Development of a Custom Wrist Wearable for Monitoring Motion, Temperature, SPO2, and Heart Rate

The wearable technology market is consistently growing, and many of these devices being developed for commercial applications and individual use are already incorporating sensors that measure vital information such as heart rate, blood oxygen, temperature, quality of sleep, and physical information such as calories burned, gait, or steps taken. It is very challenging for a small research team to have access to the custom integrated circuits (ICs) and software algorithms these systems demand. These wearables are wireless sensors and not monitors with user displays and controls. Typical sensing devices consist of Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), temperature sensors, heart rate (HR) sensors, and blood SPO2 sensors along with wireless communication and a rechargeable battery. The key objective is to develop a custom wrist-mounted wearable with optimal hardware and software design for measurement and power efficiency for battery lifetimes up to 1 month.