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Despite cognitive workload (CW) being a critical metric in several applications, no technology exists to seamlessly and reliably quantify CW. Previously, we demonstrated the feasibility of a wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) sensor to classify high vs. low CW based on MCG-derived heart rate variability (mHRV). However, our sensor was unable to address certain critical operational requirements, resulting in noisy signals, often to the point of being unusable. In addition, test conditions for the participants were not decoupled from motion (i.e., physical activity (PA)), raising questions as to whether the noted changes in mHRV were attributed to CW, PA, or both. This study reports software and hardware advancements to optimize the MCG data quality, and investigates whether changes in CW (in the absence of PA) can be reliably detected. Performance is validated for healthy adults (n = 10) performing three types of CW tasks (one for low CW and two for high CW to eliminate the memory effect). Results demonstrate the ability to retrieve MCG R-peaks throughout the recordings, as well as the ability to differentiate high vs. low CW in all cases, confirming that CW does modulate the mHRV. A paired Bonferroni t-test with significance α=0.01 confirms the hypothesis that an increase in CW decreases mHRV. Our findings lay the groundwork toward a seamless, practical, and low-cost sensor for monitoring CW.
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This content will become publicly available on May 18, 2026
Decoupling Cognitive Workload and Physical Motion Effects on Heart Rate Variability Using a Wearable Magnetocardiography Sensor
We have recently demonstrated a wearable MagnetoCardioGraphy (MCG) sensor capable of classifying high vs. low cognitive work, i.e., the amount of mental effort a person is exerting when performing a task during a given period of time. However, a major limitation of our previous work was the requirement to eliminate any type of motion for the participants. Here, we explore the effect of motion by employing three (3) different experimental setups, each with a different amount of physical motion and cognitive load exerted. To better understand the effect of motion, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a breathing rate sensor are employed in addition to the MCG sensor. Our results show that heart rate variability (HRV), demonstrated through the mean difference in duration between consecutive heartbeats, is at its highest when neither cognitive workload nor motion are exerted. HRV drops when the subject involves cognitive workload and motion. Our results pave the way for additional research in the field, with an utmost goal of catering to specific clinical applications.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2320491
- PAR ID:
- 10631757
- Publisher / Repository:
- International Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society (ACES) Symposium
- Date Published:
- ISSN:
- NA
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Cognitive Workload (CW), Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Magnetocardiography (MCG), Physical Motion
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Orlando, FL,
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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