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Trainingsprozesse sollten individualisiert und situativ an das Verhältnis zwischen Belastung bzw. Beanspruchung und Erholung angepasst werden, um optimale physiologische Adaptionen und Leistungsverbesserungen zu erzielen. Dazu müssen verschiedene Belastungs- und Beanspruchungsmarker erfasst, analysiert und interpretiert werden. Durch technologische Entwicklungen im Bereich tragbarer Sensorik (Wearables) ist es inzwischen möglich, eine Vielzahl an relevanten Belastungs- und/oder Beanspruchungsmarkern in der Praxis zu erheben. Übergeordnetes Ziel der Dissertation war, den Einsatz von Wearables zum Monitoring von Belastungs- und/oder Beanspruchungsmarkern zur individualisierten und situativ angepassten Steuerung von Trainingsprozessen aus trainingswissenschaftlicher Perspektive zu untersuchen. Es wurden sechs Studien durchgeführt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, 1. dass einige, aber nicht alle relevanten Belastungs- und Beanspruchungsmarker mit derzeit kommerziell erhältlichen Wearables erfasst werden können (Studie 1), 2. dass viele Marker welche von Wearables erhoben werden nicht auf Reliabilität und/oder Validität hin untersucht worden sind und/oder dass sich die Reliabilität und/oder Validität zwischen Wearables und verschiedenen sportlichen Aktivitäten unterscheidet und deren Anwendung daher limitiert ist (Studie 1,2,3), 3. dass die Apple Watch Series 4, gefolgt von der Polar Vantage V, die derzeit beste Validität zur Erfassung der Herzfrequenz bei Athleten während verschiedenen Laufintensitäten aufweist (Studie 3). 4. dass bei Läufern ein individualisiert gesteuerter Trainingsprozess (basierend auf Daten des autonomen Nervensystems erfasst durch Wearables) zu größeren Leistungsverbesserungen und ausgewählten submaximalen physiologischen Adaptionen führt, als ein nicht individualisiert gesteuerter Trainingsprozess (Studie 4), 5. dass ein System benötigt wird, welches verschiedene Technologien zur weiteren Ausdifferenzierung eines individualisiert gesteuerten Trainingsprozesses vereint (Studie 5). Es bleiben weitere Fragen offen die Klärung bedürfen, wenn Wearables zum Monitoring von Belastungs- und/oder Beanspruchungsmarkern zur individualisierten Steuerung von Trainingsprozessen verwendet werden sollen. Zu diesen Fragen gehören unter anderem: 1. Welche Auswahl an Belastungs- und/oder Beanspruchungsmarkern sowie Wearables in Abhängigkeit der Sportart, der Athletenpopulation und der Trainingsphase optimal ist, 2. ob die Erfassung von großen Datenmengen sowie die Anwendung von Big Data Analysen einen Mehrwert bei der individuellen Steuerung von Trainingsprozessen liefern, 3. wie ein (Bio-)Feedback optimal gestaltet wird, 4. wie Trainer mit Wearables interagieren, 5. welche Abänderung des Trainingsprozesses in Abhängigkeit der jeweiligen Sportart und Athletenpopulation auf Basis welches Parameters optimal ist. / Training prescription should be individualized and responsively adjusted to balance training load and recovery in order to promote optimal physiological adaptations and enhance performance. This procedure requires monitoring of external and internal load markers. Due to the technological developments in the field of wearable sensor technologies (wearables), a variety of markers can be monitored. The overall goal of this thesis was to investigate the use of wearables for monitoring external and internal load markers for the individualization and responsive adjustments of training processes from a training science perspective. Six studies were conducted. The main findings are as follows: 1) some, but not all, external and internal load markers can be monitored with commercially available wearables (study 1), 2) many markers which are monitored by wearables have not been examined for reliability and/or validity and/or that the reliability and/or validity differs between wearables and between different sporting activities which limits their usefulness (study 1, 2, 3), 3) the Apple Watch Series 4, followed by the Polar Vantage V, revealed the highest validity to monitor heart rate of athletes during different running intensities (study 3), 4) in runners individualization and responsive adjustments of training processes (based on data from the autonomic nervous system monitored by wearables) leads to greater performance improvements and selected submaximal physiological adaptations than a predefined training prescription (study 4), 5) a system needs to be developed which combines different Wearables for further differentiation of an individualization and responsively training process (study 5). There are questions that need clarification if Wearables shall be used to monitor external or internal load markers for the individualization and responsive adjustments of training processes. These questions include: 1) Which selection of external and internal load markers and wearables is optimal depending on the type of sport, the athlete population and the training phase? 2) Does the acquisition of large amounts of data and the application of big data analyses such as the artificial intelligence adds value in the individualization and responsive adjustments of training processes? 3) How is the (bio-)feedback optimally established? 4) How do coaches interact with data derived from wearables? 5) Which responsive adjustment of the training process is optimal, depending on the respective sport and athlete population?

The decreasing cost of chip manufacturing has greatly increased their distribution and availability such that sensors have become embedded in virtually all physical objects and are able to send and receive data -- giving rise to the Internet of Things (IoT). These embedded sensors are typically endowed with intelligent algorithms to transform information into real-time actionable insights. Recently, humans have taken on a larger role in the information-to-action path with the emergence of human-centric sensing. This has made it possible to observe various processes and infer information in complex personal and social spaces that may not be possible to obtain otherwise. However, a caveat of human-centric sensing is the high cost associated with high precision systems. In this dissertation, we present two low cost and high performing end-to-end solutions for human-centric sensing of physiological phenomena. Additionally, we present a post-hoc data-driven sensor synchronization framework that exploits independent, omni-present information in the data to synchronize multiple sensors. We first propose XTREMIS -- a low-cost and portable ECG/EMG/EEG platform with a small form factor that has a sample rate comparable to research-grade EMG machines. We evaluate XTREMIS on a signal level as well as utilize it in tandem with a Gaussian Mixture Hidden Markov Model to detect finger movements in a rapid, fine-grained activity -- typing on a keyboard. Experiments show that not only does XTREMIS functionally outperforms current wearable technologies, its signal quality is high enough to achieve classification accuracy similar to research-grade EMG machines, making it a suitable platform for further research. We then present SiCILIA -- a platform that extracts physical and personal variables of a user's thermal environment to infer their clothing insulation. An individual's thermal sensation is directly correlated with the amount of clothing they are wearing. Indeed, a person's thermal comfort is crucial to their productivity and physical wellness, and is directly correlated with morale. Therefore it becomes important to be aware of actions such as adding or removing clothing as they are indicators of current thermal sensation. The proposed inference algorithm builds upon theories of body heat transfer, and is corroborated by empirical data. SiCILIA was tested in a vehicle with a passenger-controlled HVAC system. Experimental results show that the algorithm is capable of accurately predicting an occupant's thermal insulation with a low mean prediction error. In the third part of the thesis we present CRONOS -- a sensor data synchronization framework that takes advantage of events observed by two or more sensors to synchronize their internal clocks using only their data streams. Experimental results on pairwise and multi-sensor synchronization show a significant drift improvement for total drift and a very low mean absolute synchronization error for multi-sensor synchronization. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Trunk-mounted monitoring equipment like GPSports SPIHPU units are designed to use global positioning (GPS), accelerometer and heart rate monitoring to evaluate the physical demands of an activity. A medical staff might also consider markers such as running symmetry in evaluation of injury occurrence and rehabilitation. A running symmetry is a ratio of the synchronization of the right and left lower limbs during the gait cycle. An asymmetry due to, a pathology or musculoskeletal injury, results in abnormal loading on the foot that may be detected by trunk-mounted accelerometry. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ability of SPIHPU units to detect running asymmetry. Subjects wore the HPISPU units (100Hz, 16g tri-axial accelerometer, 50Hz magnetometer) while engaged in various running activities. In the first study, artificially inducing a leg length discrepancy led to a difference between running symmetry scores. This discrepancy was confirmed using individual accelerometers attached to the lower leg near the foot. Next, varying running speed did not result in differences in running symmetry. However, the SPIHPU units did detect a running asymmetry between fatigued and non-fatigued conditions. Finally, two case studies showed that the units could identify asymmetry immediately after a lower leg injury and during rehabilitation of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery. The results of this study show that the HPUSPI units can be reliably used to monitor running symmetry and to detect asymmetrical gait patterns. / Master of Science

The development of wearable devices to monitor biosignals and collect real-time data from biological systems at all scales from cellular to organ level has played a significant role in the field of medical engineering. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has further increased the demand for remote monitoring and smart healthcare where patient data can be also be accessed from a remote distance. Recent efforts to integrate wearable devices with artificial intelligence and machine learning have transformed conventional healthcare into smart healthcare, which requires reliable and robust recording data. The biomedical devices that are mechanically stretchable and compliant have provided the capability to form a seamless interface with the curvilinear, soft surface of tissues and body, enabling accurate, continuous acquisition of physical and electrophysiological signals. This dissertation presents a comprehensive set of functional materials, design principles, and fabrication strategies to develop mechanically stretchable and compliant biomedical devices tailored for various applications, including (1) a stretchable sensor patch enabling the continuous monitoring of swallowing function from the submental/facial area for the telerehabilitation of patients with dysphagia, (2) a human hand-like sensory glove for advanced control of prosthetic hands, (3) a mechanically compliant manipulator for the non-invasive handling of delicate biomaterials and bioelectronics, and (4) a stretchable sensors embedded inside a tissue scaffold enabling the continuous monitoring of cellular electrophysiological behavior with high spatiotemporal resolution.<br>

The global wearable technology market is forecasted for strong growth over the next five years with revenue expected to reach $14 billion in 2016 and grow to $34.2 billion by 2020 (CCS Insight, 2016). The wearable industry has undergone a long metamorphosis and growth and is presently becoming more mainstream with the popularization of fitness trackers and smartwatches. Because media portrayals influence public perception of topics covered by the media, exploring media portrayals of wearables is an important component part of understanding trends in growth and popularity of wearables. No other study has analyzed how the media has talked about wearable technology. This study examines newspaper coverage of wearable technology from 1988-2016 using the news framing perspective. A systematic content analysis was conducted on 182 articles from the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, New York Daily News, New York Post and The Washington Post analyzing issue frames, interview sources, episodic vs thematic frames, and type of wearable. This study found that among the four issue frames (progress, regulation, conflict, and generic risk) progress was the dominant frame. Episodic news frames emphasizing individual or specific examples were heavily relied on over thematic frames. The frequency of mentioning sources was not related to episodic/thematic coverage except for professor as an interview source. This study also found a significant relationship between interview source and year for no source. The results of this research provides useful insight into how wearable technology has been framed over the past 28 years by the news media which is helpful for companies creating and marketing these technologies, journalists writing about this type of technology, and scholars interested in understanding how the media talks about a new technology while it is in the process of diffusion. / Master of Arts

Wearable computing systems have been researched and developed for several decades. With the advent of the head-mounted display, augmented and mediated reality systems became an important example of wearable computing. However, due to certain factors such as computational constraints, cost, obtrusiveness, practicality, and social acceptance, mediated reality systems have been leveraged in only very specific application domains and have yet to see mainstream adoption. This dissertation describes the research and development of a real-time mediated reality platform developed for modern mobile devices to provide a more reasonable transition in overcoming the mainstream adoption barrier of mediated reality systems. In particular, an outdoor navigational application that provides contextually-relevant information about a user’s surroundings is developed using the platform as a proof-of-concept for evaluation. In addition, the server infrastructure required to support the application is discussed, as well as the evaluation of a hybrid orientation tracking approach using sensors and computer vision.

Wearable computing systems have been researched and developed for several decades. With the advent of the head-mounted display, augmented and mediated reality systems became an important example of wearable computing. However, due to certain factors such as computational constraints, cost, obtrusiveness, practicality, and social acceptance, mediated reality systems have been leveraged in only very specific application domains and have yet to see mainstream adoption. This dissertation describes the research and development of a real-time mediated reality platform developed for modern mobile devices to provide a more reasonable transition in overcoming the mainstream adoption barrier of mediated reality systems. In particular, an outdoor navigational application that provides contextually-relevant information about a user’s surroundings is developed using the platform as a proof-of-concept for evaluation. In addition, the server infrastructure required to support the application is discussed, as well as the evaluation of a hybrid orientation tracking approach using sensors and computer vision.

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The physical body is the one thing we have with us from the day we enter life to the day we depart. Most of us take for granted the fact that our bodies and all the systems therein do what we expect them to without pain or discomfort. It is important to keep this vessel as functional as possible. In this society where independence and mobility are highly valued, it is often thought that the body needs to be in working order to take full advantage of the world around us. It is easier to live when the body is in complete working order since our society is one designed for those with independent mobility. Although it may be difficult to see directly after an injury, quality of life is enhanced when mobility is regained. Reduced functionality leads to physical and emotional debilitation. Reduced functionality may occur from an accident, disease, injury or genetic abnormalities. According to The Disability Statistics Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, the fourth most common condition (4.6% of all conditions) which causes individuals to limit activities, is the impairment of lower extremities, greatly effecting quality of life (Persoon, 2004 and Rikli, 2005) Among the lower extremities, impairments, knee joint injuries and chronic pain are common. A 2003 interview from ABC television quotes Scott Lephart, Ph.D. as saying, knee injuries are occurring in epidemic proportions. Knee injuries constitute only about 15% of all sports injuries but are 50% of visits to sports doctors, indicating that when they happen, they are usually significant. (McLaughlin) This project will focus on lower extremity injuries since it is the largest orthopedically limiting condition. Physical Therapy is one of the medical options used to regain normal functionality of an injured body part or to reduce chronic pain from a musculoskeletal condition. Patients are referred to PTs by a physician, orthopedist or surgeon after an injury. The referrals come after a physician has confirmed that a patient needs to regain functionality and reduce pain after surgery or the incident of chronic pain. Patients may be seen at a variety of locations including the hospital (both in-patient and out-patient), a private PT office, at home, in a nursing home, or in an athletic center. The profile of patients who see PTs is changing and growing. The population of the United States shows a breakdown of 49.1% and 50.1% males to females. (Hicks et al., 2004) In therapeutic settings, the genders are unequally represented with 44.2% of patients being male and 55.8% being female. It has been hypothesized that more women are participating in sports and suffering subsequent injuries (Brisette, 2004 and abclocal.go.com). Compared to their representation in the U.S. general population, middle aged (50-74) and older (74+) adults were overrepresented in the demographics of those seen by a physical therapist. Most frequently seen patients were middle-aged adults (50-74) and young adults (20-49). The population is living longer and, through modern medicine, are able to live with chronic and disabling conditions. These conditions require treatment possibly resulting in the rise of patient statistics weighted towards the older population (Brisette, 2004). A patient participating in a course of physical therapy has not only to contend with the physical ramifications of an injury, but also the psychological issues (Uppal, 2003). While bones, ligaments and cartilage are healing, patients are required to participate in a series of exercises both at home and in a therapists office. While rehabilitating at home, patients may find it difficult to remember, make time or feel motivated to do these exercises. These issues are a large obstacle on the path to wellness. The design solution presented in this thesis looks at the factors which influence motivation including community, positive and negative feedback, tracking and goals. The proposed solution will incorporate information from the fields of psychology, wearable technology and physical therapy. Pain and injury do not necessarily motivate individuals to participate in a course of a HEP (home exercise program) which can eventually lead to better health. Knowing a product will make you feel better does not make you use it. A goal is not enough. To further motivate individuals, aspects of fun, community, autonomy and competence can greatly improve a persons desire to heal (Uppal, 2003 and Deci-Ryan and Coleman, 1998). A customizable, networked solution is proposed where individuals may use one, two or all three parts of an integrated system to track daily and overall progress, work with a buddy and communicate with a therapist. It is hypothesized that with this system, patients will be more motivated to participate in at home physical therapy to regain full functionality. The research and design process took part in various stages. Processes moved from the general to the specific as research and interviews informed the work.