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Device Technologies and Biomedical Robotics

Device Technologies and Biomedical Robotics - Poster Session B

Poster I13 - CopeCare: Pathway to Support for Children with Self-Regulation Issues

Thursday, October 24, 2024
2:45 PM - 3:45 PM EST
Location: Exhibit Hall E, F & G

Introduction:  Emotional and behavioral dysregulation issues can manifest in those with various disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, ADHD, ODD, OCD, anxiety, and other mental health difficulties. Over the past few years, these issues have become more prevalent among children in educational settings. A CDC study examining mental health symptoms in four U.S. school districts from 2014–2018 reported that about 1 in 6 students had sufficient behavioral or emotional symptoms and impairment to be diagnosed with a childhood neurodevelopmental disorder or mental health issue (Danielson et al., 2020). These challenges isolate children from their environment, significantly affecting their development and create considerable stress for teachers and parents, who constantly assist them.

To help mitigate this problem, we designed the CopeCare system, which consists of a wearable watch and earpiece that provide real-time support for children with emotional and behavioral dysregulation difficulties. The system monitors physiological and environmental factors to detect stress and deliver personalized coping mechanisms.

Picture a child with autism in a busy classroom, surrounded by visual and auditory stimuli. Their heart rate increases, breathing becomes more rapid, and anxiety sets in. They become restless, fidgety, overwhelmed, and are nearing an outburst. CopeCare, an advanced monitoring system, continuously tracks these stress indicators. Utilizing real-time data, it provides tailored guidance to the child based on personalized self-regulation strategies. The system suggests the most appropriate course of action for the given situation and delivers precise instructions through an earpiece, such as exiting the classroom for a calming walk in the hallway.

Materials and

Methods:  The device consists of two main components: a wearable watch and an earpiece. These components work together to detect physiological cues associated with stressful situations, and deliver auditory messages to help the user respond appropriately. Digital prototypes of both components were created using SolidWorks, featuring an adjustable watch strap and interchangeable earpiece tips to ensure compatibility with all ages.

The watch includes a flexible photovoltaic cell band for self-powering and houses a 3.7 V 400 MAH lithium-ion battery to support various components: a PPG sensor (MAX30103), a decibel reader (SPH0645LM4H), an ambient light sensor (LTR-329ALS-01), an EDA sensor (MIKROE-2860), a microcontroller with a Bluetooth module (NRF52832-QFAA-R), and a 5 V step up voltage regulator used for the GSR sensor (Pololu U1V10F5). These sensors continuously monitor physiological cues, which are processed and handled following the flowchart in Figure 3. The auditory response is transmitted to the earpiece via Nordic Semiconductor NRF52 Series Bluetooth. The earpiece then delivers a pre-recorded message, providing guidance that will help the user cope with the stressful situation.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: To refine our design and assess the impact of self-regulation issues in schools, we conducted a survey across school districts in the Chicago area, receiving a multitude of responses from teachers, therapists, social workers, and other professionals. Based on our results, only 33.9% of school professionals frequently observe children exhibiting signs of an outburst and are able to intervene before a full blown outburst. Our device is designed to intervene at the first signs of a meltdown, often before a teacher or therapist can step in. Additionally, many school professionals reported encountering difficulties in providing care for children with self regulation issues, especially when juggling multiple children's needs simultaneously.

The survey also revealed common behaviors such as excessive movement, out of seat actions, and difficulty following directions, assisted with coping strategies like movement breaks, structured sensory breaks, and sensory tools. Our device can guide children to use these strategies in response to stressful signals.

Utilizing CopeCare, students’ reliance on one-on-one support could be reduced, promoting independence in academic and social settings. The system has the potential to improve academic engagement, and also allow more students in special needs classrooms to integrate into standard classrooms.

From our survey, we gained a better understanding of the current needs for our device, revealing a clear market for CopeCare. Therefore, we plan to continue collaborating with professionals to develop the most effective coping mechanisms while considering liability. Our goal is to manufacture a prototype, and further refine our system, ensuring that the algorithm functions correctly in different scenarios, maximizing the benefits to users. We are currently in discussions with various companies about designing, developing, and testing both the hardware and software components in order to bring CopeCare to market. Under the guidance of our mentors, Dr. Erickson-Bhatt, Dr. Tate Wilson, and Dr. Alicia Fernandez-Fernandez, we will pursue user studies allowing us to assess the benefits of our device, and pave the way for market introduction.

Acknowledgements (Optional):  Dr. Erickson-Bhatt, Dr. Tate Wilson, Dr. Alicia Fernandez-Fernandez