A Unified Sensor System for Ubiquitous Assessment of Diet and Physical Activity

描述（由申请人提供）： 肥胖与多种遗传和环境因素有关。为了了解这种情况的病因并制定有效的体重管理计划，在自由生活环境中准确获取饮食和身体活动数据至关重要。目前，自我报告是数据获取的主要方法，但并不能准确反映个体在现实生活中的真实习惯行为。因此，缺乏产生公正、客观数据的评估工具极大地阻碍了肥胖研究的进展。我们提出了一种多媒体技术的新颖应用来研究肥胖。它将基于电子编年史（或e-chronicle），这是一种强大的多媒体数据管理技术，可提供个人经历和日常事件的易于访问的电子记忆。具体来说，我们将开发一种统一的传感器设备，该设备美观且易于患者佩戴。该设备将由一组生理传感器和一个微型摄像机组成。记录的数据将上传到功能强大的计算机，进行广泛的多媒体处理，以消除视频中的人物形象，并使用电子编年史技术组织信息。饮食和活动相关事件将被自动提取、索引并组织成易于访问的形式，为研究生活方式、行为和环境提供新的平台技术，从而为管理肥胖提供新的理解和有效的治疗选择。 我们提出了一种基于电子记录的多媒体技术的新颖应用来研究肥胖。我们将开发一种由一组生理传感器和微型摄像机组成的统一传感器设备来获取现场数据。饮食和活动相关事件将被自动提取、索引和组织，为研究生活方式、行为和环境提供新的平台技术，从而为管理肥胖提供新的理解和有效的治疗选择。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Obesity is associated with a large variety of genetic and environmental factors. In order to understand the etiology of this condition and develop effective weight management programs, accurate acquisition of diet and physical activity data in free-living environment is essential. Currently, self-reporting is the primary method for data acquisition, but does not accurately reflect the true habitual behavior of individuals in real life. As a result, the lack of assessment tools to produce unbiased, objective data has significantly hampered the progress of obesity research. We propose a novel application of multimedia technology to study obesity. It will be based on electronic chronicle (or e-chronicle), a powerful multimedia data management technology which provides an easily accessible electronic memory of individual's experience and daily events. Specifically, we will develop a unified sensor device which is cosmetically pleasant and can be easily worn by patients. This device will consist of a set of physiological sensors and a miniature video camera. The data recorded will be uploaded to a powerful computer where extensive multimedia processing will be performed to remove human appearances in the video and organize information using the e-chronicle technology. Diet and activity related events will be automatically extracted, indexed, and organized into an easily accessible form, providing a new platform technology to study lifestyle, behavior, and environment that promises new understanding and effective treatment option to manage obesity. We propose a novel application of multimedia technology based on electronic chronicle to study obesity. We will develop a unified sensor device consisting of a set of physiological sensors and a miniature video camera to acquire field data. Diet and activity related events will be automatically extracted, indexed, and organized, providing a new platform technology to study lifestyle, behavior, and environment that promises new understanding and effective treatment option to manage obesity.