Validation of Wearable Device Consisting of a Smart Shirt with Built-In Bioelectrodes and a Wireless Transmitter for Heart Rate Monitoring in Light to Moderate Physical Work

Abstract

Real-time monitoring of heart rate is useful for monitoring workers. Wearable heart rate monitors worn on the upper body are less susceptible to artefacts caused by arm and wrist movements than popular wristband-type sensors using the photoplethysmography method. Therefore, they are considered suitable for stable and accurate measurement for various movements. In this study, we conducted an experiment to verify the accuracy of our developed and commercially available wearable heart rate monitor consisting of a smart shirt with bioelectrodes and a transmitter, assuming a real-world work environment with physical loads. An exercise protocol was designed to light to moderate intensity according to international standards because no standard exercise protocol for the validation simulating these works has been reported. This protocol includes worker-specific movements such as applying external vibration and lifting and lowering loads. In the experiment, we simultaneously measured the instantaneous heart rate with the above wearable device and a Holter monitor as a reference to evaluate mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The MAPE was 0.92% or less for all exercise protocols conducted. This value indicates that the accuracy of the wearable device is high enough for use in real-world cases of physical load in light to moderate intensity tasks such as those in our experimental protocol. In addition, the experimental protocol and measurement data devised in this study can be used as a benchmark for other wearable heart rate monitors for use for similar purposes.

Lightweight and High Accurate RR Interval Compensation for Signals From Wearable ECG Sensors

“…The RRI detection algorithm used in this study [14], while lightweight and capable of highly accurate RRI detection, is an algorithm specialized for healthy subjects without cardiac disease, so the results are limited to healthy subjects. In order to apply the proposed compensation method to the detection of cardiac disease, it is necessary to validate it in combination with an R-wave detection algorithm that can detect cardiac disease in the future.…”

“…It is recognized as one of the most important features in the ECG and has various healthcare and medical applications, including evaluation of heart rate variability [1], risk of sudden cardiac death [2], exercise physiology [3][4][5], sleep [6], and heart rate control [1,[7][8][9]. Furthermore, with recent technological advancements, it has become possible to acquire real-time ECG signals and detect RRIs using wearable sensors [10][11][12][13][14]. The data sampling rate is one of the factors influencing on the accuracy of RRI from ECG signals acquired by wearable sensors [1,15,16].…”

Sensitivity of Electrocardiogram on Electrode-Pair Locations for Wearable Devices: Computational Analysis of Amplitude and Waveform Distortion

“…Recently, wearable devices have been used to obtain long-term ECG monitoring for healthcare in our daily lives [ 14 , 15 ]. Wearable devices may provide a promising alternative solution for measuring heart rate variability [ 14 ]; however, many issues remain to be resolved regarding the accuracy of ECG measurements required for diagnosis.…”

Innovative dry electrode-based Health Patch: validating heart rate, respiration rate and user experience for vital signs monitoring

“…Over the last decade, medical-grade patch technology has emerged, allowing for wearable, wireless, userfriendly ECG monitoring 12 . Other wearable designs have also been explored, including a watch or ring format 13,14 and integration into textiles 15 . Essentially, innovation in vital signs patches for remote monitoring of ECG and vital signs has three key unmet needs: longer-term wear to capture the signals for two weeks' time and longer, skin comfort and high quality medical-grade signal.…”