Monitoring of atopic dermatitis using leaky coaxial cable

In our daily life, inadvertent scratching may increase the severity of skin diseases (such as atopic dermatitis, etc.). However, people rarely pay attention to this matter, so the known measurement behavior of the movement is also very little. Nevertheless, the behavior and frequency of scratching represent the degree of itching, and the analysis of scratching frequency is helpful to the doctor's clinical dosage. In this paper, a novel system is proposed to monitor the scratching motion of a sleeping human body at night. The core device of the system are just a Leaky coaxial cable (LCX) and a router. Commonly, LCX is used in the blind field or semi blind field in wireless communication. The new idea is that the leaky cable is placed on the bed, then the state information of physical layer of wireless communication channels is acquired to identify the scratching motion and other small body movements in the human sleep process. The results show that it can be used to detect the movement and its duration. Channel state information (CSI) packet is collected by card installed in the computer based on the 802.11n protocol. The characterization of the scratch motion in the collected channel state information is unique, so it can be distinguished from the wireless channel amplitude variation trend

Emerging Methods to Objectively Assess Pruritus in Atopic Dermatitis.

INTRODUCTION:Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory skin disease with a chronic, relapsing course. Clinical features of AD vary by age, duration, and severity but can include papules, vesicles, erythema, exudate, xerosis, scaling, and lichenification. However, the most defining and universal symptom of AD is pruritus. Pruritus or itch, defined as an unpleasant urge to scratch, is problematic for many reasons, particularly its negative impact on quality of life. Despite the profoundly negative impact of pruritus on patients with AD, clinicians and researchers lack standardized and validated methods to objectively measure pruritus. The purpose of this review is to discuss emerging methods to assess pruritus in AD by describing objective patient-centered tools developed or enhanced over the last decade that can be utilized by clinicians and researchers alike. METHODS:This review is based on a literature search in Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases. The search was performed in February 2019. The keywords were used "pruritus," "itch," "atopic dermatitis," "eczema," "measurements," "tools," "instruments," "accelerometer," "wrist actigraphy," "smartwatch," "transducer," "vibration," "brain mapping," "magnetic resonance imaging," and "positron emission tomography." Only articles written in English were included, and no restrictions were set on study type. To focus on emerging methods, prioritization was given to results from the last decade (2009-2019). RESULTS:The search yielded 49 results in PubMed, 134 results in Embase, and 85 results in Web of Science. Each result was independently reviewed in a standardized manner by two of the authors (M.S., K.L.), and disagreements between reviewers were resolved by consensus. Relevant findings were categorized into the following sections: video surveillance, acoustic surveillance, wrist actigraphy, smart devices, vibration transducers, and neurological imaging. Examples are provided along with descriptions of how each technology works, instances of use in research or clinical practice, and as applicable, reports of validation studies and correlation with other methods. CONCLUSION:The variety of new and improved methods to evaluate pruritus in AD is welcomed by clinicians, researchers, and patients alike. Future directions include next-generation smart devices as well as exploring new territories, such as identifying biomarkers that correlate to itch and machine-learning programs to identify itch processing in the brain. As these efforts continue, it will be essential to remain patient-centered by developing techniques that minimize discomfort, respect privacy, and provide accurate data that can be used to better manage itch in AD