My wiki:CR, HW

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System Description

The system measures the air quality and muscle activity of the user to prevent the development of headaches.

An air quality sensor is used to measure the quality of the air. An EMG measures the activity of the muscles in the shoulders and/or neck area. If the air quality becomes too poor (for example, falls below a certain level or deteriorates continuously over some time) or the user has not moved sufficiently over a longer period of time, they are alerted. In this case, an LED stick starts to light up and the seating area of the desk chair starts to virbrate for a short time.

The user can then decide to open the window, change his sitting position, or do muscle relaxation exercises. Alternatively, he can simply ignore the strip and continue working without changing anything about the situation. If the user moves again, or if the air quality improves, the LED strip stops glowing. Alternatively, it could switch between green and red (or more colors) to indicate the different states.

The data on air quality and muscle movement is collected to detect changes. An LED stick visualizes the data and shows the current state. Different colors indicate different states.


System Architecture

The system consists of two sensors (EMG, air quality sensor) and an actuator (vibration motor). A central data storage is implemented on a personal web server. An LED stick, visualizes the data for the user and shows the status of the entire system.

Required Hardware

Relation to Digital Health

The goal of our project is to prevent a headache. There are many different triggers for headaches, but we will concentrate on two different ones for our project. Unfortunately, there is often not enough fresh air in the office or at home. In addition, bad smells, cigarette smoke, cleaning agents, or cooking fumes pollute the air we breathe. Bad air not only leads to headaches but can also cause severe timing fluctuations, digestive disorders, nausea, loss of appetite, lack of concentration, and fatigue. That is why we measure the air quality and draw the user's attention to the need for ventilation. Headaches are also caused by tension in the shoulder and neck area. During long periods of sitting still, the muscles begin to tense up. That is why we also use an EMG to track muscle activity in the shoulders and neck area. If the user sits still for an extended time or his muscles begin to cramp, they are encouraged to move or change his sitting position. Also, relaxation exercises can be performed for the neck so that headaches do not occur in the first place.

The system is intended to reduce the occurrence of headaches and thus ensure better health at work.

Evaluation

Our prototype could be evaluated by tracking how strong and how often people have a headache. This could, for example, be done by a headache diary. Doctors use headache diaries to help diagnose recurring headaches.


The participants are divided into two groups. There are two conditions: With our system and without our system. It is randomly determined which group starts with which condition. At the end, it can be examined whether the presence of the prototype makes a difference in the frequency and severity of the headaches that the participants report.

It could also be investigated whether people who use our system are, on average, more active and have better air quality than people who do not use it. This could be used to check to what extent the users implement the instructions of our system.

References

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