Open-source wearable to track energy use and sleep in young children
Using Open-Source Technology to Measure Energy Expenditure and Sleep Among Children 3 to 8 Years Old
An open-source wearable combines heart rate and movement data to measure how much energy children ages 3–8 use and how they sleep.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of South Carolina at Columbia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbia, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11229791 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Children will wear a small, child-friendly open-source patch called PATCH that records heart rate and acceleration. Researchers will compare PATCH readings to laboratory standards for energy use (indirect calorimetry) and sleep (polysomnography) and will also collect data while children go about daily life. The team will refine algorithms to translate the raw signals into estimates of energy expenditure and sleep patterns. The goal is to show the device works well both in the lab and at home.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are children aged 3–8 whose caregivers can bring them for lab visits and have them wear the PATCH during daily activities and sleep.
Not a fit: Children younger than 3 or older than 8, or those who cannot tolerate wearing a patch or have conditions that interfere with heart-rate monitoring, are unlikely to benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could give families and clinicians accurate, comfortable, and transparent tools to monitor children's activity and sleep for healthier habits and better-informed care.
How similar studies have performed: Combining heart rate and accelerometry has worked well in adults and shown promise in children, but a child-specific open-source device like PATCH is a newer, less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Columbia, United States
- University of South Carolina at Columbia — Columbia, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Armstrong, Bridget R. — University of South Carolina at Columbia
- Study coordinator: Armstrong, Bridget R.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.