{"id":5906,"date":"2012-07-18T22:26:46","date_gmt":"2012-07-18T22:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/?p=5906"},"modified":"2012-07-18T22:31:32","modified_gmt":"2012-07-18T22:31:32","slug":"a-wearable-vital-signs-monitor-at-the-ear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/a-wearable-vital-signs-monitor-at-the-ear\/","title":{"rendered":"A Wearable Vital-signs Monitor at the Ear"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygenation, cardiac output, and respiratory rate are necessary in determining the overall health of a patient.\u00a0 Continuous monitoring of these vital signs can help healthcare workers assess the wearer&#8217;s overall state of health and identify risks for cardiovascular diseases<sup> [<a href=\"#footnote_0_5906\" id=\"identifier_0_5906\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"S. D. Pierdomenico, M. Di Nicola, A. L. Esposito, R. Di Mascio, E. Ballone, D. Lapenna and F. Cuccurullo, &ldquo;Prognostic value of different indices of blood pressure variability in hypertensive patients,&rdquo; American Journal of Hypertension, pp. 842-847, June 2009.\">1<\/a>] <\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>We propose the site behind the ear as a location for an integrated wearable vital signs monitor<sup> [<a href=\"#footnote_1_5906\" id=\"identifier_1_5906\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"D. He, E. S. Winokur, T. Heldt, and C. G. Sodini, &ldquo;The ear as a location for wearable vital signs monitoring,&rdquo; IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, pp. 6389-6392, Sept. 2010.\">2<\/a>] <\/sup>. This location offers physiological signals such as the electrocardiogram (ECG), the photoplethysmogram (PPG), and the ballistocardiogram (BCG). The ECG measures the electrical activity from the heart and offers heart rate information. The PPG measures the blood volume and color under the skin using optical illumination. The PPG offers information such as continuous heart rate and blood oxygenation. The BCG measures the body\u2019s mechanical reaction to the blood expelled by the heart and also provides the heart rate.<\/p>\n<p>Using the peak timing data from ECG and BCG, the heart\u2019s pre-ejection period (PEP) can be measured<sup> [<a href=\"#footnote_2_5906\" id=\"identifier_2_5906\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-identifier-link\" title=\"D. He, E. S. Winokur, and C. G. Sodini, &ldquo;A continuous, wearable, and wireless heart monitor using head ballistocardiogram (BCG) and head electrocardiogram (ECG),&rdquo; IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, pp. 4729-4732, Aug. 2011.\">3<\/a>] <\/sup>. The PEP is a measure of heart contractility and heart muscle health. Figure 1 compares the measured RJ interval and PEP during a Valsalva breath-holding maneuver.<\/p>\n<p>The device is designed to use the ear as a discreet and a natural anchor that reduces device visibility and the need for skin adhesives. A photo of our prototype device is shown in Figure 2. While the prototype currently uses off-the-shelf components, custom integrated circuits are being designed to replace those components to significantly decrease the device\u2019s size and power consumption.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-5906 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_01-e1342126466935.png' rel=\"lightbox[5906]\"><img width=\"300\" height=\"213\" src=\"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_01-300x213.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Figure 1\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-5907\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_01-300x213.png 300w, https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_01-1024x727.png 1024w, https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_01-e1342126466935.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-5907'>\n\t\t\t\tFigure 1: Top &#8211; The RJ interval timing from the ECG and BCG during a Valsalva maneuver. Bottom &#8211; Simultaneously measured pre-ejection period (PEP).\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_02-e1342126370834.jpg' rel=\"lightbox[5906]\"><img width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_02-300x169.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Figure 2\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-5908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_02-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_02-1024x579.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/15\/files\/2012\/07\/winokur_ear_02-e1342126370834.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-5908'>\n\t\t\t\tFigure 2: Left &#8211; The wearable vital signs monitor. Center &#8211; A PC USB wireless receiver. Right &#8211; The vital signs monitor being worn at the ear with ECG electrodes attached.  \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<ol class=\"footnotes\"><li id=\"footnote_0_5906\" class=\"footnote\">S. D. Pierdomenico, M. Di Nicola, A. L. Esposito, R. Di Mascio, E. Ballone, D. Lapenna and F. Cuccurullo, &#8220;Prognostic value of different indices of blood pressure variability in hypertensive patients,&#8221; <em>American Journal of Hypertension<\/em>, pp. 842-847, June 2009. [<a href=\"#identifier_0_5906\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>] <\/li><li id=\"footnote_1_5906\" class=\"footnote\">D. He, E. S. Winokur, T. Heldt, and C. G. Sodini, \u201cThe ear as a location for wearable vital signs monitoring,\u201d <em>IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference<\/em>, pp. 6389-6392, Sept. 2010. [<a href=\"#identifier_1_5906\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>] <\/li><li id=\"footnote_2_5906\" class=\"footnote\">D. He, E. S. Winokur, and C. G. Sodini, \u201cA continuous, wearable, and wireless heart monitor using head ballistocardiogram (BCG) and head electrocardiogram (ECG),\u201d <em>IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference<\/em>, pp. 4729-4732<em>, <\/em>Aug. 2011. [<a href=\"#identifier_2_5906\" class=\"footnote-link footnote-back-link\">&#8617;<\/a>] <\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygenation, cardiac output, and respiratory rate are necessary in determining the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5530],"tags":[6222,4147,4148],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5906"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5906"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6486,"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5906\/revisions\/6486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}