Design and validation of wearables for social and psychological well being

Cognition has always been the primary for young adults as well as elderly individuals. Improving professional performance through mental trainings referred as peak brain performance remains in high demand for students as well as professions such as: athletes, employers, executives, security forces,

Project Title

Design and validation of wearables for social and psychological well being

Project Area of Specialization

Biomedical Engineering

Project Summary

Cognition has always been the primary for young adults as well as elderly individuals. Improving professional performance through mental trainings referred as peak brain performance remains in high demand for students as well as professions such as: athletes, employers, executives, security forces, lawyers, and journalists. Mental health issues due to work stress, optimal performance pressure, and other neurological disorders have been obscured and ignored in countries and cause economic loss of about 1 trillion US dollar, as reported by World Bank in year 2019 (https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/mental-health).

The outburst of COVID-19 pandemic has also negatively contributed to the psychological sufferings (Mumtaz et al., 2020). Cognitive deficits evident with difficulty in sustained attention is reported as an inevitable outcome of COVID-19 infection (Beaud et al., 2020). Higher prevalence of cognitive impairment has been reported in an earlier study conducted for the population of Karachi, Pakistan. A former study has reported two third of the elderly participated with cognitive impairment (Sabzwar et al., 2019). World Health Organization have also highlighted cognitive impairment as a major concern (who.int/ageing/publications/guidelines-icope) for which there are restricted or no treatments and interventions particularly in Pakistan.

Importance of integrating technology have been highlighted by World bank to address mental health issues (https://openknowledge.worldbank.org). Among different technologies that have recently been introduced worldwide for mental rehabilitation, Neuromodulation has gained a significant attraction because it is a non-invasive and a non-pharmacological intervention that can modulate brain activity via external stimulation. The advent of neuromodulation training has revolutionized treatment practices that are currently being exercised throughout the globe. The wired interface in addition to the cost of commercially available neuromodulators poses a huge challenge to the applicability of intervention. With regard to the aforementioned limitations this project will develop an embedded neuromodulator that can ensure aesthetics and deliver stimulation for short duration that can induce functional changes, there by modulating brain activity to enhance performance.

This project focuses to elevate health care standards, promote capacity building and enhance productivity thereby increasing knowledge-based economy. The objectives of this project are aligned with 5 sustainable development goals (3, 4, 8, 9, 12) and also with Pakistan vision 2025. The outcomes of this non-invasive, drug free tailored solution will impact not only medical domain but other fields such as education, sports and human resource sectors. In addition, it will also comply with World Bank by implementing technological use in clinical practices.

Project Objectives

Project Objectives:

• Deploy indigenous resources to develop cost effective therapeutic device not only to improve cognitive performance of disease population but also facilitates healthy individuals to execute activities with optimal performance
• This locally developed customized device with an efficiency comparable to commercially available therapeutic device of neurostimulation will reduce the dependency on imports and foreign expertise and thereby improve knowledge-based economy
• Validation and implementation of the proposed project will offer a non-invasive drug free tailoured solution to reduce pharmacological waste and elevate health standards of all in general by treating neuropsychiatric patients and increase attention of healthy individuals.

Compliance of the project with Sustainable development goals

SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all stages

Offers non-invasive and non-pharmacological intervention for impaired cognitive, social, affective and motor functions to ensures better health care by reducing the risks associated with medication.

SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Create an effective learning environment for all to improve attention and learning disorders

SDG 8: Promote sustainable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Improve economy by allowing individuals to perform activities with full potential and decrease the burden of medication cost by technological upgradation from currently exercised peripheral simulation to central simulation

SDG 9: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Initiate start up for local development of therapeutic intervention of brain stimulator device and generate employment opportunities

SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Introduce technology driven solutions for addressing neuropsychiatric issues thereby reducing consumption of medication which in turn will reduce pharmaceutical waste

Pakistan Vision 2020

Pakistan lags far behind in education, health and social development indicates a dire need of facilitating people with education to design and development new and cost effective therapeutically solutions for neurological, behavioral and psychiatric disorders will foster quality of living standards and enable people to contribute optimally for strengthening social and human capital complying with putting people first and Sustained, indigenous and inclusive growth  of Pakistan Vision 2020.

Project Implementation Method

The implementation plan for the proposed project is broadly categorized into three main stages. Each of which are briefly explained below:

Stage 1 –Hardware design

The project focuses on deployment of endogenous resources to design and develop an aesthetically pleasant hardware circuit integrated in a cap or band design capable of administrating low intensity direct current via wire embedded within the cap/band. The multiple sub-stages include:

• Literature review
• Component selection required for circuit design
• Controlled Current regulator
• Current switching
• Microcontroller programming and interface
• Circuit design and its software-based simulation
• Circuit testing on Vero board
• PCB design & PCB printing
• CAD for cap/band & 3D printing

Stage 2 –Application Development

In order to develop an intuitive device it is required to develop a software application that wirelessly delivers the set current intensity levels for the set duration which is the novelty of the design and is a feature that is not offered by commercially available neurostimulators.

The application comprises of a control panel with multiple options for various current intensities and choice for variable duration. The integrated circuitry will wirelessly deliver set current level for specified duration to the region of interest.

The application design and development comprise of the following steps:

• UI/UX Design
• User profiling
• Technical architecture
• Back-end development
• Safe controls
• Functional and performance testing

Stage 3 –System integration

Following the development of hardware setup, and software application the next stage is integration of them both. The system will then be tested by selecting the stimulation intensity for a specified duration via a mobile application which in turn will remotely activate the device for administration of electrical stimulation.

Benefits of the Project

1. tDCS device can be used as substitute of pharmacological therapy for patients with poor drug tolerability eliminating the risk of medication related side effects.
2. Augmentative treatment to be used in conjunction with psychotherapy for enhancement of cognitive skills such as attention, working memory etc.
3. Inexpensive therapeutic solution and is therefore attractive for establishment of healthy brain behavior relation and offers a promising solution for treatment of cognitive, social, affective and motor domains functions.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

• Cost effective, battery operated, non-invasive and non-pharmacological therapeutic intervention that is not only efficacious for mild cognitive impairment in medial realms but also increase attention levels of healthy individuals thereby producing a positive influence in educational, sports and human resource sectors.
• An aesthetically pleasant therapeutic device assembled in the form of headband and interfaced with a mobile application to deliver low intensity direct electrical current of 0.5mA to 2mA range for short duration to stimulate/excite definite brain regions involved/associated with improvement of desired function.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Health

Other Industries

Medical

Core Technology

Wearables and Implantables

Other Technologies

NeuroTech

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People, Quality Education, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Responsible Consumption and Production

Required Resources

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