Development of a Portable, Continuous, and Real-time Muscle Metabolism Monitoring System Based On Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Analysis and Mobile Edge Computing

在包括加拿大在内的大多数发达国家，糖尿病等非传染性慢性病一直是发病率、死亡率和保健支出的主要原因，而且似乎呈上升趋势。身体活动在促进NCD患者康复中的关键作用已被广泛认可，这要求对肌肉氧合进行全面了解。近年来，近红外光谱技术因其无创性和便携性而被认为是研究肌肉代谢的一种很有前途的方法。虽然它是有前途的，应用近红外技术的肌肉代谢测量是具有挑战性的，由于噪声，干扰和失真的接收信号的复杂的配置文件，以及高计算复杂性所导致的应用先进的信号处理技术。 所有这些挑战都阻碍了工业公司开发基于NIRS技术的商业肌肉代谢监测仪。为了更好地应对上述挑战，本项目将通过整合信号处理和移动的通信领域的最新技术，重点开发一个新的实施平台。具体来说，通过有意义的工业和学术合作，这项工作将开发1）一个新的指定软件平台，用于通过新制造的近红外传感器进行定量肌肉氧合饱和度（SmO 2）测量;以及2）新的协议和算法，解决采用移动的边缘计算进行实时监测的问题。这项前沿研究将在近红外光谱分析和移动的边缘计算方面产生新的想法和知识，并通过合作，开发新的商业产品，为加拿大医疗保健行业在国际市场上提供重要的竞争优势。

Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, have been a leading cause of morbidity, mortality and health care expenditures in most developed countries including Canada, and appear to be on the rise. The pivotal role of physical activity in improving NCD patients' rehabilitation has been widely recognized, which requests thorough understanding of muscle oxygenation. Recently, technology based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been proposed as a promising way to investigate muscle metabolism because of its noninvasive and portable nature. Although it is promising, applying NIRS technology for muscle metabolism measurement is challenging due to the complex profiles of noise, interference, and distortion to the received signal, and the high computational complexity resulting from the application of advanced signal processing techniques. All these challenges have prevented industrial companies from developing commercial muscle metabolism monitors based on the NIRS technology.****To well address all aforementioned challenges, this project will focus on developing a new implementation platform through integrating the state of art technologies in signal processing and mobile communications. Specifically, with meaningful industrial and academic collaborations, this work will develop 1) a new specified software platform for quantitative muscle oxygenation saturation (SmO2) measurement over a newly fabricated near-infrared sensor; and 2) novel protocols and algorithms addressing the adoption of mobile edge computing for real-time monitoring. This cutting-edge research will generate new ideas and knowledge in NIRS analysis and mobile edge computing, and, through collaborations, enable the development of new commercial products that will foster a vital competitive edge for Canadian healthcare industry in the international market place.**