Laboratory-Based Wearable Heart Rate Data Efficacies for Informing Real-world Department of Defense Wearables...

Area of Science:

• Military Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Wearable device efficacy is critical for soldier performance and Department of Defense (DoD) mission readiness.
• Current validation often occurs in labs, with limited understanding of real-world data translation.
• This study assesses wearable data accuracy in both controlled and operational settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare wearable data efficacy from lab-based versus real-world protocols.
• To evaluate the suitability of current validation methods for DoD wearable requirements.
• To inform DoD decisions regarding wearable technology adoption and validation.

Main Methods:

• Collected heart rate (HR) data from 40-70 participants during lab protocols and Spartan races.
• Utilized Garmin fēnix 6X Pro Solar (GM) and Polar H10 chest strap (PT) as ground truth.
• Compared GM HR efficacy across lab and race datasets, applying data contextualization.

Main Results:

• Garmin HR accuracy was consistent between lab and race data for moderate-to-high intensity activities.
• Efficacy decreased with increasing activity intensity and dynamics.
• Low-intensity activity accuracy in races aligned with lab-based daily living data.

Conclusions:

• Lab-based validation protocols exhibit strong ecological validity for DoD scenarios.
• Minor discrepancies may arise from activity type differences or contextualization model limitations.
• Future research should incorporate military demographics and diverse activities for a refined DoD validation framework.