WEARIFI, INC. — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NIA

Description

PROJECT SUMMARYAlzheimer s dementiaADremains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwideWhile successful therapies for the disease remain elusivethere is a significant body of evidence identifying social interaction as protective of the development of AD and as a potential therapeutic intervention that reduces cognitive decline in ADHoweverquantifying and qualifying social interaction for individuals in this group has largely been dependent on user self reported surveys that are prone to bias and difficult for the AD population to completeCurrent technologies lack the ability to comprehensively and accurately measure the wide number of parameters important in measuring a complex construct such as social isolationNew innovations in biomedical engineering has enabled a new class of sensors that are wearable in nature capable of providing high fidelityclinically relevant data in attractivelow user burden form factorsWe present a novelminiaturized wearable sensor intimately connected to the skin of the suprasternal notch via hypo allergenic adhesives that enables multimodalcontinuousreal time sensing of key parameters of social interaction for individuals with ADOur device is already capable of measuring the most number of parameters important in social interaction including speech patternsphysical activityeating behaviorssleep qualityand physiological markersWe use advanced signal analytics to derive meaningful insights from the signal output of our technologyThe entire sensor is completely enclosed in flexible and soft medical grade silicone that enables comfortable daily wearIt is waterproof and can be charged wirelessly to reduce user burdenThis proposal centers on the final development of a wearable device with an embedded highfrequency accelerometeran onboard high fidelity microphoneonboard storageonboard powerand wireless communication capabilities that enable sensor to sensor linking and sensor to smartphone linkingIn additionmore signal processing capabilities will be added to enable the collection of additional metrics relevant to social interaction and a user interface for researchersFinallythe sensor s performance will be tested against gold standard clinical equipment in quiet and noisy environments using a stateof the art virtual sound room with individuals who have ADOur goal is to develop a sensor useful for both researchers as a clinical outcome tooland individuals with AD and their caretakers as an early warning system of loneliness PROJECT NARRATIVE Social isolation and loneliness represents a critical driver of cognitive decline in individuals with Alzheimer s disease with a large body of research indicating that increasing social interaction reduces harm from Alzheimer s and facilitates healthy aging in the elderlyHowevermeasuring social interaction a complex construct with mentalsocialand physical function parametershas remained particularly challengingThis research proposal centers on the development of the first comprehensivewearable sensor technology capable of measuring the widest number of parameters relevant to social interactione gspeech featuresphysical activitymeal behaviorsleep qualitythat can aid researchers as an clinical outcome tooland persons with Alzheimer s and their loved ones as a loneliness meter