Medical workers including doctors and nurses often have to wear face masks for prolonged periods when attending to patients. Not only does it prevent them from any viral infections that a patient might carry, but also helps keep the hospital environment sterile. \\\
But when working for extended hours with a face mask wrapped around the nose and mouth, the face can become numb. Any sudden deterioration in health could prove costly, both for the medical practitioner’s and the patient’s life. \\\
Northwestern University engineers have developed a new smart sensor platform for face masks that they are calling a "," Fitbit for the face. ///
Dubbed "," Face BIT "the lightweight, the quarter-sized sensor uses a tiny magnet to attach to any N95, cloth, or surgical face mask. ///
Not only can it since the user’s real-time respiration rate, heart rate, and mask wear time, it also may be able to replace cumbersome tests by measuring mask fit. All this information is then wirelessly transmitted to a smartphone app, which contains a dashboard for real-time health monitoring. The app can immediately alert the user when issues — such as elevated heart rate or a leak in the mask — unexpectedly arise. The physiological data also could be used to predict fatigue, physical health status, and emotional state.///
Although a tiny battery power the device, Face BIT is designed to harvest energy from any variety of ambient sources — including the force of the user’s breathing, motion, and heat from a user’s breath as well as from the sun. This extends the sensor’s battery life, lengthening the time between charges.///
So what should be done? A face mask is made of fabric and not electronics that can monitor health in real-time. Is an electronic face mask possible? Well, sort of. A team of engineers at Northwestern University has developed a new smart sensor that can fit into face masks for measuring the user’s real-time respiration rate, heart rate, and mask wear time. Dubbed as Face BIT "this "," Fitbit for the face "is a lightweight, small-sized sensor that uses a tiny magnet to attach to any N95, cloth, or surgical face mask. \\\
“ We wanted to design an intelligent face mask for health care professionals that do not need to be inconveniently plugged in during the middle of a shift,” said Josiah Hester, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University. \\\
The sensor is powered by a tiny battery that harvests energy from its surroundings, including the force and heat generated by a user’s respiration as well as from the sun. This allows the Face BIT to last longer than 11 days between charges. \\\
Upon gathering various physiological signals such as heart and respiratory rates, the sensor wirelessly transmits all this information to a dedicated smartphone app and immediately alerts the user whenever an unexpected risk concerning elevated heart rate, fatigue, and vulnerable emotional health arises.\\\
According to Hester, a person's head marginally moves every time a heartbeat occurs. Face BIT can sense that subtle motion and differentiate it from other motions to calculate heart rate. \\\
",'' Your heart is pushing a lot of blood through the body, and the ballistic force is quite strong, said Josiah Hester said. We were able to sense that force as the blood travels up a major artery to the face.\\\
"," We wanted to design an intelligent face mask for health care professionals that do not need to be inconveniently plugged in during the middle of a shift, said Northwestern Josiah Hester, who led the device development. “ We augmented the battery’s energy with energy harvesting from various sources, which means that you can wear the mask for a week or two without having to charge or replace the battery.” ///
The research was published last week in the Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies. In the study, researchers found Face BIT accuracy was similar to clinical-grade devices, and the battery lasted longer than 11 days between charges. More information is available at facet. Health.///
Hester is an assistant professor of computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering and the Breed Junior Professor of Design at Northwestern McCormick School of Engineering.///
Because stressful events can elicit physiological responses, including rapid breathing, Face BIT can use that information to alert the user to take a break, go for a walk, or take deep breaths to calm down. Hospital systems also could use this data to optimize shift and break schedules for their workers. And because heart rate and respiration rate are tightly interconnected, the ability to monitor both could open new research possibilities.\\\
At the same time, Face BIT ensures that the N95 mask properly covers the face of a health care worker and there is no gap. If the mask becomes loose throughout the day or a bump is detected during an activity, then the Face BIT alerts the wearer.\\\
Face BIT provides the first step toward practical on-face sensing and inference, and provides a sustainable, convenient, comfortable option for general health monitoring for COVID-19 frontline workers and beyond,"'' said Josiah Hester. “ I’m excited to hand this off to the research community to see what they can do with it.”\\\
Thanks to its unique method of harnessing energy from the wearer's breathing, Face BIT battery-free technology is sustainable and has a long life. The team in the future hopes to incorporate a technology that can harness thermal and kinetic energy to solely power the device.\\\
For Face BIT to successfully pass clinical trials and validation, the project has been released as open-source and open hardware, so others can improve any shortcomings.\\\
Approximating the fittest Before designing Face BIT, Hester and his collaborators first interviewed doctors, nurses, and medical assistants to better understand their needs for smart face masks. In a series of surveys, all clinicians indicated that the quality of mask fit was most important — especially when working directly with patients with viral infections. To ensure their N95 masks are properly sealed to their faces, health care workers periodically undergo a 20-minute "," fittest "During this process, health care workers first put on an N95 respirator, followed by a clear hood over their entire head. Another worker then pumps either sweet or bitter aerosol mists into the hood. The concentration of the aerosol is gradually increased inside the hood until it can be detected by the person wearing the respirator. If the wearer tastes bitter or sweet before a certain number of aerosol pumps, then the mask is not properly sealed///
If you wear a mask for 12 hours or longer, sometimes your face can become numb. You might not even realize that your mask is loose because you cannot feel it. "" ///
Josiah Hester, a computer engineer///
Although Hester Face BIT cannot yet replace this cumbersome process — which is a long-standing challenge in the medical industry — it can ensure the mask retains proper fit between testing events. If the mask becomes loose throughout the day or if the user bumps the mask during an activity, for example, the Face BIT can alert the wearer.///
“ If you wear a mask for 12 hours or longer, sometimes your face can become numb,” Hester said. “ You might not even realize that your mask is loose because you cannot feel it, or you are too burnt out to notice. We can approximate the fit-testing process by measuring mask resistance. If we see a sudden dip in resistance, that indicates a leak has formed, and we can alert the wearer.”///
Face-centric bio-sensing But Face BIT can assess more than mask fit — it also can monitor the person wearing the mask in real-time. By gathering various physiological signals — such as heart and respiratory rates — Face BIT can help wearers better understand their bodies to make beneficial health decisions. All health information, including mask, fit and wear time, are displayed on the accompanying smartphone app. ///
According to Hester, every time a person’s heartbeats, their head moves an imperceptibly tiny amount. Face BIT can sense that subtle motion and differentiate it from other motions — to calculate heart rate. /// Days Face BIT's tiny battery lasts between charges///
"," Your heart is pushing a lot of blood through the body, and the ballistic force is quite strong, 'Hester said. “ We were able to sense that force as the blood travels up a major artery to the face.”///
Because stressful events can elicit physiological responses, including rapid breathing, Face BIT can use that information to alert the user to take a break, go for a walk, or take some deep breaths to calm down. Hospital systems also could use this data to optimize shift and break schedules for their workers. And because heart rate and respiration rate are so tightly entangled with each other, having the ability to effortlessly monitor both could open new research possibilities. ///
Battery-free future///
An expert in sustainable, battery-free technology, Hester hopes his team or others eventually will be able to make Face BIT completely battery-free. Now, the wearer’s breathing and movements or the sun can extend the battery’s life. But, in the future, harvested thermal and kinetic energy could solely power the device.///
Although his team evaluated the device on volunteers in real-world scenarios, Hester said Face BIT still needs to undergo clinical trials and validation. The team released the project as open source and open hardware, So others can build and validate the device.///
Face BIT provides the first step toward practical on-face sensing and inference, and provides a sustainable, convenient, comfortable option for general health monitoring for COVID-19 frontline workers and beyond,' Hester said. “ I’m excited to hand this off to the research community to see what they can do with it.”///
The project, Face BIT: Smart Face Masks Platform, was supported by the National Science Foundation Grants for Rapid Response Research for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic (award number CNS-2032408). FameBit was a collaboration with Nail Alshurafa, assistant professor of preventative medicine in Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and computer science in McCormick.///
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