title: Feasibility study of a smart pen for autonomous detection of concentration lapses during reading.
abstract: We implemented a portable smart pen system capable of detecting lapses in concentration during reading. An accelerometer and a microcontroller are embedded within a pen casing to record data as a user reads sections of text using the pen as a pointer. When a substantial pause in reading is detected, the system generates an appropriate warning or alarm. An accompanying software program can communicate with the pen through a USB interface to customize system parameters, record relevant data, and graph collected data over time. The overall effectiveness of a prototype system was tested on 11 normal volunteers and 3 persons with attention deficit disorder (ADD). The prototype system had probability of false alarm of 19%, and sensitivity of 82%. With further refinement, this system could enable patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder maintain concentration during reading in a variety of environments.
authors.affiliation: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA. mdeprenl@gmu.edu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: DePrenger
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sikdar
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000628:therapy; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D009038:Motion; D011932:Reading; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors; D014584:User-Computer Interface