Real-time Activity-sensitive Wearable Ankle Edema Monitoring System For Elderly and Visually Impaired Heart Failure Patients

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of hospital admissions and readmissions, and carries significant morbidity and mortality in the elderly patient population. Worsening ankle edema is an early sign of an acute HF exacerbation and needs to be carefully monitored. We present the AnkleBracelet, a prototype of a real-time, activity sensitive, wearable assistive device for monitoring ankle edema specifically designed for elderly, blind, and visually impaired patients. This device provides unobtrusive data regarding changes in ankle edema to encourage behavioral change through multimodal feedback and interaction. Data can be transmitted remotely to maintain a constant connection between physicians and their patients. This device has a patient-centered design that is evidence-based and was derived from a series of collaborations with cardiologists at Rush University Medical Center.