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Published on: January 22, 2018
Minimally obtrusive wearable device for continuous interactive cognitive and neurological assessment
Antoni Ivorra1, Charlotte Daniels, Boris Rubinsky
1Department of Bioengineering, University of California at Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. antoni.ivorra@gmail.com
Physiological Measurement
|April 23, 2008
Summary
A new wearable system can continuously assess cognitive performance during daily life. This wristwatch-like device uses haptic feedback and accelerometers to monitor responses, proving feasible for neurological diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Continuous cognitive assessment is crucial for diagnosing and managing neurological conditions.
- Current methods are often limited to clinical settings, restricting real-world data acquisition.
- Developing unobtrusive systems for in-home monitoring is a significant challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the feasibility of a wearable system for continuous cognitive performance assessment during normal daily activities.
- To introduce a novel approach utilizing peripheral nervous system excitation and central nervous system response detection.
- To evaluate the practicality and impact of such a system on users' lives.
Main Methods:
- A wristwatch-sized wearable device was developed, employing haptic excitation (vibration) to interrogate subjects.
- Subtle hand movements, indicative of central nervous system response, were recorded using accelerometers.
- The system was programmed for simple reaction time trials and tested on ten volunteers over 8-hour periods.
Main Results:
- Volunteers successfully responded to over 95% of the system's interrogations.
- The wearable device had a negligible impact on the participants' everyday activities.
- The system demonstrated reliable data collection during continuous, real-world use.
Conclusions:
- A minimally obtrusive wearable system for continuous cognitive assessment is feasible.
- This technology holds potential for revolutionizing the diagnostics and treatment of neurological disorders.
- Further development could lead to widespread clinical applications for monitoring cognitive health.
