Hearables: multimodal physiological in-ear sensing
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Future health systems require the means to assess and track the neural and physiological function of a user over long periods of time, and in the community. Human body responses are manifested through multiple, interacting modalities – the mechanical, electrical and chemical; yet, current physiological monitors (e.g. actigraphy, heart rate) largely lack in cross-modal ability, are inconvenient and/or stigmatizing. We address these challenges through an inconspicuous earpiece, which benefits from the relatively stable position of the ear canal with respect to vital organs. Equipped with miniature multimodal sensors, it robustly measures the brain, cardiac and respiratory functions. Comprehensive experiments validate each modality within the proposed earpiece, while its potential in wearable health monitoring is illustrated through case studies spanning these three functions. We further demonstrate how combining data from multiple sensors within such an integrated wearable device improves both the accuracy of measurements and the ability to deal with artifacts in real-world scenarios.
Date Issued
2017-07-31
Date Acceptance
2017-06-05
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Volume
7
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2017. Open Access.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or
format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Cre-
ative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the
material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not per-
mitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the
copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or
format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Cre-
ative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the
material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not per-
mitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the
copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
.
Sponsor
Rosetrees Trust
National Institute for Health Research
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust- BRC Funding
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust- BRC Funding
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Grant Number
N/A
NIHR-RP-011-048
EP/K025643/1
RDC04
RDA03
MC_PC_14100
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
DIELECTRIC-PROPERTIES
BIOLOGICAL TISSUES
ELECTRODE
DRY
Biosensing Techniques
Brain
Ear
Heart Function Tests
Humans
Miniaturization
Monitoring, Physiologic
Respiratory Function Tests
Wearable Electronic Devices
Wireless Technology
Ear
Brain
Humans
Heart Function Tests
Respiratory Function Tests
Monitoring, Physiologic
Biosensing Techniques
Miniaturization
Wireless Technology
Wearable Electronic Devices
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 6948