Can the effectiveness of an online stress management program be augmented by wearable sensor technology?

Objectives This mixed-methods pilot study sought to examine whether the effectiveness of an online intervention for stress in students could be augmented by the use of prototype wearable sensors. Methods Students who were stressed, but not depressed, were allocated to a stress management program alone (n = 34), with sensors (n = 29), or to no intervention (n = 35). Interventions lasted 4 weeks. Outcome measures included measures of stress, anxious, and depressive symptoms, and were measured immediately after the interventions and 4 weeks later. Participants in the two program groups were interviewed to gain feedback about the program and the sensors. Results Significant pre-post reductions in stress (p = .019) were observed for those in the program alone group. Significant reductions in depressive symptoms were observed among postgraduates (p = .006), but not undergraduates, in the program only group. The program plus sensors group had a broadly similar, but weaker set of results, indicating that the sensors impeded, rather than augmented, the effectiveness of the program. Qualitative data explicate this finding, highlighting participation burden as a key issue. Participants provided detailed feedback about the program, the sensors, and biofeedback exercises, which are summarised and discussed with reference to the quantitative findings. Conclusions The newly developed stress management program could be an effective way to improve student mental health. Wearable sensor technology, particularly biofeedback exercises, may be a useful contribution for the next generation of e-therapies, but further development of the prototypes is needed and their reliability and usability will likely affect user responses to them

An integrated adaptive heading reference system

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX174684 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

EEG-based cognitive interfaces for ubiquitous applications: Developments and challenges

Technical advances in the neuroelectric recordings and in the computational tools for the analysis of the brain activity and connectivity make it now possible to follow and to quantify, in real time, the interactive brain activity in a group of subjects engaged in social interactions. The degree of interaction between persons can then be assessed by "reading" their neuroelectric activities. Imaging the social brain can thus open a new area of study in neuroscience. © 2011 IEEE

An Internet-based program for depression using activity and physiological sensors: efficacy, expectations, satisfaction, and ease of use

Cristina Botella,1,2 Adriana Mira,1 Inés Moragrega,2,3 Azucena García-Palacios,1,2 Juana Bretón-López,1,2 Diana Castilla,1,2 Antonio Riera López del Amo,1 Carla Soler,1 Guadalupe Molinari,1 Soledad Quero,1,2 Verónica Guillén-Botella,2,3 Ignacio Miralles,1,2 Sara Nebot,1 Berenice Serrano,1,2 Dennis Majoe,4 Mariano Alcañiz,2,5 Rosa María Baños2,31Department of Basic, Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universitat Jaume, Castellón, Spain; 2CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, CIBERobn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; 3Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain; 4Native Systems Institute, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; 5Human-Centered Technology Institute, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain Purpose: Computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) has been shown to be efficacious. Moreover, CCBT can be enhanced by using physiological and activity sensors, but there is no evidence about the acceptability of all these tools. The objective of this study is to examine the efficacy, expectations, satisfaction, and ease of use of an Internet-based CCBT program for preventing depression, with and without sensors (electroencephalography, electrocardiograhpy ECG, and actigraphy), in a high-risk population (unemployed men).Patients and methods: Sixty participants at risk of depression (unemployed men) were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: 1) intervention program (N=22), 2) intervention program plus sensors (N=19), and 3) control group (N=19). Participants completed depression, anxiety, positive and negative affect, and perceived stress measures. Furthermore, they also completed the measures for expectation, satisfaction, and the ease of use of the program.Results: Results showed that the two intervention groups improved significantly more than the control group on the clinical variables, and the improvements were greater in the group that used sensors than in the group that did not use them. Furthermore, participants in both intervention groups scored high on expectations and satisfaction with the CCBT program (with and without sensors). The mean score for usability was 88 out of 100 (standard deviation =12.32). No significant differences were found between groups on any of these variables.Conclusion: This is the first study to analyze the efficacy, expectations, satisfaction, and ease of use of an Internet-based program using physiological and activity sensors. These results suggest that an Internet program for depression with or without physiological and activity sensors is effective, satisfactory, and easy to use. Keywords: depression, ease of use, efficacy, Internet, sensors, satisfactio