The human body constantly generates a variety of signals that can be measured from outside the body with wearable devices. These bio-signals – ranging from heart rate to sleep state and blood oxygen levels – can indicate whether someone is having mood swings or can be used to diagnose a variety of body or brain disorders.
It can be relatively cheap to gather a lot of bio-signal data. Researchers can organize a study and ask participants to use a wearable device akin to a smartwatch for a few days. However, to teach a machine learning algorithm to find a relationship between a specific bio-signal and a health disorder, you first need to teach the algorithm to recognize that disorder. That’s where computer engineers like myself come in.
