Pervasive healthcare is among the most prominent fields of research with an increasing demand for IMUs.
Inertial measurement units (IMUs) are electronic devices that typically consist of a 3-axis accelerometer (which measures linear acceleration) and a 3-axis gyroscope (which measures angular velocity).
Typically, IMUs are used to track movement patterns or recognize activities of the user like gait analisis.
The respiration signal provides important information about mental and physical stress.
To assist a researcher’s project, we integrated a respiration sensor into our Move 4 which records the participants breathing rate via a chest strap and transmits this information directly via Bluetooth interface to the researcher's software. Click here to discover more about this custom product solutions.
As part of movisens' 10th anniversary, the best student project is being awarded a prize for the student and the supervisor. You can now register for this competition with your student project. Every successfully completed student project can take part in the competition. This also applies to former students who have successfully completed a student project together with movisens in the past 10 years.
There is growing evidence that sedentary behavior is a risk factor for mental health. Activity sensors play an important role in the investigation of sedentary behavior.
But how exactly do they measure sedentary activity, and where is the best place to measure it?
The following table gives a short overview of the validity of different activity sensors. Further information can be found in the article: Validating Accelerometers for the Assessment of Body Position and Sedentary Behavior.
Aktivitätssensoren und ihre Validität im Überblick
Parameter
Wearing place
Move 4
ActiGraph
ActiPal
Body Position (sitting/lying)
thigh
hip
K=.97
K=.78
-
K=.67
K=.85
-
Sedentary Behaviour
thigh
hip
K=.95
K=.84
-
K=.69
K=.90
-
Giurgiu M. et al. (2019). Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour.
The article „Assessing physical behavior through accelerometry – State of the science, best practices and future directions“ (Buchartz et al., 2020) provides an up-to-date overview of the possibilities of accelerometry and makes recommendations for its use.
Modern accelerometers provide researchers with the ability to collect objective data regarding the intensity and duration of physical activity over a period ranging from several days to several weeks and months.
If your research revolves around physical activity, we’ll show you how our activity sensors accurately record physical activity in everyday life.
Move 4 und LightMove 4 - Perfect tools for capturing physical activity
The activity sensor Move 4 from movisens allows a continuous, objective recording of physical activity for up to 4 weeks.
From the measurement parameters (3-axis acceleration, rotation rate and barometric pressure) we can calculate a multitude of categories and output parameters such as Physical Activity (PA), Sedentary Behaviour, Sleep, Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity Metrics.
The integrated pressure sensor improves both activity classification and the accuracy of energy expenditure estimation. For example, we can distinguish between normal walking and stair climbing.
A further advantage presented by the LightMove 4 model is an integrated light sensor. The data recorded by the light sensor allows the detection of the type of ambient light and also helps detect the intention to sleep.
The movisens team provides development expertise for researcher specific questions. We’re always happy to discuss your research project and see if we can tailor a solution for you.
Given repeated requests, we’ve integrated an IR Temperature sensor in our activity sensor Move 4 and our ECG and activity sensor EcgMove 4. This researcher specific customisation allows a continuous recording of the participant’s skin temperature.
Our customer oriented development serves as a keystone for our success in ambulatory assessment and mobile monitoring technologies. Combined with our expertise in sensor technology, we regularly implement custom solutions for researchers.
movisens track record of implementing customer wishes takes another step forward.
Due to researcher requests, we've integrated an infrared temperature sensor into our mobile physiological sensors the Move 4, and the EcgMove 4. This enables the continuous acquisition of skin temperature in addition to the wide array of other signals recorded.
Not only in times of corona is the measurement of skin temperature an important procedure, also in many other fields, important knowledge can be gained with the use of skin temperature; as the following example application illustrates.
movisens´ integrated IR-Sensors in use:
Innovative Project for Domomedicine Deployment: The PiCADo Pilot Project
A novel algorithm for detecting human circadian rhythms using a thoracic temperature sensor
Relevance of a Mobile Internet Platform for Capturing Inter- and Intrasubject Variabilities in Circadian Coordination During Daily Routine: Pilot Study
The newest movisens SensorManager included a whole string of new features.
Multi-Part-Measurement: If the battery level of the sensor is getting lower than 10%, the measurement will be paused. The LED stops flashing. You can connect the sensor to a USB charger and recharge the battery. If you disconnect the sensor from charger after battery level is higher than 30%, the measurement will be restarted.
No measurement stop: If you reconnect the sensor after starting a measurement again with a PC, the measurement won’t be stopped.
Checking battery level: If the battery level of the sensor is less the 10 % when clicking on the „Start Recording“ button, the following message appears.
Proband configuration: The personal information of the proband can be entered before beginning the measurement.
If you're working on a new study incorporating mutliple data sets per participant, you'll need to merge all the data sources in a meaningful way for optimal statistical analysis.
The team from movisens now offer the DataMerger - a software tool that synchronises and merges data from different sources.
The newest movisens SensorManager provides all the resources for you to optimize your movisens sensor. In addition to the standard functionality, we've included the ability to update your sensors to their latest firmware version, an essential upgrade for those who'd like to take advantage of the sensor triggering capability of movisensXS.
The newest movisens