Shimmer Research has announced its Verisense Pulse+ sensor for use with its Verisense wearable sensor platform. The device is designed to offer photoplethysmogram (PPG), galvanic skin response (GSR), and inertial measurement unit (IMU).
According to the company, the PPG sensor monitors heart rate by using light absorption to measure changes in capillary blood volume. The GSR sensor measures changes in sweat-gland activity; this can be used to gauge the patient’s level of psychological and emotional arousal, stress, and other responses; GSR typically is employed in psychological research and biofeedback, and it is started to be used in more clinical applications, such as epilepsy.
Geoffrey Gill, president of Shimmer Americas, told Outsourcing-Pharma that the Verisense Pulse+ is the only sensor currently on the market able to capture continuous raw PPG data over a wide range of wavelengths.
“This data enables both heart rate and oxygen saturation to be calculated,” he explained. “In addition, the availability of accelerometer data enables corrections to be made for movement artifacts.”
Another benefit the sensors offer over other currently available devices, Gill said, is minimized burden on participants and sites.
“Verisense is designed so that the participant does not need to do anything, except wear the device and occasionally change a battery out,” he explained. “The Verisense IMU battery can last for more than six months while collecting continuous raw data in certain configurations.”
Other advantages, Gill explained, include enhanced compliance management capabilities (via advanced monitoring and multiple redundancies), and flexible, expandable design.
Dilpreet Buxi, chief technical officer and co-founder of Shimmer user Philia Las, said the company preferred the Shimmer devices after testing a number of wearables.
“After an extensive evaluation of all the on-market wearable sensor products, we determined that Verisense Pulse+ was the only one that could give us the raw data that we needed to study depression relapse thoroughly so we could create a tool to manage it effectively,” Buxi explained. “We decided to become a Pulse+ beta tester and found the Shimmer team to be very collaborative and resourceful partners.”
Shimmer is a virtual exhibitor during this year’s Summit for Clinical Ops Executives (SCOPE) event, taking place online March 2-4. Representatives also will deliver a brief presentation in the Solutions Theatre on March 3 at 12:35 pm EST. For more information, visit www.scopesummit.com.
