Observation and interpretation of physiological states through artificial intelligence

The project is Financed by the Bulgarian National Innovation Fund.

Project Duration: 28.11.19 - 28.05.2021.

The project aids the creation of tools to improve the scope of the data acquisition, creation of automated tools for more reliable statistical processing of data, as well as opportunities to automatically detect and predict specific physiological conditions, with the use of modern technologies in the field of artificial intelligence.

The main objective of the project is to design and develop a prototype of an intelligent system for acquisitioning and processing data from biosensors and interpreting the physiological states in which the human body is at the moment.

The system will support real-time mode, but some functionality related to the analysis and presentation of data will be available only with pre-recorded data, ie. outside real time. The system will collect and transmit data from a large number of heterogeneous portable bio-sensors. After initial processing and storage in the database, users will be provided access for statistical processing of information, automatic assessment of event prediction, diagnosis of pre-clinical conditions (eg pre-infarction), assessment of cardiac arrest risk, and more medical conditions of great diagnostic and social importance.

The existence of such a system is expected to contribute to the reduction of mortality from diagnostic events related to certain diseases, as well as to increase the possibilities for taking preventive actions.

To achieve the desired goals, the most appropriate methods for data transmission and processing and design of data storage and transmission devices, built on the latest developments in microelectronics and computer architecture, with high class of impact protection, will be selected.

The functional prototypes developed by the project will create preconditions for a more in-depth study of the problem and will create conditions for the development of commercial applications within two years after the end of the project.

The system will be tested in real-world conditions.

The project addresses two major social and scientific issues:

1. The negative effects that certain environmental and lifestyle factors have on human health, in particular on heart activity, blood pressure and negative emotional states.
2. The negative impact that work-related factors have on the health of professionals and the induction of work-related stress.

The intelligent system aims to answer the following questions:

1. How to automatically evaluate specific physiological conditions related to cardiac activity and how to apply the accumulated knowledge (as a result of automatic assessment) in the light of measures to prevent morbidity and early diagnosis;
2. How to automatically assess specific physiological and behavioral conditions, in particular the cognitive and emotional impairment of specialists as an indicator of stress;
3. How to interpret the physiological and behavioral state of the specialist in terms of psychosocial risk factors in the workplace. In this sense, the intelligent system contributes to the link between physiological states and psycho-social factors. There are different groups of factors: personality factors and organizational and managerial factors, such as overload of tasks; leadership style; conflicts; health status; personal qualities; work-leisure balance.