The Health Tracker is unique and innovative and is the only one that can measure the physical burden without breathing resistance and restriction of freedom of movement. This ensures improved user-friendliness and increased reliability of the measurement. The Health Tracker consists of a headset with which a breathing and metabolism analysis is performed, combined with ECG and motion sensors. The accurate non-consuming O2 sensors, developed by Relitech, play an important role in this. The sensors work on the basis of heat dissipation (CO2) and hard polymer technology (O2), making them easily scalable and inexpensive. Thanks to the smart algorithm, corrections can be made for the interference of ambient air and any artefacts. With the smart addition of ECG and motion, the heart rate and activity can also be monitored during the measurement. This allows a more accurate and reliable determination of how the effort affects the user's resilience. The device will be tested and validated by the UMCG on both healthy people and patients, in a controlled and relevant (work) environment.
With this innovation, people can continue to work longer and healthier and are less likely to be at home due to occupational diseases. As a result, people continue to make an active contribution to society. Employees who can use the headset are physically and mentally healthy at work and feel that way too. The pressure on healthcare also decreases, which increases its quality.
The Health Tracker is more reliable, more accurate, faster and above all more user-friendly than the alternatives on the market. In this project, the current prototype is further developed into a successfully demonstrated product. The health tracker is expected to be on the market in 2027. The industrial companies will further develop our proof-of-concept, for which the UMCG and RUG in turn collect input including data collected via pulmonologists and rehabilitation doctors and scientific valorisation. The health tracker will first be tested in a controlled setting with healthy volunteers. If the system works accurately, it will then be tested on the target group. Based on the outcomes, the certification process to put it on the market.
This project has a major impact; the result is not only valuable for the applicants, but also for the Northern Netherlands region and the Groningen-Emmen region, and for society. New economic value and opportunities are created in the region. Production, scaling up and marketing will also benefit the region after the end of the project. The use of the Health Tracker ensures prevention of overload, and therefore less staff absence, less shortages on the labor market, cost savings for companies and in healthcare, and a higher quality of work and life for employees. It contributes to the sustainable employability of employees. This new digital technologies can be used to make the transition to prevention instead of treatment. This relieves the burden on healthcare and makes it affordable and staffable again.
We have a new project member. Per September 1, Thom de Groot is joining us.
He will be embedded at the University of Groningen, Engineering and Technology institute Groningen (ENTEG), research group Bio-inspired MEMS and Biomedical Devices. Thom will be involved in multiple activities, but primarily the validation of the alfa and beta prototypes.
On June 24 we have had an useful consortium meeting with almost all medical specialist and companies involved. An opportunity to meet each other in person and interesting discussions about the use cases and (user) requirements from very different points of views.
We are ready! Kick-off meeting with Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederland (SNN) of the awarded JTF call “Werken met de lange adem”; €1.8M subsidy for the development and valorization of a health tracker for reliable mouth mask-less breathing and metabolism analysis with strong consortium: UMCG Research, University of Groningen, Engineering and Technology institute Groningen, Relitech, Lode Holding B.V., Umaco, aXtion B.V., ProCare B.V., AccelMed North, HTRIC.
Human Movement Science
Internal postcode FB33
Hanzeplein 1
9700 RB Groningen
The Netherlands
Visiting address
Human Movement Science
A. Deusinglaan 1
9700 RB Groningen
The Netherlands
