Year 1 Pilots

Publication: Capturing Measures That Matter: The Potential Value of Digital Measures of Physical Behavior for Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Development

Authors: Shelby L. Bachman, Jennifer M. Blankenship, Michael Busa, Corinna Serviente, Kate Lyden, and Ieuan Clay Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease and the primary cause of dementia worldwide. Despite the magnitude of AD's impact on patients, caregivers, and society, nearly all AD clinical trials fail. A potential contributor to this high rate of failure is that established clinical outcome assessments fail to capture subtle clinical changes, entail high burden for patients and their caregivers, and ineffectively address the aspects of health deemed important by patients and their caregivers. AD progression is associated with widespread changes in physical behavior that have impacts on the ability to function independently, which is a meaningful aspect of health for patients with AD and important for diagnosis. However, established assessments of functional independence remain underutilized in…

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Publication: Ultra-low-cost mechanical smartphone attachment for no-calibration blood pressure measurement

Authors: Yinan Xuan, Colin Barry, Jessica De Souza, Jessica H Wen, Nick Antipa, Alison A Moore, Edward J Wang Abstract We propose an ultra-low-cost at-home blood pressure monitor that leverages a plastic clip with a spring-loaded mechanism to enable a smartphone with a flash LED and camera to measure blood pressure. Our system, called BPClip, is based on the scientific premise of measuring oscillometry at the fingertip to measure blood pressure. To enable a smartphone to measure the pressure applied to the digital artery, a moveable pinhole projection moves closer to the camera as the user presses down on the clip with increased force. As a user presses on the device with increased force, the spring-loaded mechanism compresses. The size of the pinhole thus encodes the pressure applied to the finger. In conjunction, the brightness…

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New Product Launch: MindMics Heart Health System

Cambridge, Massachusetts--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2023) - Today, MindMics, Inc. is pleased to announce it has launched its limited edition MindMics Heart Health System. The system uses patented and clinically validated sound-based technology known as In-ear Infrasonic HemodynographyTM (IH), embedded in everyday earbuds, to detect heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in real-time, and guides the user through breathing exercises to control their heart and master stress. By using sound to measure key biometrics, MindMics overcomes the challenges faced by wearables that use photoplethysmography (PPG) light technology. Factors like skin tone, skin thickness, perspiration and body mass can severely impact the accuracy of PPG readings. With MindMics, key organs like the heart are monitored through low-frequency acoustical vibrations detected in the ear canal. MindMics' IH delivers HR and HRV in real-time with a…

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Early acute illness detection in delirium and dementia

Jane Saczynski, Northeastern University. Edward Marcantonio, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Acute illness presents in the most vulnerable organ in the body, among patients with dementia that organ is the brain and acute illness often presents first as delirium, an acute confusional state. This project will evaluate home monitoring devices as early indicators of acute illness in persons with dementia.

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Detecting frailty in home environments through non-invasive whole room body heat sensing in older adults

Amanda Paluch, UMass Amherst. Dae Hyun Kim, Hebrew SeniorLife. Rags Gupta, Butlr Technologies Inc. This AITC pilot project explored the use of non-invasive, ceiling-mounted heat sensors to detect frailty in older adults living in senior communities.

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