A versatile and fast-sampling rate wearable analog data logger

Youcef Bouchekioua; Hiroshi Matsui; Shigeru Watanabe

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2023.102098

A versatile and fast-sampling rate wearable analog data logger

MethodsX. 2023 Mar 11:10:102098. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2023.102098. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Youcef Bouchekioua^{1

2

3}, Hiroshi Matsui^{1

4}, Shigeru Watanabe¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Keio University, Tokyo, 2-15-45, Japan.
² Department of Neuropharmacology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan.
³ Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, 11367, NY, USA.
⁴ Center for Human Nature, Artificial Intelligence, and Neuroscience Institute, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0812, Japan.

Abstract

We propose a wearable, versatile, and open-source data logger that harvests the capacities of a low-cost microcontroller and enables fast-sampling recording of Analog signals into a microSD card. We describe here the circuit design and an exhaustive list of instructions to build a small, lightweight, and fast sampling rate data logger (up to 5 kHz for simultaneous recording of 3 channels and up to 40 kHz when using a single channel). We provide data analysis instructions, including publicly available scripts to facilitate its replication and customization. As a straightforward proof-of-concept, we tested our device embedded with a three-axial Analog accelerometer and were able to record triple axis acceleration of body movements in high resolution. A Fourier transform followed by a principal component analysis discriminated accurately between body motions of two participants and two types of movement recorded (walking VS running). Our wearable and fast-sampling rate data logger overcomes limits that we identified in previous studies, by being low-cost, capable of fast sampling rate, and easily replicated. Moreover, it can be customized to fit with a wide variety of applications in biomedical research by substituting the three-axial Analog accelerometer with virtually any type of Analog sensors or devices that output Analog signals. •We present a method to build and use a low-cost, fast-sampling rate and wearable Analog data logger, where having an engineering background is not required.•The data logger we present can collect Analog signals from 3 channels simultaneously at 5kHz and up to 40 kHz when using a single channel.•We demonstrate that our data logger can record data from a triple axis Analog accelerometer at 5 kHz, however, signals from virtually any Analog sensor or device that outputs Analog signals can be collected.

Keywords: Accelerometer; Analog; Data logger; Microcontroller; Movement disorders; Sensor; Versatile and Fast-Sampling Rate Wearable Analog Data Logger.