Hardware Prototype for Wrist-Worn Simultaneous Monitoring of Environmental, Behavioral, and Physiological Parameters

Abstract

We designed a low-cost wrist-worn prototype for simultaneously measuring environmental, behavioral, and physiological domains of influencing factors in healthcare. Our prototype continuously monitors ambient elements (sound level, toxic gases, ultraviolet radiation, air pressure, temperature, and humidity), personal activity (motion tracking and body positioning using gyroscope, magnetometer, and accelerometer), and vital signs (skin temperature and heart rate). An innovative three-dimensional hardware, based on the multi-physical-layer approach is introduced. Using board-to-board connectors, several physical hardware layers are stacked on top of each other. All of these layers consist of integrated and/or add-on sensors to measure certain domain (environmental, behavioral, or physiological). The prototype includes centralized data processing, transmission, and visualization. Bi-directional communication is based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and can connect to smartphones as well as smart cars and smart homes for data analytic and adverse-event alerts. This study aims to develop a prototype for simultaneous monitoring of the all three areas for monitoring of workplaces and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with a concentration on technical development and validation rather than clinical investigation. We have implemented 6 prototypes which have been tested by 5 volunteers. We have asked the subjects to test the prototype in a daily routine in both indoor (workplaces and laboratories) and outdoor. We have not imposed any specific conditions for the tests. All presented data in this work are from the same prototype. Eleven sensors measure fifteen parameters from three domains. The prototype delivers the resolutions of 0.1 part per million (PPM) for air quality parameters, 1 dB, 1 index, and 1 °C for sound pressure level, UV, and skin temperature, respectively. The battery operates for 12.5 h under the maximum sampling rates of sensors without recharging. The final expense does not exceed 133€. We validated all layers and tested the entire device with a 75 min recording. The results show the appropriate functionalities of the prototype for further development and investigations.

Wearable Devices in Health Monitoring from the Environmental towards Multiple Domains: A Survey

“…Authors in Reference [ 77 ] have reported 133 € as the final cost of the prototype. We review the principles, features and specifications, and applications of G3 devices in Table 6 and Table 7 .…”

“…Similarly, disease and specific application devices have grown their share from 3 in G2 to 8 in G3 devices ( Figure 8 , bottom line view, left). In particular, References [ 77 , 80 , 81 ] have been designed for monitoring COPD, asthma, and respiratory disease, respectively. Besides, References [ 79 , 82 , 84 , 85 ] have been designed for firefighters which are applied in health and safety (H&S).…”

Wearable Devices for Environmental Monitoring in the Built Environment: A Systematic Review

“…In [ 73 , 74 ], the same authors focused on the design and development of the case of this wearable, which was manufactured using additive manufacturing techniques. In [ 75 ], the same authors reported the development of this multi-layered wearable that can capture parameters from the environmental, behavioural, and physiological domains.…”

General Conceptual Framework of Future Wearables in Healthcare: Unified, Unique, Ubiquitous, and Unobtrusive (U4) for Customized Quantified Output

“…Wearable devices can be worn on any part of the body (e.g., wrist, arm, head, neck, foot, or waist) enabling data exchange. They have been applied in various fields from safety [3], navigation [4], fitness [5], and sport [6] to healthcare [7], entertainment [8], and industry [9], and they have been introduced as important players in the Internet of Things (IoT) era [10]. With the application of wearable technology, the future might be quicker, healthier, safer, and more entertaining.…”

“…Additionally, from an economic perspective, the wearable must be affordable and worth purchasing (cost-effective) [50]. Thus, we introduce C4 as the criteria for a qualified wearable to represent the users' demands, which include: cost-effective, convenient, continuous, and complete [7].…”