Validation of a Novel Wearable Multistream Data Acquisition and Analysis System for Ergonomic Studies

Nowadays, the growing interest in gathering physiological data and human behavior in everyday life scenarios is paralleled by an increase in wireless devices recording brain and body signals. However, the technical issues that characterize these solutions often limit the full brain-related assessments in real-life scenarios. Here we introduce the Biohub platform, a hardware/software (HW/SW) integrated wearable system for multistream synchronized acquisitions. This system consists of off-the-shelf hardware and state-of-art open-source software components, which are highly integrated into a high-tech low-cost solution, complete, yet easy to use outside conventional labs. It flexibly cooperates with several devices, regardless of the manufacturer, and overcomes the possibly limited resources of recording devices. The Biohub was validated through the characterization of the quality of (i) multistream synchronization, (ii) in-lab electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings compared with a medical-grade high-density device, and (iii) a Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) in a real driving condition. Results show that this system can reliably acquire multiple data streams with high time accuracy and record standard quality EEG signals, becoming a valid device to be used for advanced ergonomics studies such as driving, telerehabilitation, and occupational safety.

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PyDOSS: An open-source Python-based communicable disease outbreak surveillance system designed and used in a COVID-19 community care facility (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.21760 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew Fang ◽

Jonathan Kia-Sheng Phua ◽

Terrence Chiew ◽

Daniel De-Liang Loh ◽

Lincoln Ming Han Liow ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Open Source ◽

Surveillance System ◽

Community Care ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Low Cost ◽

Real Life ◽

Disease Outbreak ◽

Disease Spread ◽

Healthcare Team ◽

Increased Risk

BACKGROUND During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, community care facilities (CCF) were set up as temporary out-of-hospital isolation facilities to contain the surge of cases in Singapore. Confined living spaces within CCFs posed an increased risk of communicable disease spread among residents. OBJECTIVE This inspired our healthcare team managing a CCF operation to design a low-cost communicable disease outbreak surveillance system (CDOSS). METHODS Our CDOSS was designed with the following considerations: (1) comprehensiveness, (2) efficiency through passive reconnoitering from electronic medical record (EMR) data, (3) ability to provide spatiotemporal insights, (4) low-cost and (5) ease of use. We used Python to develop a lightweight application – Python-based Communicable Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (PyDOSS) – that was able perform syndromic surveillance and fever monitoring. With minimal user actions, its data pipeline would generate daily control charts and geospatial heat maps of cases from raw EMR data and logged vital signs. PyDOSS was successfully implemented as part of our CCF workflow. We also simulated a gastroenteritis (GE) outbreak to test the effectiveness of the system. RESULTS PyDOSS was used throughout the entire duration of operation; the output was reviewed daily by senior management. No disease outbreaks were identified during our medical operation. In the simulated GE outbreak, PyDOSS was able to effectively detect an outbreak within 24 hours and provided information about cluster progression which could aid in contact tracing. The code for a stock version of PyDOSS has been made publicly available. CONCLUSIONS PyDOSS is an effective surveillance system which was successfully implemented in a real-life medical operation. With the system developed using open-source technology and the code made freely available, it significantly reduces the cost of developing and operating CDOSS and may be useful for similar temporary medical operations, or in resource-limited settings.

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Graphene oxide-based rechargeable respiratory masks

Oxford Open Materials Science ◽

10.1093/oxfmat/itab003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Stelbin Peter Figerez ◽

Sudeshna Patra ◽

G Rajalakshmi ◽

Tharangattu N Narayanan

Keyword(s):

Graphene Oxide ◽

Polyvinylidene Fluoride ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

Low Cost ◽

Triboelectric Nanogenerator ◽

Layer System ◽

Retention Capacity ◽

Simple Modification ◽

Nonwoven Fabrics ◽

Mask Design

Abstract Respiratory masks having similar standards of ‘N95’, defined by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, will be highly sought after, post the current COVID-19 pandemic. Here, such a low-cost (∼$1/mask) mask design having electrostatic rechargeability and filtration efficiency of >95% with a quality factor of ∼20 kPa−1 is demonstrated. This filtration efficacy is for particles of size 300 nm. The tri-layer mask, named PPDFGO tri, contains nylon, modified polypropylene (PPY), and cotton nonwoven fabrics as three layers. The melt-spun PPY, available in a conventional N95 mask, modified with graphene oxide and polyvinylidene fluoride mixture containing paste using a simple solution casting method acts as active filtration layer. The efficacy of this tri-layer system toward triboelectric rechargeability using small mechanical agitations is demonstrated here. These triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG)-assisted membranes have high electrostatic charge retention capacity (∼1 nC/cm2 after 5 days in ambient condition) and high rechargeability even in very humid conditions (>80% RH). A simple but robust permeability measurement set up is also constructed to test these TENG-based membranes, where a flow rate of 30–35 L/min is maintained during the testing. Such a simple modification to the existing mask designs enabling their rechargeability via external mechanical disturbances, with enhanced usability for single use as well as for reuse with decontantamination, will be highly beneficial in the realm of indispensable personal protective equipment.

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Processing Panorama Video in Real-time

International Journal of Semantic Computing ◽

10.1142/s1793351x14400054 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 08 (02) ◽

pp. 209-227 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Håkon Kvale Stensland ◽

Vamsidhar Reddy Gaddam ◽

Marius Tennøe ◽

Espen Helgedagsrud ◽

Mikkel Næss ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Graphics Processing Units ◽

Low Cost ◽

Video Camera ◽

Wide Field ◽

High Data ◽

Data Rates ◽

Camera Arrays ◽

Analysis System ◽

Performance Results

There are many scenarios where high resolution, wide field of view video is useful. Such panorama video may be generated using camera arrays where the feeds from multiple cameras pointing at different parts of the captured area are stitched together. However, processing the different steps of a panorama video pipeline in real-time is challenging due to the high data rates and the stringent timeliness requirements. In our research, we use panorama video in a sport analysis system called Bagadus. This system is deployed at Alfheim stadium in Tromsø, and due to live usage, the video events must be generated in real-time. In this paper, we describe our real-time panorama system built using a low-cost CCD HD video camera array. We describe how we have implemented different components and evaluated alternatives. The performance results from experiments ran on commodity hardware with and without co-processors like graphics processing units (GPUs) show that the entire pipeline is able to run in real-time.

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Extending QGroundControl for Automated Mission Planning of UAVs

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s18072339 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 2339 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Cristian Ramirez-Atencia ◽

David Camacho

Keyword(s):

Flight Control ◽

Low Cost ◽

Real Life ◽

Mission Planning ◽

Human Computer Interface ◽

Simulation Environment ◽

Test Bed ◽

Multiple Vehicles ◽

Operator Workload ◽

Selection Of

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become very popular in the last decade due to some advantages such as strong terrain adaptation, low cost, zero casualties, and so on. One of the most interesting advances in this field is the automation of mission planning (task allocation) and real-time replanning, which are highly useful to increase the autonomy of the vehicle and reduce the operator workload. These automated mission planning and replanning systems require a Human Computer Interface (HCI) that facilitates the visualization and selection of plans that will be executed by the vehicles. In addition, most missions should be assessed before their real-life execution. This paper extends QGroundControl, an open-source simulation environment for flight control of multiple vehicles, by adding a mission designer that permits the operator to build complex missions with tasks and other scenario items; an interface for automated mission planning and replanning, which works as a test bed for different algorithms, and a Decision Support System (DSS) that helps the operator in the selection of the plan. In this work, a complete guide of these systems and some practical use cases are provided

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Rapid Antibody Selection Using Surface Plasmon Resonance for High-Speed and Sensitive Hazelnut Lateral Flow Prototypes

Biosensors ◽

10.3390/bios8040130 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 130 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Georgina Ross ◽

Maria Bremer ◽

Jan Wichers ◽

Aart van Amerongen ◽

Michel Nielen

Keyword(s):

Surface Plasmon Resonance ◽

Surface Plasmon ◽

Plasmon Resonance ◽

High Speed ◽

Selection Process ◽

Low Cost ◽

Real Life ◽

Cross Reactivity ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Label Free

Lateral Flow Immunoassays (LFIAs) allow for rapid, low-cost, screening of many biomolecules such as food allergens. Despite being classified as rapid tests, many LFIAs take 10–20 min to complete. For a really high-speed LFIA, it is necessary to assess antibody association kinetics. By using a label-free optical technique such as Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), it is possible to screen crude monoclonal antibody (mAb) preparations for their association rates against a target. Herein, we describe an SPR-based method for screening and selecting crude anti-hazelnut antibodies based on their relative association rates, cross reactivity and sandwich pairing capabilities, for subsequent application in a rapid ligand binding assay. Thanks to the SPR selection process, only the fast mAb (F-50-6B12) and the slow (S-50-5H9) mAb needed purification for labelling with carbon nanoparticles to exploit high-speed LFIA prototypes. The kinetics observed in SPR were reflected in LFIA, with the test line appearing within 30 s, almost two times faster when F-50-6B12 was used, compared with S-50-5H9. Additionally, the LFIAs have demonstrated their future applicability to real life samples by detecting hazelnut in the sub-ppm range in a cookie matrix. Finally, these LFIAs not only provide a qualitative result when read visually, but also generate semi-quantitative data when exploiting freely downloadable smartphone apps.

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Micro Line Quality Measurement Based on Normally Scanned Digital Image

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.236-237.839 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 236-237 ◽

pp. 839-843

Author(s):

Xiao Meng Cui ◽

Guang Xue Chen ◽

Huan Mei Wang ◽

Lin Lin Chen

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Quality Measurement ◽

Digital Printing ◽

Quality Analysis ◽

Output Performance ◽

Micron Size ◽

Measurement Principle ◽

Analysis System ◽

Detection Instrument

In this study we present a new framework to assess line micro quality of multicolor prints adapted to a low-cost image quality analysis system based on common flatbed scanner. The contribution elements including quality metrics, measurement principle, applying methods and detection instrument, which were complemented and sorted in terms of ISO 13660 standard, were described and a case experiment was conducted to survey the output performance of both inkjet printer and xerographic printer, two most popular digital printing technologies. Their qualities were compared in details rendering angle such as width and straightness of line, raggedness and blurriness in line edges, as well as darkness and contrast in color. The results verify the efficiency and shortcomings of the framework. Meanwhile, the metric values let us take an investigation in the character of each digital printing technology in micron size.

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Modelling of new generation plasma optical devices

Nukleonika ◽

10.1515/nuka-2016-0035 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 61 (2) ◽

pp. 207-212 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Irina V. Litovko ◽

Alexy A. Goncharov ◽

Andrew N. Dobrovolskiy ◽

Lily V. Naiko ◽

Irina V. Naiko

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Rocket Engine ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Optical Devices ◽

High Tech ◽

Practical Applications ◽

Plasma Accelerators ◽

New Generation ◽

Closed Electron ◽

Positive Space

Abstract The paper presents new generation plasma optical devices based on the electrostatic plasma lens configuration that opens a novel attractive possibility for effective high-tech practical applications. Original approaches to use of plasma accelerators with closed electron drift and open walls for the creation of a cost-effective low-maintenance plasma lens with positive space charge and possible application for low-cost, low-energy rocket engine are described. The preliminary experimental, theoretical and simulation results are presented. It is noted that the presented plasma devices are attractive for many different applications in the state-of-the-art vacuum-plasma processing.

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Privacy-Preserving Efficient Data Retrieval in IoMT Based on Low-Cost Fog Computing

Complexity ◽

10.1155/2021/6211475 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Na Wang ◽

Yuanyuan Cai ◽

Junsong Fu ◽

Jie Xu

Keyword(s):

Energy Cost ◽

Data Privacy ◽

Low Cost ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Fog Computing ◽

Bat Algorithm ◽

Data Retrieval ◽

High Energy ◽

Physiological Data ◽

Range Tree

The rapid development of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is remarkable. However, IoMT faces many problems including privacy disclosure, long delay of service orders, low retrieval efficiency of medical data, and high energy cost of fog computing. For these, this paper proposes a data privacy protection and efficient retrieval scheme for IoMT based on low-cost fog computing. First, a fog computing system is located between a cloud server and medical workers, for processing data retrieval requests of medical workers and orders for controlling medical devices. Simultaneously, it preprocesses physiological data of patients uploaded by IoMT, collates them into various data sets, and transmits them to medical institutions in this way. It makes the entire execution process of low latency and efficient. Second, multidimensional physiological data are of great value, and we use ciphertext retrieval to protect privacy of patient data in this paper. In addition, this paper uses range tree to build an index for storing physiological data vectors, and meanwhile a range retrieval method is also proposed to improve data search efficiency. Finally, bat algorithm (BA) is designed to allocate cost on a fog server group for significant energy cost reduction. Extensive experiments are conducted to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed scheme.

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DYSKIMOT: An ultra-low-cost inertial sensor to assess head’s rotational kinematics in adults during the Didren-Laser Test

10.31224/osf.io/6n4ke ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Renaud Hage ◽

Christine Detrembleur ◽

Frédéric Dierick ◽

Laurent Pitance ◽

Laurent Jojczyk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Clinical Practice ◽

Gold Standard ◽

Inertial Sensor ◽

Low Cost ◽

Real Life ◽

Optoelectronic System ◽

Qualitative Level ◽

Cervical Motion ◽

Head Rotations

Various noninvasive measurement devices can be used to assess cervical motion. Size, complexity and cost of gold-standard systems make them not suited in clinical practice, and actually difficult to use outside dedicated laboratory. Nowadays, ultra-low-cost inertial measurement units are available but without any packaging nor user-friendly interface. DYSKIMOT is a home- designed, small-sized, motion sensor based on the latter technology, aiming at being used by clinicians in “real-life situations”. In the present study. DYSKIMOT was compared with a gold- standard optoelectronic system (Elite). Our goal was to evaluate the accuracy of DYSKIMOT in assessing the kinematics in fast head rotations. Kinematics was simultaneously recorded by the DYSKIMOT and Elite systems during the execution of the DidRen Laser test and performed by 15 participants and 9 patients. Kinematic variables were computed from the position, speed and acceleration time series. Two-way ANOVA, Passing-Bablok regressions and Dynamic Time Warping analysis showed good to excellent agreement between Elite and DYSKIMOT, both at the qualitative level of the time series shape and at the quantitative level of peculiar kinematical events’ measured values. In conclusion, DYSKIMOT sensor is as relevant as a gold-standard system to assess kinematical features during fast head rotations in participants and patients, demonstrating its usefulness in clinical practice or research in ecological environment.

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A Simple and Effective Way to Study Executive Functions by Using 360° Videos

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2021.622095 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Francesca Borgnis ◽

Francesca Baglio ◽

Elisa Pedroli ◽

Federica Rossetto ◽

Giuseppe Riva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Functions ◽

Real Life ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Physiological Data ◽

Planning Problem ◽

Eye Tracker ◽

Verbal Responses ◽

Executive Dysfunctions

Executive dysfunctions constitute a significant public health problem due to their high impact on everyday life and personal independence. Therefore, the identification of early strategies to assess and rehabilitate these impairments appears to be a priority. The ecological limitations of traditional neuropsychological tests and the numerous difficulties in administering tests in real-life scenarios have led to the increasing use of virtual reality (VR) and 360° environment-based tools for assessing executive functions (EFs) in real life. This perspective aims at proposing the development and implementation of Executive-functions Innovative Tool 360° (EXIT 360°), an innovative, enjoyable, and ecologically valid tool for a multidimensional and multicomponent evaluation of executive dysfunctions. EXIT 360° allows a complete and integrated executive functioning assessment through an original task for EFs delivered via a mobile-powered VR headset combined with eye tracker (ET) and electroencephalograms (EEG). Our tool is born as a 360°-based instrument, easily accessible and clinically usable, that will radically transform clinicians’ and patient’s assessment experience. In EXIT 360°, patients are engaged in a “game for health,” where they must perform everyday subtasks in 360° daily life environments. In this way, the clinicians can obtain quickly more ecologically valid information about several aspects of EFs (e.g., planning, problem-solving). Moreover, the multimodal approach allows completing the assessment of EFs by integrating verbal responses, reaction times, and physiological data (eye movements and brain activation). Overall, EXIT 360° will allow obtaining simultaneously and in real time more information about executive dysfunction and its impact in real life, allowing clinicians to tailor the rehabilitation to the subject’s needs.

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