Wearable Electronic Devices
Conditions
Brief summary
WildCam is a wearable device that collects video data of the user's face and upper torso to capture eating behaviors. WildCam and its accompanying software is privacy conscious, meaning it utilizes a computer vision algorithm that extracts proximal features (the user's body and objects-in-hand) from the video and digitally obfuscates the distal features (background environment and entities therein) to preserve the privacy of the wearer, as well as any bystanders who may be in the device's visual field. The present study tests the impact of 3 different obfuscation techniques on acceptability, including the willingness of users to wear the device. Participants are randomly assigned to 1 of the 3 obfuscation techniques (blurring, masking, or cartooning). Participants wear the WildCam during waking hours during a 7-day period with the randomly selected obfuscation setting enabled and a 7-day period with the raw images (no obfuscation) setting. The order of these periods is counterbalanced, and the two periods are separated by a 7-day washout period during which WildCam is not worn. Structured feedback, including user burden and acceptability surveys, is collected to determine the efficacy of each obfuscation technique on increasing user acceptability, including willingness to use the WildCam device, as opposed to a video-collecting device without obfuscation.
Interventions
DEVICEBlur Obfuscation
Blurring is applied to objects and people in the background of images.
DEVICEEdge Obfuscation
Objects and people in the background of images are replaced with an outline of the object.
DEVICECartoon Obfuscation
Blurring is applied to objects and people in the background of images and the wearer's face is concealed with cartoon faces.
DEVICERaw images
No editing is performed on images.
Sponsors
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Northwestern University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Of the 3 obfuscation settings (blur, mask, cartoon), participants are randomly assigned to 1, which they test for the first or second 7-day test period. During the remaining test period, participants use WildCam with the raw images setting. There is a washout period between each test period. The order of the test sequence is counterbalanced across participants to reduce carryover effects.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 64 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* BMI 30 or greater * Chicago Metro Area resident * Able to speak, read, and write in English * Valid phone number * Smartphone ownership * Have Wi-Fi at home
Exclusion criteria
* 15% or greater weight change in last 3 months * Medication related weight gain * Genetic obesity syndrome (e.g., Prader-Willi, Bardet-Biedl, Cohen Syndrome) * Member of household enrolled in study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mean Wear Time | 7 days | Average duration in minutes of data collected per day, calculated from video time stamps |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptability | 7 days | Score (0-80) obtained from User Burden Scale (Suh. et al 2016), collected post-study |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed