Towards Motor-Based Early Detection of Autism Red Flags: Enabling Technology and Exploratory Study Protocol
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Department of Computer Science, University of Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy
2
Department of Child Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56018 Pisa, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Antonio Suppa
Sensors 2021, 21(6), 1971; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21061971
Received: 23 February 2021
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Revised: 5 March 2021
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Accepted: 8 March 2021
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Published: 11 March 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Wearable Sensor Technology in Healthcare)
Observing how children manipulate objects while they are playing can help detect possible autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at an early stage. For this purpose, specialists seek the so-called “red-flags” of motor signature of ASD for more precise diagnostic tests. However, a significant drawback to achieve this is that the observation of object manipulation by the child very often is not naturalistic, as it involves the physical presence of the specialist and is typically performed in hospitals. In this framework, we present a novel Internet of Things support in the form factory of a smart toy that can be used by specialists to perform indirect and non-invasive observations of the children in naturalistic conditions. While they play with the toy, children can be observed in their own environment and without the physical presence of the specialist. We also present the technical validation of the technology and the study protocol for the refinement of the diagnostic practice based on this technology.
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Keywords:
autism; internet of things; motor; inertial sensors; smart toys; children
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MDPI and ACS Style
Bondioli, M.; Chessa, S.; Narzisi, A.; Pelagatti, S.; Zoncheddu, M. Towards Motor-Based Early Detection of Autism Red Flags: Enabling Technology and Exploratory Study Protocol. Sensors 2021, 21, 1971. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21061971
AMA Style
Bondioli M, Chessa S, Narzisi A, Pelagatti S, Zoncheddu M. Towards Motor-Based Early Detection of Autism Red Flags: Enabling Technology and Exploratory Study Protocol. Sensors. 2021; 21(6):1971. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21061971
Chicago/Turabian StyleBondioli, Mariasole, Stefano Chessa, Antonio Narzisi, Susanna Pelagatti, and Michele Zoncheddu. 2021. "Towards Motor-Based Early Detection of Autism Red Flags: Enabling Technology and Exploratory Study Protocol" Sensors 21, no. 6: 1971. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21061971
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