Earable ZEN: Development of an Earphone-Type Zazen Support Wearable System

Area of Science:

• Integrative medicine and wearable technology.
• Biomedical engineering and sensor technology.

Background:

• Meditation, including zazen, is increasingly integrated into mental health care and therapeutic interventions for conditions like hypertension and pain.
• Traditional zazen practice requires specific posture and breathing control, often necessitating a dedicated environment or monitor.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a wearable system, earable ZEN, facilitating independent zazen practice.
• To assess the system's accuracy in monitoring user breathing and posture during meditation.

Main Methods:

• Development of the earable ZEN system, featuring an earphone-type sensor for breathing and posture detection and a neck belt actuator for feedback.
• An evaluation experiment with seven healthy subjects simulating disturbed breathing (mouth breathing) and posture (nodding).
• Measurement of system performance using accuracy, precision, and recall metrics.

Main Results:

• The earable ZEN demonstrated high performance, achieving 99.9% accuracy for mouth breathing and 100% for nodding.
• Precision values averaged 98.7% for mouth breathing and 100% for nodding.
• Recall values were 97.1% for mouth breathing and 100% for nodding; users found the wearable components unobtrusive.

Conclusions:

• The earable ZEN system effectively and accurately monitors breathing and posture during zazen meditation.
• This wearable technology offers a convenient and accessible method for individuals to practice zazen independently, supporting mental well-being.