Data from smartphones and wearable devices provide rich longitudinal information on participants and allow for causal inference for daily exposures and outcomes. However, informative missingness, latent variables, unmeasured confounding, and uneven data collection rates are common in mobile health studies and may introduce bias. In addition, there are likely violations of stationarity, a key assumption for traditional longitudinal methods. To overcome these challenges, we first propose an expectation maximization algorithm to adapt the conventional test for unit root non-stationarity to a context with missing data, and develop a sensitivity analysis for data missing not at random. Using our method, we identify a patient with bipolar spectrum disorder who has a unit root in their daily negative mood score data. We hypothesize the non-stationarity may result from the underlying latent disease states such as mania or depression, and thus we additionally develop a model to identify and control for latent modification and confounding. Specifically, we propose a hidden Markov model for individual causal inference which handles missing data in the outcome through marginalization and multiple imputation. We compare the performance of our proposed model with a frequentist and a Bayesian implementation to a naive approach in a simulation and application to a multi-year smartphone study of bipolar patients. We employ the approach to evaluate the individual effect of digital social activity on sleep duration across different latent disease states. Lastly, we employ functional data analysis methods to summarize overnight wrist actigraph data, to evaluate the role of sleep as a mediator between stress and positive mood. We demonstrate that functional principal component analysis identifies key information about sleep that is otherwise lost using a scalar representation of sleep duration.

The use of electronic devices has grown in varying demographics of aviation pilots over the last 20 years. In the General Aviation (GA) industry, pilots have started to use personal devices like tablet computers as part of their regular flight routines. This dissertation focuses on three specific research questions to determine the significance of technological adoption by GA pilots for defect detection as part of standard inspection protocols. The mixed-studies approach in this dissertation investigates pilots’ perspectives on using electronic devices common to Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs), and what level of acceptance the current generation of pilots may have toward wearable technology that may aid in inspections. Additionally, this dissertation explores training needs for GA pilots to adequately adopt proposed technology for improved inspection protocols, as well as improve overall situational awareness. Lastly, this research intends to understand what boundaries there are in terms of visual inspections of GA aircraft by both pilots and Airframe and Propulsion (A&P) mechanics, and how these roles could improve communication of defects and hazards seen in each of their respectable inspection processes. The outcome of this research could lead to informing future policy, design, and training considerations for modern introductions of technology in supporting key aviation safety activities.

Wearable technology has made a positive impact in the consumer industry with its focus on adult fitness. Devices and applications are pervasive, inexpensive and are in high demand. Our nation struggles with obesity and health concerns related to poor fitness. However, the research on such technology has been more focused on adults. Therefore, the need to investigate wearable technology for fitness improvement with children is essential. Children lead increasingly sedentary lifestyles through TV watching, technology-use and a reduction in physical activities. Further, our society is exposed to quick food loaded with calories. These factors contribute to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. The need to educate students early, on their ability to monitor their fitness, is the focus of this research. This dissertation investigated the impact of an integrated technology-enhanced physical education model with 127 fifth grade students over an 11-week period. A detailed analysis, looking at theoretical perspectives across multiple data collections was conducted. This study answered the questions, 1. To what extent can students improve their performance with technology-enhanced physical education? 2. To what extent can students learn to self-monitor their performance levels? How do affective components impact teaching and learning with a technology-enhanced physical education model? Results showed that technology-enhanced physical education does improve performance measures, does improve students' ability to self-regulate and positively impacts student and teachers' affective states. However long term results were inconclusive, stimulating multiple, potential opportunities for continued research.

Les technologies portables sont dans le processus de révolutionner le domaine de la santé en offrant des données vitales qui assistent dans la prévention et le traitement des maladies. Les appareils portables de la santé (HWDs), comme le vêtement biométrique de Hexoskin, sont à la pointe de cette innovation en offrant des données physiologiques détaillées et en ayant un impact significatif dans les domaines comme l’analyse de la démarche et la surveillance des activités. Le but de cette étude est de développer des modèles précis de machine learning et deep learning capables de prédire les activités humaines à l’aide de données provenant des technologies portables Hexoskin. Ceci implique l’analyse des données des capteurs comme la fréquence cardiaque et les mouvements du torse dans l’optique de prédire avec précision les activités telles que la marche, la course et le sommeil. Cette étude a fait l’objet d’une collecte de données des capteurs de 52 participants sur une période de deux semaines à l’aide des technologies portables Hexoskin. Plusieurs techniques avancées d’ingénierie des caractéristiques ont été appliquées pour extraire des caractéristiques critiques comme les accélérations X, Y et Z. Plusieurs algorithmes de machine learning tels que le Balanced Random Forest (BRF), XGradient Boosting et LSTM (sans ingénierie des caractéristiques) ont été utilisés pour l’analyse des données. Les modèles ont été entraînés et testés sur des données provenant d’Hexoskin pour évaluer leurs performances basées sur l’exactitude, le rappel, la précision et du score F1. Cette étude démontre que les technologies portables Hexoskin, couplées à des modèles de machine learning sophistiqués, pouvaient prédire avec une grande précision les activités humaines. La recherche valide l’efficacité des technologies portables Hexoskin dans la reconnaissance des activités humaines, en mettant en lumière leur potentielle utilisation dans le domaine de la santé, l’analyse de la démarche, et la surveillance des activités. Cette étude contribue de manière significative à l’amélioration des standards de soins médicaux et ouvre des nouvelles perspectives pour le diagnostic et le traitement des conditions liées à la démarche. L’intégration des technologies Hexoskin avec des algorithmes de machine learning représente un pas en avant significatif dans la surveillance continue et en temps réel des maladies chroniques, v positionnant ainsi Hexoskin comme un outil fiable pour une multitude d’applications dans le domaine de la santé. / Wearable technologies are revolutionizing the healthcare field by providing vital data that assists in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Health wearable devices (HWDs), like the Hexoskin biometric garment, are at the forefront of this innovation by offering detailed physiological data and significantly impacting fields such as gait analysis and activity monitoring. The aim of this study is to develop accurate machine learning and deep learning models capable of predicting human activities using data from Hexoskin wearable technologies. This involves analyzing sensor data such as heart rate and torso movements to accurately predict activities such as walking, running, and sleeping. This study involved collecting sensor data from 52 participants over a two-week period using Hexoskin wearable technologies. Several advanced feature engineering techniques were applied to extract critical features such as X, Y, and Z accelerations. Multiple machine learning algorithms, such as Balanced Random Forest (BRF), XGradient Boosting, and LSTM (without feature engineering), were used for data analysis. The models were trained and tested on data from Hexoskin to evaluate their performance based on accuracy, recall, precision, and F1 score. This study demonstrates that Hexoskin wearable technologies, coupled with sophisticated machine learning models, can predict human activities with high accuracy. The research validates the effectiveness of Hexoskin wearable technologies in human activity recognition, highlighting their potential use in healthcare, gait analysis, and activity monitoring. This study significantly contributes to improving medical care standards and opens new perspectives for the diagnosis and treatment of gait-related conditions. The integration of Hexoskin technologies with machine learning algorithms represents a significant step forward in the continuous and real-time monitoring of chronic diseases, positioning Hexoskin as a reliable tool for a multitude of applications in the healthcare field.

Designing for and with animals is common within Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI). However, studies involving animals within the design process has challenges due to verbal barriers, and an unclear methodology on how to both understand, and analyse animals in ACI. This paper explores how an air-scent search dog can participate in the design process from the beginning to end involved in various design methods with a Participatory design (PD) approach, to empower the relationship between human and dog with the help of wearable technology. The study explores the benefits and challenges of the involvement of other species than humans in the process of making a prototype. Furthermore, two types of tools with biting and pulling interactions attached to a vest were developed and tested on an air-scent search dog in two different environments. Due to the verbal barrier between dogs and humans, it was necessary to let the dog participate by testing physical prototypes. This study aims to empower this relationship between an air-scent search dog and its handler with the help of wearable technology. The results suggest that direct contact with the other species is crucial in the creation and iteration of prototypes regarding; weight, placement, and wearable technology. The results also showed that in the context of search training, or situated based action, it is crucial to test the prototypes in an environment that reflects a real scenario in a forest, which is a typical place for search training.

The main objective of the presented research is to design, fabricate, fully characterize, and assess the usability and functionality of a novel wireless tongue-operated assistive technology, called Tongue Drive System (TDS), that allows individuals with severe physical disabilities (such as quadriplegics) to effectively access computers, drive powered wheelchairs, and control environments using their voluntary tongue motion. The system can wirelessly detect users' tongue movements using an array of magnetic sensors, and a magnetic tracer secured on the tongue, and translate them into a set of user-defined commands in real time, which can then be used to communicate with target devices in users' environment. The principal advantage of the TDS is that a combination of magnetic sensors and a small permanent magnet can capture a large number of tongue movements, each of which can represent one specific command. A set of dedicated tongue movements can be configured as specific commands for each individual user based on his/her preferences, lifestyle, and remaining abilities. As a result, this technology can benefit a wide range of potential users with different types of disabilities. The work carried out in this dissertation is largely split into three portions: (1) Development, fabrication and characterization of external TDS (eTDS) prototypes to verify the concept of TDS that is detecting and extracting user's intention through their voluntary tongue motion, utilizing a combination of magnetic sensors and a small magnet, as well as the application of this idea in the context of assistive technology. This part of the work is presented in Chapters IV, V and VI. (2) Assessment of the TDS performance in medium term usage for both computer access and wheelchair control. The main purpose of this work was to gain valuable insight into the TDS learning process and its current limiting factors, which could lead the way in designing new generations of TDS with improved usability. This portion of the work is described in Chapter VII. (3) Development and performance assessment of a multimodal TDS (mTDS), that operates based on the information collected from two independent input channels: the tongue motion and speech. This multimodal system expands the access beyond one input channel and therefore improves the speed of access by increasing the information transfer bandwidth between users and computers. This part of the work is presented in Chapters VIII and IX. This dissertation has contributed to the innovation and advancement of the start-of-the-art assistive technology research by exploring, realizing and validating the use of tongue motion as a voluntary motor output to substitute some of the lost arm and hand functions in people with severe disabilities for computer access, wheelchair navigation, and environmental control.

How can vibrotactile stimuli be used to create a technology-mediated somatic learning experience? This question motivates this practice-based research, which explores how the Feldenkrais Method and cognate neuroscience research can be applied to technology design. Supported by somaesthetic philosophy, soma-based design theories, and a critical acknowledgement of the socially-inflected body, the research develops a systematic method grounded in first- and third-person accounts of embodied experience to inform the creation and evaluation of design of Haplós, a wearable, user-customisable, remote-controlled technology that plays methodically composed vibrotactile patterns on the skin in order to facilitate body awareness—the major outcome of this research and a significant contribution to soma-based creative work. The research also contributes to design theory and somatic practice by developing the notion of a somatic learning affordance, which emerged during course of the research and which describes the capacity of a material object to facilitate somatic learning. Two interdisciplinary collaborations involving Haplós contribute to additional fields and disciplines. In partnership with experimental psychologists, Haplós was used in a randomised controlled study that contributes to cognitive psychology by showing that vibrotactile compositions can reduce, with statistical significance, intrusive food-related thoughts. Haplós was also used in Bisensorial, an award-winning, collaboratively developed proof-of-concept of a neuroadaptive vibroacoustic therapeutic device that uses music and vibrotactile stimuli to induce desired mental states. Finally, this research contributes to cognitive science and embodied philosophy by advancing a neuroscientific understanding of vibrotactile somaesthetics, a novel extension of somaesthetic philosophy.

En el Perú, según estudios realizados en el 2010, el 42% de los pacientes hipertensos son tratados, pero solo el 14% de los pacientes logran ser controlados. Esto se debe a que el proceso actual de control de la hipertensión no es completamente eficiente debido a que el paciente no se adhiere completamente al tratamiento y que los controles de la tensión arterial resultan ser muy puntuales tras periodos de tiempo largos de los cuales no se tiene información confiable relacionada con el progreso del paciente. Se plantea un sistema para el control y monitoreo de alteraciones hipertensivas en el embarazo con el uso de sensores biomédicos no invasivos. De esta manera aseguramos que la medición continua brinde la información precisa y confiable para que las mujeres gestantes puedan detectar a tiempo alguna alteración hipertensiva. Además, en segunda instancia, el sistema alerta a los familiares y al médico encargado sobre los niveles de presión arterial en caso de emergencia. El aporte del proyecto es reducir el aumento en la prevalencia de las enfermedades crónicas mediante la integración de los servicios de salud con la tecnología, y gestionar la información desde la colección de datos a través del wearable hasta la exposición. En base a las pruebas realizadas con pacientes gestantes, se obtiene que el 38.64% son controladas y monitoreadas el 75% del tiempo. Estos resultados indican que el uso de la tecnología puede influenciar positivamente en la reducción de la hipertensión en general o en enfermedades crónicas similares. / In Peru, according to studies conducted in 2010, 42% of hypertensive patients are treated, but only 14% of patients manage to be controlled. This is due to the fact that the current process of hypertension control is not completely efficient because the patient does not completely adhere to the treatment and that blood pressure controls turn out to be very punctual after long periods of time from which there is no reliable information related to the progress of the patient. A system is proposed for the control and monitoring of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy with the use of non-invasive biomedical sensors. In this way we ensure that continuous measurement provides accurate and reliable information so that pregnant women can detect any hypertensive disorder on time. In addition, the system alerts the family members and the doctor in charge about the blood pressure levels in case of emergency. The contribution of the project is to reduce the increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases by integrating health services with technology, and to manage information from data collection through wearable until data exposure. Based on the tests carried out with pregnant patients, 38.64% are controlled and monitored 75% of the time. These results indicate that the use of technology can positively influence the reduction of hypertension in general or in similar chronic diseases. / Tesis

Med en ökad användning av digitala enheter i samhället ser vi också att fler drabbas av hållningsrelaterade hälsobekymmer. Ungdomar är särskilt drabbade även om de i många fall är omedvetna om det, men knappt ingen forskning fokuserar på den här målgruppen och deras behov. Den forskning som tagits fram är inte heller överens hur man på bästa sätt löser problematiken med hållning. Syftet med studien är därför att göra ungdomar mer medvetna om sin kroppshållning samt ta reda på hur digital design på bästa sätt kan motivera ungdomar att förbättra sin kroppshållning. För att ta reda på detta ställdes följande fråga: ”Hur kan en digital designlösning utformas för att skapa medvetenhet kring ungdomars kroppshållning, samt hjälpa att förbättra deras kroppshållning på ett underhållande och icke störande sätt?”. Studien genomfördes med metoden Konceptdriven Designforskning som inkluderar skapandet av en konceptuell prototyp förankrad i tidigare forskning. Prototypen består av en bärbar sensor som mäter hållning och en applikation i form av ett spel där användaren kan se sin hållning i realtid samt aktivt träna sin hållning. Prototypen värderades sedan genom en digital enkätundersökning. I resultatet framgick att designlösningen kunde tänkas användas av deltagarna, samt hjälpa att förbättra deras hållning eftersom den gjorde användaren mer medveten om sin kroppshållning. Många deltagare trodde att spelet kunde bidra med motivation och göra hållningsträningen mer underhållande men att fler spel-funktioner krävs för att behålla användarens intresse under en längre tid. Deltagarna ansåg att konceptet i sin helhet inte var störande men att mer tydlig feedback krävs för att indikera bra/dålig hållning. Utifrån detta resultat kan slutsatsen dras att konceptet i teorin kan skapa medvetenhet kring ungdomars kroppshållning och hjälpa de att träna den på ett underhållande sätt som inte är störande, men att mer studier och designarbete krävs för att komma fram till det bästa sättet att ge användaren feedback om sin hållning samt göra konceptet mer attraktivt att använda ur ett långsiktigt perspektiv. / With the increased use of digital devices in society, we can see that more people are affected by posture related health issues. Adolescents are especially affected although in many cases they are unaware of it, but hardly any research focuses on this group and their needs. The research that has been done also does not agree on how to best solve the problem with posture. The purpose of this study is therefore to make young people more aware of their posture and to find out how digital design can be used in the best way to motivate young people to improve their posture. To find this out, the following question was formed: “How can a digital design solution be formed to create awareness about young people's posture and help improve their posture in an entertaining and non-disturbing way”. The study was carried out with the method Concept driven design research which includes the creation of a conceptual prototype grounded in previous research. The prototype consists of a portable sensor that measures posture and an application in the form of a game where the user can see their posture in real time and actively train their posture. The prototype was then evaluated through a digital survey. The results showed that the participants could consider using the design solution and that it helped to improve their posture as it made the user more aware of their posture. Many participants thought that the game could contribute with motivation and make posture training more entertaining, but that more gaming features are required to keep the user's interest for a longer period. The participants felt that the concept as a whole was not disruptive, but that more clear feedback is required to indicate good/bad posture. Based on this result, it can be concluded that the concept in theory can create awareness of young people's posture and help them to exercise it in an entertaining way that is not disturbing, but that further studies and design work is needed to come up with the best way to give the user feedback on their posture and to make the concept more attractive to use from a long-term perspective.

Forskning visar att det är vanligt med hjärtstopp utanför sjukhusen och att de oftast har en dödlig utgång om de inte får vård snarast. Många hjärtstopp sker i privata miljöer där det inte finns någon hjärtstartare, en familjemedlem eller utomstående som kan hjälpa till. Syftet med denna studie är att ta reda på hur ett distansövervakningssystem med ett användargränssnitt via en app kan utformas för att realtidsdiagnostisera hjärt-och kärlsjuka patienter utanför sjukhuset och påskynda utryckning vid hjärtstillestånd. Studien har utgått ifrån konceptdriven designforskning med en kvalitativ ansats och intervjuer med både öppna och stängda frågor. Individerna som har intervjuats är kardiologer som jobbar på den kardiologiska avdelningen på Länssjukhuset Ryhov i Jönköping. Den valda metoden har kombinerats med en litteratursökning inom sjukvårdsteknik och UX/UI-design. Studien resulterar i ett förslag på ett användargränssnitt, via en app, som erbjuder hälsoöversikt och realtidsdiagnostisering. Med hjälp av denna statistik kan algoritmer meddela användaren i appen om deras värden är normala eller onormala. Algoritmerna kan också varna användaren via notiser vid allvarliga hälsoförändringar när användaren behöver akut vård. Appen erbjuder också platslokalisering och att SOS-alarm kan direktlarmas vid de allvarliga hälsoförändringarna. Utryckning kan då påskyndas genom att SOS-alarm skickar en ambulans till platsen som patienten befinner sig på omgående. / Research shows that cardiac arrest is common outside hospitals and that they usually have a fatal outcome if they do not receive care as soon as possible. Many cardiac arrests occur in private settings where there is no pacemaker, family member or outsider who can help. The purpose of this study is to find out how a remote monitoring system with a user interface through an app can be designed to real-time diagnose patients with cardiovascular disease outside the hospital and accelerate emergency response. The study has been based on concept-driven design research with a qualitative approach and interviews with both open and closed questions. The individuals who have been interviewed are cardiologists who work in the cardiology department at Ryhov County Hospital in Jönköping. The chosen method has been combined with a literature search in healthcare technology and UX / UI design. The study results in a proposal for a user interface, through an app, which offers health overview and real-time diagnosis. Using these statistics, algorithms can notify the user in the app if their values are normal or abnormal. The algorithms can also warn the user through notifications in the event of serious health changes when the user needs urgent care. The app also offers site location and that SOS-alarm can be alerted directly in the event of serious health changes. Emergency response can then be accelerated by SOS-alarm sending an ambulance to the place where the patient is located immediately.