A Smart Clothe for ECG Monitoring of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
We introduce a wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring device designed for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this study is to verify the quality of the ECG signals measured by the developed device during the therapeutic act
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Department of Intelligent Interaction Technologies, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8573, Japan [email protected] 2 Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8573, Japan [email protected] 3 Center for Cybernics Research, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8573, Japan [email protected]
Abstract. We introduce a wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring device designed for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this study is to verify the quality of the ECG signals measured by the developed device during the therapeutic activity of children with ASD for the quantitative measurement of mental stress. The device is implemented in a clothe, and the ECG signals are captured at the wrists. ECG measurements of three children with ASD were successfully performed during therapy, and R-R intervals with a high reliability were obtained over 90 % of the duration of tasks that involve little movement. Keywords: ECG monitoring · HR · HRV · Therapeutic environment Children with autism spectrum disorders · Wearable devices
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Introduction
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulty expressing their feelings through actions during daily and therapeutic activities. Therefore, it is often difficult for parents and therapists to understand their feelings, and that may lead to problems such as panic or even therapy denial [1]. To resolve this problem, several studies have been recently conducted to examine the relationship between the behavior of people with ASD and their physiological state [2–5]. However, most such studies have been performed in limited or constrained environments, owing to the specifications of the measuring devices. Cardiovascular-based indicators such as the heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) can be used to estimate the inner state of a person. Researches have found that the HRV changes under acute psychological stress; therefore, the HRV has been used as an indicator of mental stress in several studies [4–8]. The HR and HRV can be acquired from both electrocardiogram (ECG) and c Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 K. Miesenberger et al. (Eds.): ICCHP 2016, Part I, LNCS 9758, pp. 555–562, 2016. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-41264-1 75
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photoprethysmography (PPG). PPG measures the rate of blood flow, whereas ECG measures bioelectrical signals produced by heart activity. ECG is necessary for obtaining a reliable HRV [9,10]. We consider that the quantitative measurement of the mental stress during therapeutic activity helps therapists and parents understand the internal conditions of the child. Various systems are available for measuring ECG in the living environment. The Holter monitor is one of the most famous devices for obtaining ECG. Textile electrodes and capacitively coupled electrodes have also been proposed for obtaining ECG [8,11–14]. However, these systems are less suitable for measuring the ECG of children
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