Healthy fashion: They developed earrings that track the user’s well-being

(HealthDay News) — A new pair of earrings has joined the abundance wearable technology which can help in monitoring welfareResearchers report.

He thermal earring Continuously monitors the temperature of the user’s earlobe, according to researchers at University of Washington ,U.W.) Who developed it? Bali overtakes one smart watch In detecting skin temperature during periods of rest, according to the results of a small-scale study of six users. These readings can help users keep track of symptoms of illness, stress, diet, exercise, and ovulation.The researchers noted.

“I use smartwatches to track my personal health, but I’ve found that many people think smartwatches are fashionable or bulky and inconvenient,” said the co-lead author. Qiuyu (Shirley) ZouPhD student in the School of Computer Science and Engineering Paul G. Allen from Seattle University.

prototype of smart earring It is similar in size and weight to a small paperclip and has battery life 28 days, the researchers said. A magnetic clip attaches a temperature sensor to the user’s ear, while another sensor hangs about an inch below to gauge ambient temperature.

The earrings can be decorated with fashionable designs made of resin or gems without affecting their accuracy., the researchers said. “We found that it was more accurate to detect skin temperature on the lobe rather than the hand or wrist,” he said. zoo In a university news release.

“It also gave us the option to hang a portion of the sensor to separate ambient temperature from skin temperature.” Creating a wearable device that is as small as an earring, but robust enough so that it does not need to be charged frequently, presents an engineering challenge, the researchers said.

“Generally, if you want energy lasts longer, It should have a big battery. But then you sacrifice size. Making it wireless also requires more power,” said co-lead author Yujia (Nancy) Liu, While pursuing his master’s degree in University of Washington And now it’s in University of California, San Diego,

The team found a way to put a Bluetooth chip, a battery, two temperature sensors and an antenna on the earring by adjusting the way it connects with the device to deliver data. Instead of pairing directly with a device, the earring uses a Bluetooth advertisement mode: the stream used to display the Bluetooth device can be paired. After reading a person’s temperature and passing the data, Bali goes into deep sleep to save energy,

Researchers also explored the usefulness of earlobe temperature in guiding medical and research efforts. A study of five patients suffering from fever found that earring increased the average temperature by approximately 11 degrees Fahrenheit compared to the temperatures of 20 healthy patients, suggesting the earring’s potential for fever control.

“In medicine, we often monitor fever to assess response to therapy, for example, to see if an antibiotic is working on an infection,” said co-author Dr. Dr. Mustafa SpringstonClinical Instructor of Emergency Medicine at the University College of Medicine. U.W.,

“Long-term monitoring is one way Increase susceptibility to catching fever, because they can rise and fall throughout the day. Earlobe temperature also varies more than core body temperature. In tests, Bali successfully detected temperature variations associated with diet, exercise, stress and ovulation, the researchers said.

“Current wearable devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbit have temperature sensors, but they only provide average temperatures for the day, and their wrist and hand temperature readings are too noisy to track ovulation.”, he said. zoo,

“So we wanted to explore unique applications for Bali, especially applications that could Appealing to women and anyone who cares about fashion, Next, the researchers plan to train the earring’s algorithm to better adapt to each potential use and conduct more extensive testing. Future iterations may also include monitoring heart rate and activity, he said zoo,

devices can be operated solar energy Or from the kinetic energy generated by the swinging of the earring. “Eventually, I want to develop a set of orbs for health monitoring,” he said. zoo, “Earrings will track activity and health metrics like temperature and heart rate, while a necklace can do the job electrocardiogram monitor For more effective heart health data.”

The study is published in the February 12 issue of the journal Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies,

Further information: The University of California, Berkeley has more information on wearable devices.

Source: University of Washington, press release, February 7, 2024

*Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter – ©The New York Times