CAREER: Towards Self-Sustainable Wearable Systems Design for Mobile Health Applications

Washington State University, Pullman WA

Investigators

Abstract

Wearable technology has the potential to transform the quality of human life by enabling cost-effective, reliable, continuous, and data-driven monitoring of users in non-clinical settings. Continuous monitoring of user activities and vital signs is exciting, as it can expose health issues otherwise difficult to perceive in an office visit. Indeed, wearable devices have been identified as a key technology to support the aging United States population by the White House National Science and Technology Council. Despite the impressive potential of wearable technology, its widespread adoption in clinical and everyday settings has been limited due to user comfort, usability, and energy sustainability challenges. This CAREER project proposes to resolve these challenges through three closely integrated research aims: 1) A wearable design kit to automatically design comfortable and usable wearable systems as a function of the user, clinician, and application requirements; 2) self-sustainable wearable devices through energy harvesting and management from ambient sources such as light, body motion, and heat; 3) algorithms and methods to enable reliable health applications for continuous health monitoring. The successful outcome of these objectives will help wearable devices achieve their full potential in transforming the quality of human life and healthcare. The project will also generate new knowledge and insights into the design of wearable systems and, more broadly, Internet of Things devices. The widespread adoption of wearable devices enabled by this CAREER project will have two significant impacts on public health: (i) High-precision monitoring and management of diseases in free-living environments; and (ii) reduction in healthcare costs due to a reduced need for clinical visits. The integrated educational component of this CAREER project will train a strong and diverse multidisciplinary workforce to handle future challenges in computing system design and automation. One of the key educational goals of the project is to improve science and mathematics learning for children with disabilities to increase their participation in the science and technology workforce. The project also includes an ambassador program to involve students from community colleges in Washington to recruit underrepresented students into Washington State University (WSU) programs. Results from this CAREER project will be widely disseminated through publications in conferences, journals, and open-source packages for use by the community. The project will also engage with the public through outreach programs that explain research outcomes and showcase the benefits of wearable systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.