Biosensor System for Real-time Detection of Operational Fatigue and Cognitive Overload

Cognitive overload, fatigue, stress, or illness can degrade cognitive function and operational readiness. Early detection of such conditions could trigger countermeasures and help minimize performance errors. We have developed component technologies prerequisite to the automatic recognition of operator neurocognitive state. The technologies include wearable physiological data acquisition hardware that integrates quick-application headsets with wireless amplifiers and disposable sensors for measuring neuroelectric signals of brain function, eye-movements, and heart activity. They also include powerful signal processing algorithms capable of extracting cognitive load- and fatigue-sensitive signals while minimizing artifactual contaminants. In Phase I we analyzed existing neurophysiological data to identify optimal methods for making such measurements quickly and reliably in individuals engaged in complex console-based tasks. The results demonstrate the sensitivity of the resulting methods for detecting states of impaired ability, and provide early evidence of the feasibility of using neurophysiologic measures to monitor changes in frontal lobe activation that might be associated with a fatigue-related loss of situation awareness. In Phase II an integrated prototype Warfighter Assessment Real-time Neuromonitoring (WARN) System will be implemented and tested in experimental studies of sleep deprivation and sustained performance, and plans will be made for Phase III field evaluation of the system.