Wearable Technologies for Multiple Sclerosis: The Future Role of Stress Measurement
Date:
I delivered an oral presentation at the International Conference on Smart Portable, Wearable, Implantable and Disability Oriented Devices and Systems (SPWID 2016) in Valencia, Spain. The talk presented our work on wearable technologies for managing stress in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), based on research conducted at the MIT Media Lab.
The presentation was grounded in our conference paper Wearable Technologies for Multiple Sclerosis, which examined how physiological stress responses, particularly those captured through electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate variability (HRV), can be monitored unobtrusively using modern wearable sensors. Stress has long been implicated in MS symptom exacerbation and disease progression, yet traditional stress assessments rely on intermittent clinical evaluations or self report.
We discussed how emerging wearable biosensors enable continuous, real world measurement of autonomic nervous system activity, offering a scalable way to detect stress patterns that may precede relapses or symptom flares. The talk outlined opportunities to integrate these signals into adaptive, personalized stress management interventions, including biofeedback tools, mobile health applications, and behavioral therapies designed specifically for people with MS.
This work highlighted the potential of combining affective computing, wearable sensing, and personalized health technologies to improve quality of life in chronic neurological conditions, illustrating early pathways for translating research on physiological computing into real world clinical and patient support applications.