CigTrak: Smartwatch-Based Accurate Online Smoking Puff & Episode Detection with Gesture-Focused Windowing for CNN.

Wearable-based motion sensing solutions are capable of automatically detecting and tracking individual smoking puffs and/or episodes to aid the users in their journey of smoking cessation. But they are either obtrusive to use, perform with a low accuracy, or have questionable ability of running fully on a low-power device like a smartwatch, all affecting their widespread adoption. We propose 'CigTrak', a novel pipeline for an accurate smoking puff and episode detection using 6-DoF motion sensor on a smartwatch. A multi-stage method for puff detection is devised, comprising a novel kinematic analysis of puffing motion enabling temporal localization of puff. A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-backed model uses this candidate puff as an input instance by re-sampling it to required input size for the final decision. Clusters of detected puffs are further used to detect episodes. Data from 13 subjects was used for evaluating puff detection, and 9 subjects for evaluating episode detection. CigTrak achieved a high subject-independent performance for puff detection (F1-score 0.94) and free-living episode detection (F1-score 0.89), surpassing state of the art performance. CigTrak was also implemented fully online on two different smartwatches for testing a real-time puff detection.Clinical Relevance- Cigarette smoking affects physical & mental well-being of a person, and is the leading cause of preventable diseases, adversely affecting cardiac and respiratory systems. With many adults wanting to quit smoking [1], a reliable way of auto-journaling of smoking activities can greatly aid in cessation efforts through self-help, and reduce burden on healthcare industry. CigTrak, with its high accuracy in detecting smoking puffs and episodes, and capability of running fully on a smartwatch, can be readily used for this purpose.

PI-Sole: A Low-Cost Solution for Gait Monitoring Using Off-The-Shelf Piezoelectric Sensors and IMU.

In this paper, viability of low-cost off-the-shelf Piezoelectric ceramic disc elements is explored for an insole-based gait monitoring system, `PI-Sole' (Piezo In-Sole). Piezoelectric elements can sense dynamic changes in pressure in a closed-loop environment with good sensitivity and a wide measurement range. In this paper, method to enable these elements to continuously sense plantar pressure while walking is proposed, making them a very cost-efficient alternative to the widely used Force Sensing Resistors (FSR) and pressure plates for monitoring human gait. However, piezoelectric elements show hysteresis in their force response, inducing a drift in calculated pressure which increases with time. A novel and effective method to perform detrending of the signal is also presented utilizing stride contexts from a 6-DoF Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and the same is utilized to perform zero-correction in the pressure data. 3-D trajectories of strides are calculated using the IMU, and parameters like stride length, stride height etc. are further derived. In order to test the validity of our proposed methods, important kinetic parameters like Vertical Ground Reaction Force (VGRF) and Center of Pressure (CoP) are calculated using PI-Sole and compared to the ones calculated using FSR's in multiple prior works. Applicability of PI-Sole is demonstrated further by depicting and analysing characteristic differences between a heel-strike toe-off stance type, and a flat-strike stance type, the latter being one of the primary symptoms in many cases of pathological gait, including Parkinsonian gait. Important artefacts from foot's height profile while walking are analysed for both stance types in context of standard gait events. We report a mean error of 2.8cm in stride length calculation, and a mean accuracy of 94.5% in calculating swing/stance duration of gait cycles.

Ileosigmoid knot.

Ileosigmoid knotting, also known as compound volvulus or double Volvulus, is a rare cause of acute intestinal obstruction. In this condition the ileum wraps around the base of the sigmoid colon and forms a knot. The condition is serious, generally progressing rapidly to gangrene of both ileum and sigmoid colon. Ileosigmoid knotting is an unusual entity in the West, but is comparatively common in certain African, Asian and Middle Eastern nations. Awareness of the condition is essential for prompt diagnosis and optimal management. This article will focus on the etiopathogenesis, presentation, diagnostic modalities, surgical interventions and outcome with review of articles and case reports published till date.