IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering

Electro Quasi-Static Human Body Communication (EQS-HBC) is an emerging communication technique that utilizes the conductive medium of the human body to achieve enhanced energy efficient and physically secure communication in comparison to traditional radio wave-based technologies like Bluetooth. This work presents 1) a thorough characterization of interference on the human body in day-to-day life and 2) develops a human body interference coupling biophysical model. The measurements provided in this paper can serve as a guide for device designs or future EQS-HBC studies as it provides understanding into coupling modalities of interference and accurate interference measurement techniques... Read more

In this study, we present a novel method of noninvasively estimating mechanical load in the Achilles tendon using burst vibrations. These vibrations, produced by a small vibration motor on the skin superficial to the tendon, are sensed by a skin-mounted accelerometer, which measures the tendon’s response to burst excitation under varying tensile load. Characteristic changes in the burst response profile as a function of tendon tension are observed and used as inputs to an ML model, which yields accurate (R2 = 0.85) estimates of ankle loading during gait. Preliminary results of a fully wearable ankle load monitor are also presented... Read more

Oxygen concentration in living organisms is one of the important vital indicators in emergency care and bedside medical settings. However, the oximetry method has limitations: the measurement site is limited to the tissue containing blood and the absolute value of... Read more

Ubiquitous blood pressure monitoring is on the horizon for two reasons. One reason is a profound need. Hypertension is a major cardiovascular risk factor that is treatable, yet high blood pressure detection and control rates are abysmally low, especially in... Read more