Wearable Heartbeat Sensor Interoception Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for assessing cardiovascular interoception are limited by the need for bulky equipment and are not suitable for non-clinical settings, as they rely on synchronizing sounds with heartbeats, which can be perceived at varying locations in the body, leading to inaccurate assessments.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a wearable heartbeat sensor and a smartphone that generates a periodic output synchronized with the subject's heartbeats, allowing users to adjust the phase through a user interface, enabling consistent timing offset estimation and improved interoception assessment without requiring direct heartbeat timing measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If electrocardiograph machines are used to measure heartbeat timing, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and portability are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a wearable sensor to detect heartbeat-related physiological signals (such as pulse waves or ECG signals) and creates a digital representation of heartbeat timing. This copied information is then processed by a smartphone application, replacing the need for bulky electrocardiograph machines while maintaining measurement capability through signal processing algorithms that extract heartbeat timing from the sensed physiological data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical and electrical complexity of traditional electrocardiograph machines with a lightweight wearable sensor combined with software-based processing. The smartphone application performs signal processing, timing extraction, and interoception assessment algorithms, substituting complex hardware systems with a combination of simple sensing and computational processing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If phase offset synchronization is used to assess interoception, then measurement capability is improved, but measurement precision is worsened due to varying perception locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static phase offset assessment into a dynamic adjustment process. The system presents auditory stimuli at varying time offsets from the detected heartbeat and allows the subject to dynamically adjust the perceived synchronization point. This dynamic approach accommodates individual variations in interoceptive perception location and timing, enabling the system to adapt to each subject's unique physiological characteristics rather than imposing a fixed assessment framework.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback loops where the subject's adjustments to stimulus timing are continuously monitored and used to refine the interoception measurement. The smartphone application tracks the subject's synchronization adjustments and uses this feedback to calculate interoceptive accuracy, accounting for individual perception variations. This feedback mechanism allows the system to learn and adapt to each subject's specific interoceptive patterns.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for a more portable and effective estimation of interoception levels, independent of equipment size and location, providing consistent results and aiding in psychiatric disorder assessments.
Implementation Method 1
a heartbeat sensor for sensing the subject's heartbeat as manifested locally to the sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A system, and related methods, for estimating a level of interoception in a subject, the system including a heartbeat sensor for sensing the subject's heartbeat as manifested locally to the sensor, a user interface for receiving input from the subject and a processor configured to: receive information representing the timing of sensed heartbeats; form, in dependence on the received information, a periodic output having the same frequency as the sensed heartbeats; present the periodic output to the subject; receive input of a first type from the user interface; and in dependence on the input of a first type, adjust the phase with which the periodic output is to presented to the subject.