Posts Tagged ‘shimmer’

TEDMED has released the presentation given by Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm at the conference last October. Jacobs shares his vision for the future of Wireless Healthcare where people will always feel in touch with their doctor, and their health can be monitored at all times for when something goes wrong. This he notes will be realised by wearable wireless sensors, to improve individuals’ healthcare from aiding acute and chronic conditions, to a person’s general health and wellbeing. Jacobs demonstrates a Shimmer on the 7:25 mark, which monitors the activity of a person whilst the data is being remotely interpreted in real time.

The program interpreting and displaying the data captured can be viewed on an interview conducted with Paul Jacobs at TEDMED. The program is displayed on the 1:50 mark – view video.

Kieran Daly, VP of Business Development at Shimmer Research was recently interviewed by John Kennedy of Digital 21 in relation to the importance of PhD graduates in developing R+D projects, innovation, and real business opportunities.

Commenting on Shimmer Research’s sustained commitment to wireless sensing innovation, Kieran Daly describes current collaboration being conducted in the area of integrating wireless sensors into garments, and the importance of IRCSET’s enterprise partnership scheme to the project.

You can view the full article on Digital 21’s website, along with a video clip with Kieran Daly being interview in the websites video section titled: ‘Digital-21-IRCSET’. Kieran is interviewed on the 1:10 mark.

Shimmer 2R, the latest revision of the Shimmer platform has been released and is now available to purchase from our online store. Changes to the platform include a lower power Accelerometer, new Bluetooth radio module, new 802.15.4 radio module, and a smaller more functional enclosure.

The Shimmer 2R platform has improved battery voltage monitoring, and the ability to measure/calculate instantaneous operating current. This new functionality will benefit customers seeking to develop resource aware applications. The new 802.15.4 radio module, developed by Shimmer Research and titled SR7, has FCC, IC, and ETSI certification and is also utilised on the recently launch Span Platform for low power standards based communication.

New Features of the Shimmer 2R Platform:

• New 3 Axis Accelerometer: Freescale MMA7361 1.5/6g Micropower MEMs Accelerometer

• New Shimmer Research SR7 Radio Module: 802.15.4 Radio Module with Chipcon CC2420, Chip Antenna. The SR7 has FCC, IC, and ETSI Certification.

• New Class 2 Bluetooth™ Radio: Roving Networks RN-42 with soft-power control and improved low-power and master-mode.

• Power Monitoring: Improved battery voltage monitoring and the ability to measure/calculate operating current.

• More Functional Case Design.

The release of Shimmer 2R coincides with the release of a full range of new enclosures. The new case design is 25% smaller in volume than the previous generation Shimmer unit, and offers greater functionality on the expansion modules.

For more details on the Shimmer 2R platform download the capabilities overview, or for registered users of our members section, download the Shimmer 2R manual.

Shimmer Research has released a new Gyro Sensor module. The new Rigid Gyro board design replaces the previous Flex Gyro board and adds additional features for enhanced operation and accuracy.

The Shimmer Gyro Board has an enhanced user interface with a programmable button for application control (such as sampling start/stop, RF transmission start/stop, data marker), a programmable indicator, and pinhole reset. The new rigid Gyro Board also burns 25% less power than the previous Shimmer Flexi Gyro design and with a rigid board implementation to ensure a perpendicular Z-axis, the new board reduces alignment error and provides mechanical stability. The size of the Shimmer is unchanged, even with the new features.

New Gyro Board – Key Features:

Sensing:

• InvenSense 500 series MEMs Gyros provide 500 degrees/s full scale, 2.0mV/degree/second sensitivity.
  • (Factory option for 110 degrees/s and 9.1mV/degree/second sensitivity)
• Planar design reduces alignment error and provides mechanical stability
• Burns 25% less power than previous Shimmer Gyro
• Zero-signal reference levels for offset calibration
• Gyro Temperature monitoring for precision sensing applications
• Auto-zero control for precision sensing applications
• Secondary power regulator rejects system noise
• Gyros can be disabled to save power

User Interface:

• Programmable Button for application control.  Examples: Sampling Start/Stop, RF transmission Start/Stop, Data Marker
• Programmable Indicator
• Pinhole reset

The TRIL centre has recently published an article outline their work in developing an Alertness Training Programme. The programme is aimed at improving the attention and alertness of older people, which is seen to have a significant effect on how well they function at home and in their communities, and ultimately on their ability to live independently.

The device which was designed specifically with the end user in mind utilises a Shimmer GSR (Galvanic Skin Response) sensor to indicate and record levels of alertness by the user. The Shimmer GSR is integrated into a cushion like design which makes the device appear less medical or technical and therefore more approachable to non-technically inclined older adults.

Operation

Two leads protrude from the device, and Velcro loops with embedded sensors are worn on the fingers. When the device is switched on, it takes a baseline GSR reading.  The user presses the grey button before self-alerting, and the on-screen graph spikes upward to indicate a higher level of alertness, as measured by galvanic skin response.  The GSR data is recorded to a micro-SD card, for later analysis.

To read the full article, please select the following link

In a recent testimony to a US Senate Special Sub-Committee on Aging, Eric Dishman reflected on the persistent barriers that prevent the widespread implementation of telehealth, aging-in-place, and what Continua calls “e-care” (for “electronic care”) technologies.

He opened his testimony by introducing two new technologies which he feels are key to the implementation of e-care systems. One of the two technologies he chose to introduce to the Senate Committee was Shimmer.

Utilising Shimmer to monitor the daily movements of seniors and predict when a fall may be likely to occur, Dishman believes that the technology can help reduce falls by as much as 70% or more. Currently one in every three people over the age of 65 fall each year, at an estimated cost of $44 billion to the US economy yearly by the end of this decade.

Read his full testimony by following this link.

A video of the testimony is also available on the above link, with Eric Dishman introduced to the committee at the 75.40 mark. He introduces Shimmer to the committee at the 76.45 mark.

The new version of the Shimmer Standalone Display software is now available from the download section of our website. The updated version contains both the Shimmer Display and the Shimmer Binary Reader which enable the user to use Shimmer in a standalone environment.

Updated features include:

• LowPass / HighPass filters
• Actual / filtered values display
• Accelerometer calibration
• Corrected multiple display labels
• Updated help file
• CSV / Binary capture feature
• Export CSV from Shimmer Reader

About Shimmer Display

The Shimmer Display allows users to display the data received from Shimmer. The program can also capture data to disk and / or send it as UDP packets on the local network. The data can be captured in the Bluetooth client mode only, and can export to a Binary file, or a CSV file. As the data is coming over a standard serial port – any Windows program (Windows 95 to Windows 7) will be able to receive the data, meaning there is no need for any driver. In UDP client mode, the program displays the data broadcasted over the local network by a Shimmer connected to a different computer or network adapter.

About Shimmer Binary Reader

The Shimmer Binary Reader is an application used for displaying the raw data captured by the Shimmer Display application and the Shimmer Symbian Bluetooth client.

To download the file, please visit the following link: http://shimmer-research.com/wordpress/download/softwares. Please note that the file is only available to registered members of the website.

The new EMG and GSR daughter cards have now been released and are officially available to Shimmer users. The EMG (Electromyogram) will prove a useful tool to existing users of the ECG daughter card with no software changes required except to support higher sampling rates, whilst readers will be familiar with the recent validation work carried out on the GSR (Galvonic Skin Response) daughter card for use in biomedical-orientated research applications.

The EMG daughter card is a highly economical wireless acquisition system for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by muscles using conventional disposable electrodes. The EMG works just like the existing Shimmer ECG daughter card allowing the addition of EMG measurement to existing Shimmer systems as a drop-in replacement. The EMG has low power consumption 180µA (leads connected) and a frequency range* of 5Hz-482Hz.

The GSR daughter card monitors skin conductivity between two reusable electrodes attached to two fingers of one hand and can be used in areas such as affective computing and to monitor aspects including stress, excitement, shock, and cognitive factors. The Shimmer GSR outperforms competing devices by using four digitally controlled measurement ranges. Developers use this capability to ensure accurate measurement across a variety of test subjects in real-world deployments.

The EMG and GSR daughter cards maintain an open system with no proprietary connectors, and have an open and extensible software and data format. They both capture data to the highest industry standards, and offer far superior flexibility due to wearable technology and small form factor allowing for greater usability in real world applications. Most notably, the EMG and GSR daughter cards match or often outperform competing gold standard sensor units, whilst offering better ergonomics at a cost-effective price.

A brief specification overview of the two daughter cards can be seen below:

EMG

GSR

The new daughter cards can be purchased by contacting info ‘at’ shimmer-research.com, and will be available to purchase from our online store in the coming weeks.

Shimmer Research is to attend Arab Health 2010 which taking place from the 25^th – 28^th of January at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Kieran Daly, VP of Business Development will be representing Shimmer Research, and can be contacted at AmRay Medical’s stand (Hall 2: Stand 2J70).

The Arab Health Exhibition & Congress is the largest healthcare exhibition in the Middle East, and the second largest in the world. Established 35 years ago, it provides a platform for the world’s leading manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors to meet the medical and scientific community in the Middle East and beyond.

Kieran Daly will be displaying the Shimmer unit in operation throughout the event and will be demonstrating the latest ECG application which remotely monitors and displays heart beat rate and QRS waveforms. The application also indicates a normal heart rate, and detects arrhythmias for real time patient monitoring.

To arrange a meeting with Kieran Daly – email us at: info ‘at’ shimmer-research.com.

With the arrival of the New Year, the development of the Shimmer platform has continued apace. The platform has recently been awarded the CE mark, proving it has met EU consumer health and safety requirements for medical equipment. The CE certification also includes the ECG, EMG, and Gyro daughter cards.

The certification demonstrates the platforms conformance and compliance to the requirements of Annex IV of Council Directive 1999/5/EC.

microSD

For members of our website’s user community, the Shimmer microSD Media Guide has just been posted to our Download/Documents section. The guide details the compatibility requirements, qualification list results, and data recovery tools for Shimmer users running applications that utilise the microSD functionality.

To download the guide, please click here.