I-Corps: A Cloud-based Wearable ECG Sensor on a Finger Ring

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过结合可穿戴设备和云计算来实现对突发心脏事件和心律失常的个性化监测。该项目将使用专利的云连接环形传感器进行长期按需心电(ECG)监测。目前的心电监测是一个价值40亿美元的市场。然而，现有的产品还不能提供长时间(一个月以上)的按需多导联心电信号。每年有超过38万美国人死于心脏病发作，其中三分之一发生在医院外，这促使人们提出了一种个性化心脏监测设备的解决方案，该设备可以按需提供可行的诊断，并与医生连接以进行快速干预。该项目将潜在地使一种首创的环形心电传感器能够满足这一未得到满足的需求。这个i-Corps项目将支持心脏病患者、医护人员、心脏病专家、护士和远程医疗公司的广泛客户发现。此外，通过NSF i-Corps团队项目，两名工程学博士生将学习精益创业模式等重要创业技能，经历密集而严格的客户发现过程，并与潜在投资者和合作伙伴建立网络。这个i-Corps项目将可穿戴设备与云计算相结合，实现按需个性化心脏监测。该项目的智力优势来自于基于柔性电子学的微型心电传感器和基于云的信息系统的创新。通过集成可穿戴式心电传感器和云计算，按需心脏监测信息可以与心脏病专家和急诊医生共享。智能手机可以用来接收医生建议的早期干预措施。在这个i-Corps项目中，该团队将探索基于云的可穿戴生物传感器在心脏应用的护理点环境中的市场潜力，在这些应用中，长期按需监控非常重要。该项目将涉及一个广泛的客户发现过程，包括潜在的利益相关者、商业模式的生成和潜在合作伙伴的确定。更广泛地说，这项平台技术也适用于其他可穿戴设备和高血压、抑郁症和痴呆症等慢性疾病。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to enable personalized monitoring of sudden cardiac events and heart arrhythmia by combining a wearable device and cloud computing. The project will utilize a patented cloud-connected ring sensor for long-term on-demand Electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring. Current ECG monitoring is a $4 billion dollar market. However no existing product can provide on-demand multi-lead ECG signals over long periods (over one month). Every year over 380,000 Americans die from heart attacks, of which one third happen outside a hospital, motivating a solution to a personalized cardiac monitoring device which can provide actionable diagnosis on-demand and is connected with physicians for quick intervention. This project will potentially enable a first-in-kind ring ECG sensor to serve this unmet need. This I-Corps project will support extensive customer discovery with cardiac patients, healthcare workers, cardiologists, nurses, and telemedicine companies. In addition, through the NSF I-Corps Team program, two engineering doctoral students will learn important entrepreneurial skills such as the lean start-up model, go through an intensive and rigorous customer discovery process, and network with potential investors and partners.This I-Corps project integrates wearable devices with cloud computing to enable personalized cardiac monitoring on-demand. The intellectual merit of the project stems from the innovation of flexible electronics based miniature ECG sensors and cloud-based informatics system. By integrating wearable ECG sensors and cloud computing, on-demand cardiac monitoring information can be shared with cardiologists and emergency physicians. A smartphone can be used to receive physician-suggested actions for early intervention. During this I-Corps project, the team will explore the market potential for cloud-based wearable biosensors at point-of-care settings for cardiac applications where long term on-demand monitoring is important. The project will involve an extensive customer discovery process with potential stakeholders, business model generation and potential partner identification. More broadly, this platform technology is also applicable to other wearable devices and chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, depression and dementia.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.