Aporte

El autor detalla que los materiales de desgaste ofrecen la posibilidad de realizar mediciones
longitudinales de estos y otros parámetros con gran precisión. Un principio clave en el
despliegue de los wearables para la asistencia sanitaria y la medicina de precisión será la
obtención de datos de la más alta calidad y clínicamente relevantes para los médicos y los
pacientes. Por lo cual el aporte que brinda se basa en realizar una visión de los factores que
influyen en la medición de siete señales biológicas: frecuencia cardíaca, frecuencia
respiratoria, presión arterial, temperatura, actividad física, sudor, y emoción. Además de los
cuatro signos vitales primarios, se ha considerado la medición de la actividad, el sudor y las
emociones. Existen tecnologías para medir estos parámetros y proporcionan información
sobre la salud social y emocional.

The author details that the wear materials offer the possibility of making longitudinal
measurements of these and other parameters with great precision. A key principle in the
deployment of wearables for healthcare and precision medicine will be to obtain data of the
highest quality and clinically relevant to physicians and patients. Therefore, the contribution it
provides is based on a vision of the factors that influence the measurement of seven biological
signals: heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, temperature, physical activity, sweat, and
emotion. In addition to the four primary vital signs, the measurement of activity, sweat and
emotions has been considered. There are technologies to measure these parameters and
provide information on social and emotional health.

Proceso

As explained above, the process that the author will carry out in order to carry out the research
will be to provide a view of the factors of the seven biological signals, so that each of these will
be detailed below:

Heart rate:

Heart rate measurement: The heart rate depends on the level of physical activity, but it can also
depend on sleep, anxiety, stress, illness and drugs. Therefore, the heart rate is a physiological
indicator of the state of health. (Seccareccia, 2001) Typical resting heart rates are 40-60 bpm for
trained athletes and 60-100 bpm for children over 10 years of age and adults. (Camm, 1996) The
heart rate during intense exercise can reach 200 bpm. In general, the detection of heart rate is
based on the transduction of mechanical, electrical, optical or acoustic signals associated with
the heart's mechanical beat, or with the resulting pulsatile hemodynamic flow (Figure 1). The
heart rate can be detected manually by detecting the mechanical pulsations of an artery near
the surface of the body (for example, radial or carotid) under light pressure of the index and
middle fingers. The electrical activity of the heart muscle can be detected by means of electrodes
attached to the thorax (electrocardiogram, ECG). Pulsatile blood flow results in changes in tissue
impedance that can be measured using a variation of the 4-electrode resistance method, with
electrodes normally located on the neck and waist (impedance cardiogram, ICG). The acoustic
signal associated with the beating heart and pulsatile flow can be detected with a stethoscope
or an ultrasound sensor. In addition, the dilation and contraction of vessels in the tissue leads
to changes in optical transmission or reflection that can be recorded by photoplethysmography
(PPG).

Wearables devices for measuring heart rate The most commonly used wearables for measuring
heart rate or frequency are based on the analysis of the electrocardiogram or
photoplethysmograph.

 Photoplethysmograph (PPG)
Plethysmography is the measurement of changes in the volume of organs or tissues. For
example, changes in lung volume are used to evaluate lung function, while changes in
blood volume can be used to assess cardiac function. PPG measures these changes using
an optical light source (typically red or green) and a detector. In the context of portable
sensors, PPG is used to measure changes in blood volume associated with dilation and
contraction of vessels in the dermis and hypodermis. (Poon, 2006) In general, the
advantage of PPG sensors is their comfort and ease of use. The devices can be worn on
the wrist or lobe of the ear with integrated wireless transmission. The main challenges
in determining the heart rate from the PPG signal are the relatively low signal-to-noise
ratio and the motion artifacts. For example, the heart rate is in the same frequency
range as walking or running (1 - 4Hz)