This ActiTrac is a completely new, very low-cost, full featured physical activity monitor. Generically referred to as an actigraphy monitor, this unique device provides an impressive array of operational functions and, with breakthrough pricing, has set new standards for ambulatory motor recording.

From prior experience marketing our older line of PAM activity monitors, it is clear that price has severely limited the market acceptance for actigraphy. We constantly get requests from potential customers like yourself looking for a less expensive activity monitor. In the past, potential users would forgo actigraphy because their applications usually required multiple units which were beyond the reach of most budgets.

Before ActiTrac, the reluctance of many to adopt or invest in this technology is largely due to the prohibitive cost of actigraphy recording. Needless to say, there existed a great need for a product that can offer better price/performance for actigraphy than the monitors currently available.

This new monitor is very affordable and offers an impressive list of features.

When the ActiTrac data is downloaded to the PC, the activity data is written to the PC screen in a 2 window bar-graph format. The top window will show the data set in its entirety including dates and data values and the bottom window shows a close-up zoom of a data segment highlighted in the top window. Note, since the both the top and the bottom window graphs can only display a limited number of data points, the data will be shown as composite data values representing groups of data points whenever the data exceeds 180 points.

Included in the top graph is the total amount of time (in days and hours) of the recording session, the number of data points (epochs) per hour and the average value of all of the data displayed in this window.

For a more detailed view of specific time of day and activity, the bottom window provides a zoomed-in display of the data within a selected segment of the top window. Also provided in the lower window is the sum of the data, the average of the data and the number of data points.

The screen also contains arrow flags indicating the number of times the marker button was pressed during an epoch. Other information stored in the ActiTrac includes the name of the patient, the monitor tag, the file tag, the serial number of the unit and the selected 1 of 7 gain (sensitivity) setting. Also, the ActiTrac's activity levels (bar-graph form ranging from 0 to 250) represents values of motion acceleration per unit time. For those who want calibrated data in scaled absolute units, the data can also be displayed in average milli-g units which range from 0.312 to 20.0 mg. This format also has 7 selectable sensitivity settings.

The ActiTrac system is incredibly reliable and easy to use. You can even download the monitor without taking the unit off your wrist. Additionally, in the middle of your experiment, you can download data for observation and return to normal recording operation with interruption of your data string. Most other activity monitors do not provide for this convenience. Note, many customers have commented that this data check/resume feature set us apart from the rest. Most other monitoring systems require a restart operation thus forcing the creation of a new file.

The new ActiTrac monitor represents an outstanding value not commonly found in today's marketplace. It's an especially attractive full featured, low-cost monitor for physical activity and is ideally suited for use in both the laboratory and the home environments.

The ActiTrac monitor contains a biaxial piezoelectric accelerometer sensor torecord physical motion in two planes. It has the sensitivity to detect movements as slight as 0.012g. The acceleration signal is sampled at a rate of 40 per second and is digitally integrated to accurately quantify all activity under the signal curve. This information is converted to a reference scale of data counts (0 to 250), or, can be shown in precisely calibrated "milli-g" units of acceleration.

ActiTrac is the only unit in the market that is calibrated to report absolute measures of acceleration. Some activity monitors do not employ our precision high-tech methods of digital sampling, but used an older technique which involves collecting data by counting the number of times the motion signal crosses zero or the time the signal is above a threshold. Unfortunately, this dated technology by other manufacturers does not measure the magnitude or quantity of acceleration, but only a relative measure of movement activity.

The ActiTrac also features an optional event marker button which can be used to identify special events. Each time the marker button is pressed, a coded flag value is saved into memory. When the data is displayed, a flag indicating the number of button presses per epoch (1 to 9), is placed into the data window so these events can be time marked with the activity data.

The ActiTrac is designed for easy "Plug-N-Go" operation - no bulky or expensive computer interface devices are necessary. Unlike other units on the market which require an interface for downloading, our unit directly communicates with a PC through IM Systems' smart cable assembly. This download technology is highly proprietary and not found in other products.

To use the ActiTrac software, your PC should contain the following, minimum system requirements:

• Windows 98, 2000 or XP
• 10 Megabytes of hard disk space
• 8 Megabytes of RAM
• CD-Rom Drive
• Serial COM port or USB-to-COM adapter

The ActiTrac is small and lightweight (1.2 oz.) and is available with wristwatch style straps, Velcro band or belt-clip. It is computer calibrated in absolute acceleration units, contains a biaxial piezoelectric sensor, microprocessor, an analog to digital converter, programmable sensitivity, programmable epoch length, programmable start time/date, optional marker button, digital integration at a sample rate of 40 Hz. and 48 K of nonvolatile EEPROM memory allowing for 62 days of continuous recording. A comprehensive software package provides for data display and analysis. The ActiTrac data can also be displayed as double raster plots for viewing circadian patterns and is formatted for convenient export to spreadsheets.