Tech Briefs Magazine - January 2022 - 42

Test & Measurement
grammed to monitor for new mutations
that could make the virus more infectious.
The researchers first tested their
device with human saliva spiked with
synthetic SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequences
and then with about 50 samples from
patients who had tested positive for the
virus. They found that the device was just
as accurate as the gold standard PCR
tests now used, which require nasal
swabs and take more time and significantly
more hardware and sample handling
to yield results.
The device produces a fluorescent
readout that can be seen with the naked
Engineers designed a small tabletop device that can detect SARS-CoV-2 from a saliva sample in
about an hour. (Photo: Devora Najjar)
eye and the researchers also designed a
smartphone app that can read the results
and send them to public health departments
for easier tracking. The researchers
believe the device could be produced at a
cost as low as $2 to $3 per device.
For more information, contact Abby
Aba zorius at abbya@mit.edu; 617-253-2709.
System Enables Contactless Monitoring of Heart Rhythm
Using Smart Speakers
Speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home can monitor regular and irregular
heartbeats without physical contact.
University of Washington, Seattle
S
mart speakers have proven adept at
monitoring certain healthcare issues
at home including detecting cardiac
arrest or monitoring babies' breathing.
Now, the speakers can be used to track the
minute motion of individual heartbeats in
a person sitting in front of the speaker.
The system monitors both regular and
irregular heartbeats without physical
contact. It sends inaudible sounds from
the speaker out into a room and based
on the way the sounds are reflected back
to the speaker, it can identify and monitor
individual heartbeats. Because the
heartbeat is such a tiny motion on the
chest surface, the system uses machine
learning to help the speaker locate signals
from both regular and irregular
heartbeats. When tested on healthy participants
and
hospitalized
patients,
the smart speaker detected
heartbeats that closely matched the
beats detected by standard heartbeat
monitors.
cardiac
The smart speaker prototype compares signals from multiple microphones (visible through the
holes of this box) to identify the heartbeat signal. (Photo: Mark Stone/University of Washington)
42
Cov
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ToC
While many people are familiar with
the concept of a heart rate, doctors are
more interested in the assessment of
heart rhythm. Heart rate is the average
of heartbeats over time, whereas a heart
rhythm describes the pattern of heartbeats.
If a person has a heart rate of 60
beats per minute, they could have a regular
heart rhythm - one beat every second
- or an irregular heart rhythm -
beats are randomly scattered across that
minute but they still average out to 60
beats per minute.
Heart rhythm disorders are actually
more common than some other wellknown
heart conditions. Cardiac arrhyth -
mias can cause major morbidities such as
strokes but can be highly unpredictable
in occurrence and thus difficult to diagnose.
The key to assessing heart rhythm
lies in identifying the individual heartbeats.
For this system, the search for
heartbeats begins when a person sits within
1 to 2 feet in front of the smart speaker.
Tech Briefs, January 2022

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Tech Briefs Magazine - January 2022

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