Title :
Wearable wireless sensor platform for studying autonomic activity and social behavior in non-human primates
Author :
Fletcher, Richard Ribon ; Amemori, K. ; Goodwin, Morten ; Graybiel, A.M.
Author_Institution :
Massachusetts Inst. of Technol., Cambridge, MA, USA
fDate :
Aug. 28 2012-Sept. 1 2012
Abstract :
A portable system has been designed to enable remote monitoring of autonomic nervous system output in non-human primates for the purpose of studying neural function related to social behavior over extended periods of time in an ambulatory setting. In contrast to prior systems which only measure heart activity, are restricted to a constrained laboratory setting, or require surgical attachment, our system is comprised of a multi-sensor self-contained wearable vest that can easily be transferred from one subject to another. The vest contains a small detachable low-power electronic sensor module for measuring electrodermal activity (EDA), electrocardiography (ECG), 3-axis acceleration, and temperature. The wireless transmission is implemented using a standard Bluetooth protocol and a mobile phone, which enables freedom of movement for the researcher as well as for the test subject. A custom Android software application was created on the mobile phone for viewing and recording live data as well as creating annotations. Data from up to seven monkeys can be recorded simultaneously using the mobile phone, with the option of real-time upload to a remote web server. Sample data are presented from two rhesus macaque monkeys showing stimulus-induced response in the laboratory as well as long-term ambulatory data collected in a large monkey cage. This system enables new possibilities for studying underlying mechanisms between autonomic brain function and social behavior with connection to human research in areas such as autism, substance abuse, and mood disorders.
Keywords :
Bluetooth; acceleration measurement; behavioural sciences; biomedical electronics; electrocardiography; medical computing; medical disorders; mobile handsets; neurophysiology; remote sensing; telemedicine; temperature measurement; wireless sensor networks; 3-axis acceleration; ECG; EDA; ambulatory setting; autism; autonomic activity; autonomic brain function; autonomic nervous system output remote monitoring; constrained laboratory setting; custom Android software application; detachable low-power electronic sensor module; electrocardiography; electrodermal activity; heart activity; live data recording; long-term ambulatory data collection; mobile phone; mood disorders; multisensor self-contained wearable vest; neural function; nonhuman primates; portable system; real-time upload; remote Web server; rhesus macaque monkeys; social behavior; standard Bluetooth protocol; stimulus-induced response; substance abuse; surgical attachment; wearable wireless sensor platform; wireless transmission; Biomedical monitoring; Bluetooth; Electrocardiography; Mobile handsets; Monitoring; Wireless communication; Wireless sensor networks; autonomic; behavior; mobile; monitoring; neural function; primate; wireless; Actigraphy; Animals; Autonomic Nervous System; Behavior, Animal; Electrocardiography; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Female; Galvanic Skin Response; Heart Rate; Macaca mulatta; Monitoring, Ambulatory; Social Behavior; Telemetry;
Conference_Titel :
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 2012 Annual International Conference of the IEEE
Conference_Location :
San Diego, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4119-8
Electronic_ISBN :
1557-170X
DOI :
10.1109/EMBC.2012.6346855