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Name of the University, City
Department of Biomedical Engineering
---------------------
S Y N O P S I S
Of the Mini Project entitled
EMOTIONAL STRESS INDICATOR (ESI) KIT
proposed to be submitted
under subject of
xxxx at
Name of the college, city
By
xxxxxxxxxx
Teacher: xxxx
DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
S Y N O P S I S
ON
EMOTIONAL STRESS INDICATOR (ESI) KIT
xx (Roll no. xx)xxx (Roll no. xx)xxxx (Roll no. xx)
Teacher: Mrs. xxx
BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION:
Stress is a popular topic these days. There is rarely a week that passes
without hearing or reading about stress and its deleterious effect on health.
The word `stress` is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "a state of affair
involving demand on physical or mental energy”[1]. Another definition
stress refers to the “consequence of the failure of
an organism – human or animal – to respond appropriately
to emotional or physical threats, whether actual or imagined”[2].
Work-related stress and mental fatigue – mainly blamed on expectations of
better performance, deadlines and competition – is taking a toll on Indian
employees indifferent sectors.
A survey conducted by India’s industry body Assocham has revealed that
“the menace of stress and mental fatigue has intensified in recent times at
the top and middle positions of sectors comprising construction, shipping,
banks, government hospitals, trading houses, electronic and print media,
courier companies, small-scale industries, retail and card franchise
companies.”[3]
These sectors are becoming high-stress zones like the business process
outsourcing (BPO), call centers and IT companies because of deadlines,
demand for high performance, shortage of staff and threats from
competitors. A survey by a NGO, Saarthak claims that among 30 companies
50 per cent of the employees had stress in some form, 20 per cent had
depression and 30 per cent had problems like alcoholism, marital discord,
etc. So, the condition of stress is quiet astounding in India [4].
Measuring stress level independent of differences in people’s personalities
has been inherently difficult. There is no way to measure stress directly, but
we can get an indication of the levels of stress in the body by measuring
some of the physical affects in the body which are affected by stress Best
way to measure stress is with medical equipment that measure[5] :
1. Heart rate
2. Blood pressure
3. Breathing rate
4. Brain waves
5. Muscle tension
6. Skin resistance
7. Temperature
Most of the methods listed above are either expensive or inaccurate due to
interference of factors other than stress. Thus a straight forward method
and inexpensive for measuring emotional stress is highly required.
CURRENT DEVICES
There are several ways of measuring stress and here are few most
commonly used stress measurement techniques used today.
Nipro Corcoro Meter®, the saliva stress
detector
Yamaha Motor Co. collaborated with Nipro Corp.
and researchers at Toyama University to develop a
gadget that can measure a person's stress level
from their saliva. The stress detection gadget
works by measuring amylase, a digestive enzyme
found in saliva. The concentration tends to increase when a person is under
stress. Yamaha aims to commercialize the system within a year, and expects
it to be used by research institutions [6].
emWave Personal Stress Reliever®
Fig.1 Nipro Corcoro Meter, the saliva stress detector front panel.[6]
The emWave Personal Stress Reliever is an
innovative approach to stress management based
on learning to change the heart rhythm pattern
and create physiological coherence in the body.
This gadget helps the clients to learn internal
awareness, self-regulation and emotional
management skills. They can learn to reduce
stress and increase health and wellness by becoming aware of when the
stress response starts and by stopping it in the moment [7].
Stress Indicator by VoicePrism™
Stress Indicator by VoicePrism™ is the first consumer
software working on Windows OS and Windows
Mobile handheld devices, that can help discover the
causes of stress through vocal analysis. Stress
Indicator measures stress in five key parts of your
life: home, work, love, friends and plans. It measures
stress by using mathematical formulas to
identify measure and analyze the patterns in the
frequencies of the human voice. These patterns allow Stress Indicator to
glean insights into a person's emotional and mental states.[8]
PROJECT OVERVIEW:
Our goal is to design an Emotional Stress Indicator (ESI) kit that allows you
access your emotional pain. If the stress is very high, it gives visual
indication through LED display along with a warning beep.
Fig.3 Stress Indicator by VoicePrism™ display screen on Windows Mobile handheld device.[8]
Fig.2 emWave Personal Stress Reliever kit.[7]
It is based on the principle that the resistance of the skin varies in
accordance with your emotional states. Resistance varies inverse
proportional to the stress. If the stress level is high the skin offers less
resistance, and if relaxed resistance is high. The low resistance of the skin
during high stress is due to increase in the blood supply of the skin. This
increases the permeability of the skin and hence the conductivity of electric
current. This property of the skin is used here to measure the stress level.
Fig.4 shows a block diagram of the ESI kit. The touch pads of the stress
meter sense the voltage variations across the touch pads and convey it to
the signal amplifier, followed by LED display for visual indication and a
warning beep. The circuit is very sensitive and detects even a minute
voltage variation across the touch pads.
Fig.4 Block Diagram of Emotional Stress Indicator (ESI) Kit
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
Fig.5 Emotional Stress Indicator (ESI) Kit Schematic Diagram
ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS/DEVICES REQUIRED
S.no
Name of the Electronic Component/Device
Specifications
Quantity
1. National Semiconductor IC 3915
IC LM 3915 1
2. Fairchild Semiconductor Transistor
BC 548 1
3. Zener Diode 5.1V, 0.5W 14. Diode 1N4148 15. Piezoelectric buzzer 1
6. ON/OFF switch 17. Touch Pads (Self-locking
pads)1
8. Transparent LEDs (3mm) Green LEDYellow LEDRed LED
212
9. Duracell Battery 9V 110. Potentiometers 1MΩ
47KΩ11
11. Resistors 560E470E47KΩ1KΩ1.2KΩ
12111
12. Capacitors 10µF, 16V 100µF, 16V
12
13. Connecting Wires14. Perforated Board 1
Fig.6 PIN DIAGRAM OF LM 3915 DISPLAY DOT/BAR DRIVER [9].
Fig.7 Self Locking Straps ( with touch pads)
Fig.8 Display Panel on ESI Kit
Fig.9 Final ESI Kit
Fig.10 Breadboard implementation of ESI Kit
CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING
The circuit is very sensitive and detects minute voltage variations across the
touch pads. ESI Kit comprises signal amplifier and analogue display section
along with a piezo buzzer.
The circuit diagram from ESI Kit is shown in Fig.4.Voltage variations from
the sensing touchpads (refer Fig.7) are amplified by transistor BC 548 (T1),
which is configured as common-emitter (CE) amplifier. The base of T1 is
connected to one of the touch pads through resistor R1 and to the ground
rail through potentiometer VR1.By varying VR1 the sensitivity of T1 can be
adjusted to the desired level.
Diode D1 maintains proper biasing of T1 and the capacitor C1 keeps the
voltage from emitter of T1 steady. The amplified signal from transistor T1 is
given to the input of IC LM3915 (IC1) through VR2 which form a display
system (refer Fig.8).
IC LM3915 is a monolithic integrated circuit which is used as Dot/Bar
display that senses analog voltage levels at its PIN 5 and displays them
through LEDs providing a logarithmic display. It can drive up to 10 LEDS
one by one in the dot/bar mode for each increment of 125mV in the input.
Here, we have used only 5 LEDs connected at PINS 14 through 18 of IC1.
LED 1 glows while input pin of IC1 receives 150mV, LED 5 glows when the
voltage rises to 650 mV and LED 5 flashes, a piezo buzzer PZ1 beeps when
the stress level is high. Resistors R4 and R5 and capacitor C2 form the
flashing elements. Resistor R3 maintains the LED current at around 20 mA.
Capacitor C3 should be placed closed to the PIN 3 for proper functioning of
the IC. Zener diode ZD1 is in series with resistor R6 to provide regulated 5V
to the circuit. Transparent 3mm LEDS (Green, Yellow and Red) and a small
piezo buzzer for audio visual indication are used in the circuit. Relaxed state
is indicated by the green LEDs, intermediate stress by yellow LEDs, high
level stress is indicated by red LEDs.
The circuit can be assembled as a small piece of perforated board or on a
printed circuit board (PCB). The circuit is enclosed in the plastic case with
touch pads being placed on the backside. Two self-locking straps can be
used to tie the unit around the wrist of the subject (refer Fig.7). After tying
the ESI Kit around the wrist (with touch pads) in contact with the skin VR1
is slowly varied until the LED glows (assuming subject to be in relaxed
state).VR2 is adjusted if the sensitivity of IC1 is very high. Emotional Stress
Indicator (ESI) kit is ready to be used.
APPLICATIONS
The ESI kit can be used indicate emotional stress level possessed by the
subject. Usually, humans do not feel stress in their bodies, whereas studies
say that the stress levels are not always felt by humans. The ESI Kit
measures the stress level in the form of voltage irrespective of whether or
not the subject feels the negative effects of stress, it can be used to improve
mental clarity which will have a positive effect on business, communications
and creativity. After knowing that the subject is stressed, various exercises
can be done for example breathing exercises or yoga to minimize emotional
stress. Rhythmic breathing exercises can help control your heart rate and
have a calming effect on the body, shifting attitudes and emotions. ESI kit
can act as an adjunct to other stress management practices. The stress is
expected to diminish subject’s feelings of well-being, balance and enhanced
energy will increase.
RESULT
This project’s goal is to design an Emotional Stress Indicator (ESI) kit that
allows you access your emotional pain. This project is very challenging and
it requires a large amount of research and acquainting ourselves with the
subject. We will give our full efforts to make this mini project a successful
biomedical device.
FUTURE WORK
Several improvements to this prototype ESI Kit are expected. This includes
addition of a voice recording and playback device. This can be included
instead of a piezo buzzer used in the circuit. The playback device can give
various instructions to reduce stress of the subject, initially recorded by a
medical professional. Playback voice can also include simple breathe in and
breathe out exercises such that the stress level of the subject diminished.
Additionally, an ergonomic design along with efforts can be put to minimize
the overall used up space by the perforated board, such that the subject can
easily wear the ESI Kit on his wrist.
REFERENCES
[1] Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/stress
[2] Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(biology)
[3] The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) http://www.assocham.org/prels/printnews.php?id=1049
[4] The Times of India, 8 March 2003
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/India-Inc-suffers-stress-syndrome/articleshow/39698287.cms
[5] Burren Yoga
http://www.burrenyoga.com/retreats-holidays/how-we-can-scientifically-measure-stress.html
[6] CNET News blog : Measuring stress with spit http://asia.cnet.com/crave/category/lifestyle/2005/12/
[7] emWave Personal Stress Reliever
http://www.myemwave.org/
[8] Stress Indicator by VoicePrism™
http://www.stressindicator.com/
[9] LM3915 Dot/Bar Display Driver Datasheet
www.national.com/ds/LM/LM 3915 .pdf
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