Laser-Induced Graphene for Heartbeat Monitoring with HeartPy Analysis.

The HeartPy Python toolkit for analysis of noisy signals from heart rate measurements is an excellent tool to use in conjunction with novel wearable sensors. Nevertheless, most of the work to date has focused on applying the toolkit to data measured with commercially available sensors. We demonstrate the application of the HeartPy functions to data obtained with a novel graphene-based heartbeat sensor. We produce the sensor by laser-inducing graphene on a flexible polyimide substrate. Both graphene on the polyimide substrate and graphene transferred onto a PDMS substrate show piezoresistive behavior that can be utilized to measure human heartbeat by registering median cubital vein motion during blood pumping. We process electrical resistance data from the graphene sensor using HeartPy and demonstrate extraction of several heartbeat parameters, in agreement with measurements taken with independent reference sensors. We compare the quality of the heartbeat signal from graphene on different substrates, demonstrating that in all cases the device yields results consistent with reference sensors. Our work is a first demonstration of successful application of HeartPy to analysis of data from a sensor in development.

The Extent and Coverage of Current Knowledge of Connected Health: Systematic Mapping Study.

BACKGROUND: This study examines the development of the connected health (CH) research landscape with a view to providing an overview of the existing CH research. The research field of CH has experienced rapid growth coinciding with increasing pressure on health care systems to become more proactive and patient centered. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the extent and coverage of the current body of knowledge in CH. In doing so, we sought to identify specific topics that have drawn the attention of CH researchers and to identify research gaps, in particular those offering opportunities for further interdisciplinary research. METHODS: A systematic mapping study that combined scientific contributions from research in the disciplines of medicine, business, computer science, and engineering was used. Overall, seven classification criteria were used to analyze the papers, including publication source, publication year, research type, empirical type, contribution type, research topic, and the medical condition studied. RESULTS: The search resulted in 208 papers that were analyzed by a multidisciplinary group of researchers. The results indicated a slow start for CH research but showed a more recent steady upswing since 2013. The majority of papers proposed health care solutions (77/208, 37.0%) or evaluated CH approaches (49/208, 23.5%). Case studies (59/208, 28.3%) and experiments (55/208, 26.4%) were the most popular forms of scientific validation used. Diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and heart conditions were among the most prevalent medical conditions studied. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that CH research has become an established field of research that has grown over the last five years. The results of this study indicate a focus on technology-driven research with a strong contribution from medicine, whereas the business aspects of CH have received less research attention.

A Research Roadmap: Connected Health as an Enabler of Cancer Patient Support.

The evidence that quality of life is a positive variable for the survival of cancer patients has prompted the interest of the health and pharmaceutical industry in considering that variable as a final clinical outcome. Sustained improvements in cancer care in recent years have resulted in increased numbers of people living with and beyond cancer, with increased attention being placed on improving quality of life for those individuals. Connected Health provides the foundations for the transformation of cancer care into a patient-centric model, focused on providing fully connected, personalized support and therapy for the unique needs of each patient. Connected Health creates an opportunity to overcome barriers to health care support among patients diagnosed with chronic conditions. This paper provides an overview of important areas for the foundations of the creation of a new Connected Health paradigm in cancer care. Here we discuss the capabilities of mobile and wearable technologies; we also discuss pervasive and persuasive strategies and device systems to provide multidisciplinary and inclusive approaches for cancer patients for mental well-being, physical activity promotion, and rehabilitation. Several examples already show that there is enthusiasm in strengthening the possibilities offered by Connected Health in persuasive and pervasive technology in cancer care. Developments harnessing the Internet of Things, personalization, patient-centered design, and artificial intelligence help to monitor and assess the health status of cancer patients. Furthermore, this paper analyses the data infrastructure ecosystem for Connected Health and its semantic interoperability with the Connected Health economy ecosystem and its associated barriers. Interoperability is essential when developing Connected Health solutions that integrate with health systems and electronic health records. Given the exponential business growth of the Connected Health economy, there is an urgent need to develop mHealth (mobile health) exponentially, making it both an attractive and challenging market. In conclusion, there is a need for user-centered and multidisciplinary standards of practice to the design, development, evaluation, and implementation of Connected Health interventions in cancer care to ensure their acceptability, practicality, feasibility, effectiveness, affordability, safety, and equity.