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

糖尿病等非传染性慢性病一直是包括加拿大在内的大多数发达国家的发病率、死亡率和卫生保健支出的主要原因，而且似乎还在上升。体力活动在促进NCD患者康复中的关键作用已被广泛认识，这要求对肌肉氧合有深入的了解。近年来，基于近红外光谱(NIRS)技术的肌肉代谢研究因其非侵入性和便携性而被认为是一种很有前途的方法。尽管近红外光谱技术在肌肉代谢检测中的应用前景广阔，但由于接收信号的噪声、干扰和失真的复杂分布，以及先进信号处理技术的应用带来的高计算复杂性，将近红外光谱技术应用于肌肉代谢测量是具有挑战性的。所有这些挑战都阻碍了工业公司开发基于近红外光谱技术的商业肌肉代谢监测仪。*为了很好地应对所有上述挑战，该项目将专注于通过整合信号处理和移动通信的最新技术来开发一个新的实施平台。具体地说，通过有意义的产业界和学术界的合作，这项工作将开发1)新的专用软件平台，用于在新制造的近红外传感器上定量测量肌肉氧合饱和度(SmO2)；以及2)采用移动边缘计算进行实时监测的新协议和算法。这项前沿研究将在近红外光谱分析和移动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，这些产品将为加拿大医疗保健行业在国际市场上培养至关重要的竞争优势。**

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.**