the advantages of using sub-sinograms for single photon emission computed tomography image reconstruction. A sub-sinogram is a sinogram acquired with an entire data acquisition protocol, but in a fraction of the total acquisition time. A total-sinogram is the summation of all sub-sinograms.

Heart monitoring garments using textile electrodes for healthcare applications.

We measured the electrical activity signals of the heart through vital signs monitoring garments that have textile electrodes in conductive yarns while the subject is in stable and dynamic motion conditions. To measure the electrical activity signals of the heart during daily activities, four types of monitoring garment were proposed. Two experiments were carried out as follows: the first experiment sought to discover which garment led to the least displacement of the textile electrode from its originally intended location on the wearer's body.

Prioritizing problem features in Korean patients with senile dementia for implementation of monitoring technologies.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the central problem features of Korean patients with senile dementia and to prioritize the features according to risk to the patient with a view to the implementation of remote monitoring technologies. Twenty central problem features were extracted using factorial analysis. The frequency of violent language and confabulation, gathering, and repetition was significantly greater in female than in male patients with senile dementia.

Portable activity monitoring system for temporal parameters of gait cycles.

A portable and wireless activity monitoring system was developed for the estimation of temporal gait parameters. The new system was built using three-axis accelerometers to automatically detect walking steps with various walking speeds. The accuracy of walking step-peak detection algorithm was assessed by using a running machine with variable speeds.

Interactive toothbrushing education by a smart toothbrush system via 3D visualization.

The very first step for keeping good dental hygiene is to employ the correct toothbrushing style. Due to the possible occurrence of periodontal disease at an early age, it is critical to begin correct toothbrushing patterns as early as possible. With this aim, we proposed a novel toothbrush monitoring and training system to interactively educate on toothbrushing behavior in terms of the correct brushing motion and grip axis orientation.

Reusable electrical activity of the heart monitoring patch for mobile/ubiquitous healthcare.

In order to monitor electrical activity of the heart during daily life, we present an electrode of a medical instrument system which is able to measure the body surface potential difference by minimizing the electrode distance. The designed electrode is composed of concentric circles. It was made from the basis of the Laplacian equation, and implemented on PCB coated with gold.

Application for the wearable heart activity monitoring system: analysis of the autonomic function of HRV.

The wearable patch-style heart activity monitoring system (HAMS) which was used for recording ECG signal in this study is self-developed. This electrode design helps the non-restricted, non-aware and non-invasive ECG measurement. The modified bipolar electrode is convenient in use because it is designed for easy attachment and detachment with ECG measuring module by snap button.

Tooth brushing pattern classification using three-axis accelerometer and magnetic sensor for smart toothbrush.

The concept of intelligent toothbrush, capable of monitoring brushing motion, orientation through the grip axis, during toothbrushing was suggested in our previous study. In this study, we describe a tooth brushing pattern classification algorithm using three-axis accelerometer and three-axis magnetic sensor. We have found that inappropriate tooth brushing pattern showed specific moving patterns.

Wearable accelerometer system for measuring the temporal parameters of gait.

A small and wireless accelerometer system was developed for the estimation of temporal gait parameters. The new system was built using two 3-axis accelerometers. Measurement's accuracy was assessed using as a criterion standard provided by foot switches.

Image segmentation of human forearms in infrared image.

Due to the possibility of detecting certain physiological conditions from thermal features of the skin surface acquired from infrared thermal imaging, the health conditions of a person can be revealed by analyzing the thermal signatures of his or her forearms regions in an infrared image. The assessment of hand's or arm's temperature distribution for clinical diagnosis or monitoring requires the confinement of region of interest (ROI) on the forearms regions. Hence, the purpose of this study is automatically to segment forearms regions in an infrared thermal image so that the clinicians can able to locate the interested regions and extract the skin temperature distributions with a high degree of reproducibility.

Development of smart toothbrush monitoring system for ubiquitous healthcare.

The design of an intelligent toothbrush, capable of monitoring brushing motion, orientation through the grip axis, during toothbrushing is described. Inappropriate tooth-brushing styles, even in adults, sometimes cause dental problems, cavities, gingivitis, etc. This smart system provides user to monitor his or her brushing pattern using accelerometer and magnetic sensors for evaluation of toothbrushing style.

A robust human identification by normalized time-domain features of electrocardiogram.

This study investigates the possibility of using the normalized time-domain features of Electrocardiogram (ECG) for improving the capability of human identification. For this purpose, we measured lead-1 rest ECG (normal heart rate) and physically active one (fast heart rate) from the pre-selected group. The characteristic points on the ECG waveform, P, QRS, T are extracted in terms of its time location and the ECG data is reconstructed in beat-by-beat basis by Fourier synthesis.

WHAM: A novel, wearable heart activity monitor based on Laplacian potential mapping.

In this paper, a novel, wearable cardiac monitor (hereafter called WHAM) is proposed which allows a continuous and real-time monitoring of user's cardiac conditions. The proposed device is composed of 3 main components: a disposable electrode, a controller, and personal gateway (e.g.

Estimation of activity energy expenditure: accelerometer approach.

A novel algorithm estimating the calorie expenditure during physical activities is introduced. The physical activity is quantified by the integration of the accelerometer signals obtained from the 3D accelerometer fixed at the waist level of the human body. Simultaneous measurements of activity and calorie expenditure using 3D accelerometer and gas analyzer show the activity calorie expenditure increases as the activity increases with different rates depending on the type of activities (e.