MicroPhysio: In-Ear Microphone based Physiological Monitoring

The project will represent the robustness of earable audio based detection of physiological signal. Project ERC EAR has been the first to demonstrate that in-ear microphone can be used to detect activity and heart rate and to yield promising precision in case of intense motion and with superior performance with respect to photoplethysmography (PPG) or inertial movement units (IMUs). Microphones are already embedded in earables for audio related purposes, unlike PPG or IMUs which do not fulfil any other functions in these devices, and are especially inexpensive both in terms of hardware but also in terms of sensing computation needs and energy. There are currently no solutions in the market which use audio for physiological signal detection and the PI is the leading expert in the use of audio for physiology and diagnostics. Specifically the project aims at i) improving and demonstrating the in the wild feasibility of in-ear based audio sensing for detection of human activity, heart rate and respiration monitoring; ii) integrating the technology into a commercial grade prototype; iii) perform a robustness validation of the technology (and prototype); iv) innovate on the algorithms to improve robustness and system performance; v) pursue exploitation and dissemination of the prototype. The high gain of the project will be the reaching the 2 billion market share of earables, bring physiological monitoring in the hands of the world population affordably and accurately. There are risks to overcome in the achievements of this objectives but they are mitigated by the strong track record in the area of the PI and the team and the industrial support established.