3D-Printed "Earable" Sensor Monitors Vital Signs
From: IEEE Spectrum - 07/27/2017
By: Prachi Patel

Fitness-tracking wristbands and bracelets have mostly been used to count
steps and monitor heart rate and vital signs. Now engineers have made a
3D-printed sensor that can be worn on the ear to continuously track core body
temperature for fitness and medical needs.

The "earable" also serves as a hearing aid. And it could be a platform for
sensing several other vital signs, says University of California Berkeley
electrical engineering and computer science professor Ali Javey.

Because the device covers the ear, it could affect hearing, Javey says. So
the engineers also embedded a bone-conduction hearing aid, made of a
microphone; data-processing circuitry; a potentiometer for adjusting volume;
and an actuator. The actuator sits by the temple and converts sound to
vibrations, which are transmitted through the skull bone to the inner ear.

Read the entire article at:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/diagnostics/3dprinted-earable-sensor-monitor-vital-signs

Links:
In-Ear EEG Makes Unobtrusive Brain-Hacking Gadgets a Real Possibility
http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/in-ear-eeg-makes-unobtrusive-brain-hacking-gadgets-a-real-possibility

Ali Javey
https://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Faculty/Homepages/javey.html

3D Printed "Earable" Smart Devices for Real-Time Detection of Core Body
  Temperature
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssensors.7b00247

Related:
Know Your Wearables Slang
http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/portable-devices/know-your-wearables-slang

Middle Ear MEMS Microphone Could Restore Hearing
http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/bionics/middle-ear-mems-microphone-could-restore-hearing