One of my main responsibilities here in the Research unit is to manage the ActiGraph accelerometers. That may include charging them, initialising, downloading data, entering sleep data from the log sheets in the software program, etc.
ActiGraph accelerometers are among the most widely used and extensively validated devices in the academic and governmental research and clinical trials. it measures daytime physical activity and sleep/awake behaviour.(source: http://actigraphcorp.com/)
The accelerometers are handed out to the participants of the project Satin three times during the study - visit 2, visit 7 and visit 14. The participant have to wear the device on their right hip, all day and all night for 7 days, without removing it, except when they are engaged in activities in water, i.e. shower/bath or swimming or full contact sport, i.e. rugby. They have to report in Actigraph log sheets when the device is taken off and put back on, and the time when they go to bed and wake up in the morning .
Before the participants come for their regular visits, I am responsible to initialise the device, which means I enter the specific date and time when the ActiGraph accelerometer will start measuring activities and the sleep behaviour. I make sure to put the correct ID number given to each participant in the subject info window and to put label on the top of the device. Afterwards when the devices are returned I download the data from them and save it in a folder. The program used for these actions is called ActiLife, see photo bellow:
I will write seperate post about entering sleep behaviour data in the program, keep tuned :)
