Title:  A Novel Multi-Modal Wearable Sensing System To Automatically Quantify Changes in Extravascular Fluids

Committee:

Dr. Omer Inan, ECE, Chair , Advisor

Dr. David Anderson, ECE

Dr. Pamela Bhatti, ECE

Dr. Mozziyar Etemadi, Northwestern University

Dr. Jacob Abernethy, CoC

Abstract: The objective of this research is to investigate non-invasive sensing technologies for robust monitoring of changes in a biological tissue’s extracellular fluid content in an uncontrolled setting. Specifically, alterations in extracellular fluid content due to intravenous (IV) catheter dislodgment and swelling following an ankle injury are investigated. First, a robust and miniature system was designed and implemented by researching different integrated circuits, analog front ends, and novel physiology-driven calibration techniques that together increase the system’s accuracy and reduce its size and power consumption. Next, novel methods and algorithms were developed to allow for unobtrusive real-time detection of changes in extracellular fluid content. The system and the methods were validated in human subjects studies and cadaver models for ankle edema tracking, and in human subjects studies for intravenous infiltration detection.