Multi-Functional Sensor System for Heart Rate, Body Position and Movement Intensity Analysis

• Main Authors: Michael MAO, Bozena KAMINSKA, Yindar CHUO
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IFSA Publishing, S.L. 2008-12-01
• Series: Sensors & Transducers
• Subjects: Multi-functional sensor; Position detection; Movement intensity; Wearable sensors; Health Monitoring
• Online Access: http://www.sensorsportal.com/HTML/DIGEST/december_08/Special_issue/P_SI_56.pdf

A novel multi-functional wearable sensor has been developed with multi-axis accelerometer, disposable hydro-gel electrodes, and analog filtering components. This novel sensor implementation can be used for detecting common body positions, movement intensity, and measures bio-potential signals for ECG and heart rate analysis. Based on the novel sensor principle, a prototype combines position detection, heart rate detection, and motion intensity level detection together in a handheld device that records the physiological information and wirelessly transmits the signals through Bluetooth to a mobile phone. Static body positions such as standing/sitting, lying supine, prone, and on the sides have been detected with high accuracy (97.7 %) during the subject tests. Further, an algorithm that detects body movement intensity that can potentially be applied in real-time monitoring physical activity level is proposed based on average variance values. Motion intensity results show variance values increase and exercise intensity increases for almost all of the cases. A clear relation between movement intensity level shown by an increase in frequency and/or speed of exercise increases the variance values detected in all three spatial axes.