Scientist Creates Wristband That Tracks Autism Aggressive Outburst

A wristband that can track an aggressive outburst in people with autism has just been created.

Matthew Goodwin, a behavioral scientist from the Northeastern University recently created a wearable wristband that could save the day of the families of people with ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder. The said wearable is capable of tracking the onset of an aggressive outburst of behavior on an ASD diagnosed person.

The device works by thoroughly monitoring the changes in an ASD diagnosed person’s body. It keeps track of the person with autism’s arm movements, sweat production and skin surface temperature variations.

The Autism aggressive outburst tracker wristband also monitors the ASD diagnosed person’s heartbeat. By keeping record and sending an alert if notable changes have been detected, the wearable is able to alert the people around the person with autism should there be a threat of aggression.

The wearable wristband initially underwent an accuracy and capability test on 20 children with Autism. By keeping track of the physiological changes in the ASD diagnosed children’s body and feeding them into the device for 87 hours, Goodwin and his team successfully monitored and tracked any signs of aggressive episodes. Soon they were able to detect the potential aggressive outburst 60 seconds before the manifestations.

Goodwin and his team aim to take the Autism aggressive outburst tracker wristband to the next level. They plan to have the device tested on 240 individuals for further testing of its accuracy and reliability.

As of the moment, the Autism aggressive outburst tracker wristband is rated at 84 percent accuracy level. The said rate at 60-second prior notification before the aggressive episode gives the ASD diagnosed person’s family just enough time to calm down the individual and reduce the risk on everyone’s safety.

In an interview, Goodwin expressed his optimistic view of the Autism aggressive outburst tracker wristband. He said that as their data set grows and as they use more sophisticated machine learning models, he is positive that they could make the wearable track the onset of aggression earlier than 60 seconds.

The Department of Defense is currently taking part in funding the Autism aggressive outburst tracker wristband. It may take some time for the device to reach its full potential but it could truly make a lot of difference to people with autism and their families once it does.