Emily Moise

MS Thesis Presentation

July 14, 2022 4pm

https://gatech.zoom.us/j/99198013990?pwd=eXlkVDBrQUxsSE9JMUF0THBrNWo0UT09

Advisor: Omer Inan, PhD

Committee:

Sampath Prahalad, MD Emory School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics

Young-Hui Chang, PhD Georgia Institute of Technology, Department of Biological Sciences

WEARABLE BIOIMPEDANCE SENSING FOR QUANTIFYING KNEE HEALTH IN JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is chronic arthritis that impacts children under the age of 16. The lack of pediatric rheumatologists in the United States, along with the inconvenience of Magnetic Resonance Imaging results in JIA misdiagnosis and lost care opportunities. Telehealth and virtual medicine provide the ability to monitor patients from home which can result in more insight into the current disease status. Improved technologies for assessing joint health in patients with JIA can enable personalized titration of care and lead to improved outcomes. In this work, we studied, for the first time, wearable bioimpedance measurements as a technique for quantifying joint health in JIA. Knee bioimpedance data were collected from 23 children with JIA and 8 healthy controls. Bioimpedance data were collected at 5 kHz and 100 kHz in knee flexion and extension positions. The calculated Halpha compares the changes in 5 kHz and 100 kHz resistance from flexion and extension position. Halpha showed statistically significant results (p<0.05) for discriminating between healthy controls and children with JIA. Additionally, electrical bioimpedance data were collected on multiple subjects (n=4) throughout their treatment time. Over time, Halpha decreases implying a positive change in disease status. The results of this study show the potential for using wearable electrical bioimpedance to determine JIA status and treatment effectiveness.