Toward Wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) for Cognitive Workload Monitoring: Advancements in Sensor and Study Design
Despite cognitive workload (CW) being a critical metric in several applications, no technology exists to seamlessly and reliably quantify CW. Previously, we demonstrated the feasibility of a wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) sensor to classify high vs. low CW based on MCG-derived heart rate variabi...
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MDPI AG
2025-08-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/15/4806 |
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| author | Ali Kaiss Jingzhen Yang Asimina Kiourti |
| author_facet | Ali Kaiss Jingzhen Yang Asimina Kiourti |
| author_sort | Ali Kaiss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite cognitive workload (CW) being a critical metric in several applications, no technology exists to seamlessly and reliably quantify CW. Previously, we demonstrated the feasibility of a wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) sensor to classify high vs. low CW based on MCG-derived heart rate variability (mHRV). However, our sensor was unable to address certain critical operational requirements, resulting in noisy signals, often to the point of being unusable. In addition, test conditions for the participants were not decoupled from motion (i.e., physical activity (PA)), raising questions as to whether the noted changes in mHRV were attributed to CW, PA, or both. This study reports software and hardware advancements to optimize the MCG data quality, and investigates whether changes in CW (in the absence of PA) can be reliably detected. Performance is validated for healthy adults (n = 10) performing three types of CW tasks (one for low CW and two for high CW to eliminate the memory effect). Results demonstrate the ability to retrieve MCG R-peaks throughout the recordings, as well as the ability to differentiate high vs. low CW in all cases, confirming that CW does modulate the mHRV. A paired Bonferroni t-test with significance <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>α</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.01</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> confirms the hypothesis that an increase in CW decreases mHRV. Our findings lay the groundwork toward a seamless, practical, and low-cost sensor for monitoring CW. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6d4e863fe2304bf9b930b41c82c3090b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj-art-6d4e863fe2304bf9b930b41c82c3090b2025-08-20T03:36:23ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-08-012515480610.3390/s25154806Toward Wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) for Cognitive Workload Monitoring: Advancements in Sensor and Study DesignAli Kaiss0Jingzhen Yang1Asimina Kiourti2Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USACenter for Research Injury Research and Policy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USADepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USADespite cognitive workload (CW) being a critical metric in several applications, no technology exists to seamlessly and reliably quantify CW. Previously, we demonstrated the feasibility of a wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) sensor to classify high vs. low CW based on MCG-derived heart rate variability (mHRV). However, our sensor was unable to address certain critical operational requirements, resulting in noisy signals, often to the point of being unusable. In addition, test conditions for the participants were not decoupled from motion (i.e., physical activity (PA)), raising questions as to whether the noted changes in mHRV were attributed to CW, PA, or both. This study reports software and hardware advancements to optimize the MCG data quality, and investigates whether changes in CW (in the absence of PA) can be reliably detected. Performance is validated for healthy adults (n = 10) performing three types of CW tasks (one for low CW and two for high CW to eliminate the memory effect). Results demonstrate the ability to retrieve MCG R-peaks throughout the recordings, as well as the ability to differentiate high vs. low CW in all cases, confirming that CW does modulate the mHRV. A paired Bonferroni t-test with significance <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>α</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>0.01</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> confirms the hypothesis that an increase in CW decreases mHRV. Our findings lay the groundwork toward a seamless, practical, and low-cost sensor for monitoring CW.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/15/4806cognitive workload (CW)ElectroCardioGraphy (ECG)heart rate variability (HRV)MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) |
| spellingShingle | Ali Kaiss Jingzhen Yang Asimina Kiourti Toward Wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) for Cognitive Workload Monitoring: Advancements in Sensor and Study Design Sensors cognitive workload (CW) ElectroCardioGraphy (ECG) heart rate variability (HRV) MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) |
| title | Toward Wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) for Cognitive Workload Monitoring: Advancements in Sensor and Study Design |
| title_full | Toward Wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) for Cognitive Workload Monitoring: Advancements in Sensor and Study Design |
| title_fullStr | Toward Wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) for Cognitive Workload Monitoring: Advancements in Sensor and Study Design |
| title_full_unstemmed | Toward Wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) for Cognitive Workload Monitoring: Advancements in Sensor and Study Design |
| title_short | Toward Wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) for Cognitive Workload Monitoring: Advancements in Sensor and Study Design |
| title_sort | toward wearable magnetocardiography mcg for cognitive workload monitoring advancements in sensor and study design |
| topic | cognitive workload (CW) ElectroCardioGraphy (ECG) heart rate variability (HRV) MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/15/4806 |
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