Category: Monitoring

Categories
Brain EEG Monitoring

FDA approves EEG-based device to diagnose ADHD

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm360811.htm

US regulators have approved a device that analyzes brain activity to help confirm a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children ages 6-17.  It records different kinds of electrical impulses given off by neurons in the brain and the frequency the impulses are given off each second.

The EEG based, Neuropsychiatric EEG-Based Assessment Aid test is noninvasive, takes 20 minutes, and is designed to measure theta and beta brain waves via sensors attached to the child’s head.  Both brain frequencies are at higher levels in children and teens with ADHD

Categories
Monitoring Sensors

Health monitoring car seats, steering wheels and seat belts

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2360694/Ford-car-monitor-HEALTH-drive–ill-fall-asleep.html

Ford is testing health monitoring smart seats, steering wheels and seat belts in India. Technologies include steering wheel positioned infrared sensors that monitor a driver’s hands and face, and temperature monitors that can detect seizures.  Examples of use include a car that can drive itself if a driver becomes ill or falls asleep, and “car ambulances” that contain medical sensors that enable doctors to examine patients remotely.  The company believes that similar sensors, with similar applications, will soon become a part of all vehicles.

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Monitoring Seniors Sensors

Sensor based fall detector for seniors

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/medical-and-healthcare/news/fall-sensor-for-elderly-receives-2m-to-improve-technology/1016542.article

Vigi’Fall detects falls using multidimensional contextual analysis.  It is a miniature accelerometric box attached to the chest with an adhesive patch.  Motion sensors are placed in several rooms of the home and doubt-removal software is placed in a home box.  The system is linked to a remote call center which contacts rescue teams in the event of a fall.  The next phase of the product will incorporate heartbeat monitoring.

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Brain mHealth Monitoring Sensors

Sports sensors warn of head injury

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/business/a-wearable-alert-to-head-injuries-in-sports.html?_r=0

The New York Times reports on the growing trend of sensor based protection/early warning systems for athletes. The devices, packed with sensors and microprocessors, register a blow to a player’s skull and immediately signal the news by blinking brightly, or by sending a wireless alert.  Algorithms evaluate the impact and determine severity.

 

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Cancer Monitoring

Nanotube sensor detects skin cancer

http://www.monell.org/news/news_releases/monell_led_research_identifies_scent_of_melanoma

A study from the Monell Center and the University of Pennsylvania suggests that non-invasive odor analysis may be a valuable technique in the detection and early diagnosis of human melanoma.  The researchers used sophisticated sampling and analytical techniques to identify VOCs from melanoma cells at three stages of the disease, as well as from normal melanocytes. All the cells were grown in culture.  They then examined VOCs from normal melanocytes and melanoma cells using a sensor constructed of nano-sized carbon tubes coated with strands of DNA and bioengineered to recognize a wide variety of targets, including specific odor molecules.

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mHealth Monitoring

Emotionally reactive avatars treat patients at home

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/514881/the-avatar-will-see-you-now/

Remote monitoring systems are increasing able to capture a patient’s state of mind and body.

Using Sense.ly’s platform, patients can communicate their condition to an emotionally reactive avatar through their phone, desktop, or TV. The avatar asks the patient simple questions, and if programmed by a doctor, it can also answer questions—such as what a diabetes patient with high blood-sugar readings should eat that day. The software also collects data from other medical devices that a patient uses, such as a glucose meter, and can capture gestures with Kinect. The reports sent to the doctor include red-flag notifications to act on right away; charts, graphs, and analytics tracing the patient’s progress over time; and a transcript of the voice interaction.

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Babies Monitoring Sensors Sleep

Sensor and smartphone based baby monitor

http://medcitynews.com/2013/06/sensors-and-smartphones-bring-the-baby-monitor-into-2013/

Sensible Baby’s “Smart One”  is a small, round sensor worn inside a newborn’s onesie. It constantly measures a baby’s temperature, position and chest movement, and sends the data to a smartphone app once per second.  Parents can program their app to set off an alert when the baby isn’t moving, reaches a temperature above a certain threshold, or is sleeping on its stomach.

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Diabetes Monitoring

Non-invasive diabetes monitoring through breath analysis

http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/diabetes-breathalyzer

University of Pittsburgh professor Alexander Star, Dan Sorescu of the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and graduate student Mengning Ding have demonstrated sensor technology that could simplify the diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes through breath analysis alone.

The researchers used a “sol-gel approach,” a method for using small molecules (often on a nanoscale level) to produce solid materials. The team combined titanium dioxide with carbon nanotubes, which acted as “skewers” to hold the particles together.  This method effectively combined the electrical properties of the tubes with the light-illuminating powers of the titanium dioxide. They then created the sensor device by using these materials as an electrical semiconductor, measuring its electrical resistance (the sensor’s signal).

The ability to diagnose and monitor diabetes through cheaper, noninvasive methods could completely change the paradigm of self-monitoring.

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Apps fitness mHealth Monitoring

mHealth timeline, 2009 – 2013

http://mobihealthnews.com/22674/timeline-smartphone-enabled-health-devices/

Sensors are becoming smaller, smarter, and more ubiquitous,  and have transformed the way we monitor our health.  Attached is a timeline of health and fitness apps from 2009 through today, providing an interesting look at the development of the mHealth market.

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Conference Monitoring Sensors

Bio-integrated electronic tattoo measures vital signs and muscle movement

http://www.utexas.edu/know/2013/06/07/high-tech-tattoos-health-care-solutions/

Professor Nanshu Lu at The University of Texas is developing the next-generation of flexible/stretchable electronics, photonics and therapeutics.  Pioneered by John Rogers at the University of Illionois, flexible skin “tattoos” measure vital signs and muscle movement, transmitting data wirelessly and harvesting solar energy. Future versions may play critical roles inside the body in watching for signs of disease or damage, or treating problems automatically.

Professor Lu has designed a bio-integrated electronic tattoo. The ultrathin, ultrasoft stamp-sized patch clings to the human skin without adhesive, which would interrupt electrical connectivity.  Lu’s area of expertise — the interface of flexible electronics with biosystems — is one of three areas crucial to the future of bio-integrated electronics, the others being wireless data transmission and wireless power transmission.

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Data Heart Machine Learning Monitoring Respiratory

Machine learning in the ICU

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/515461/machine-learning-and-risk-prediction-in-the-icu/

Etiometry is building a clinical-decision support system to interpret large volumes of real-time patient data and guide diagnosis and treatment.  It integrates and analyzes information from heart monitors, ventilators, and pressure sensors and plugs the data into predictive models that have been built on prior patient outcomes.

Categories
Monitoring Respiratory

Fiber optic device for lung disease detection

http://www.cir.ed.ac.uk/news/multidisciplinary-optical-imaging-team-awarded-£115m

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University and the University of Bath have developed a fiber-optic device to detect potentially fatal lung conditions in intensive care patients.   Its sensors will also continuously monitor blood in critically ill adults and babies with out the need for blood sampling.

The microscopic probe will detect and monitor up to 20 signs of disease in people on breathing support.  Infections, inflammation and scarring will be picked up by the probe, which is designed to be passed into the lungs and blood vessels.

Researchers hope that the probe will also help in the diagnosis of acute urinary, gastrointestinal and reproductive tract problems.