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DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributorDepartment of Building and Real Estateen_US
dc.contributor.advisorLi, Heng (BRE)en_US
dc.contributor.advisorTao, Xiaoming (SFT)en_US
dc.creatorMa, Jie-
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/12784-
dc.languageEnglishen_US
dc.publisherHong Kong Polytechnic Universityen_US
dc.rightsAll rights reserveden_US
dc.titlePhysical and mental fatigue assessment of construction workers using sweat-based biosensorsen_US
dcterms.abstractFatigue has been identified as a primary cause of construction site accidents in many studies. Owing to the nature of construction tasks, workers have to perform their duties attentively over a long period of time in a harsh environment. Mental and physical fatigue are the dominant risk factors for weakening workers’ ability to perform functionally. Recent studies have proposed electroencephalography and eye-tracking based solutions to detect mental fatigue, whereas physiological biomarkers (i.e., heart rate, temperature, and breathing rate) to assess physical fatigue. However, fatigue that construction workers usually experience appears to be complicated and more than one type. Specifically, it usually involves the interactive influences between physical and mental fatigue, therefore, single type of fatigue assessment could result in biased and inaccurate outputs.en_US
dcterms.abstractThis study proposed to develop non-invasive wearable sweat-based biosensors that can measure chemical biomarkers to assess mental and physical fatigue. To achieve this objective, first, a systematic review was conducted to investigate 1) the potential sweat-based biomarkers that are relevant to fatigue; 2) the prevalent sensing technologies in the sweat biosensor domain. Second, an experiment was conducted to model the relationship between sweat biomarkers and fatigue levels during simulated construction rebar tasks using machine learning techniques. Lactate was selected for further investigation due to its high concentration in sweat and its crucial role in supplying energy resources during high-energy consumption activities. Third, an advanced wireless organic electrochemical transistor-based biosensor with high selectivity and sensitivity was developed to measure lactate concentrations from sweat. Fourth, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the reliability of the sweat lactate device in assessing fatigue. This was done by comparing the results obtained from the proposed device with those obtained from a professional blood lactate meter, and conducting a test-retest experiment to assess its accuracy. Last, an investigation was conducted to validate the usefulness of sweat lactate in assessing physical and mental fatigue during construction manual material handling task and equipment operation task, respectively. Overall this project was the first to develop and validate the feasibility of sweat-based sensors in detecting fatigue levels during construction tasks. The results of this study will provide a comprehensive solution for monitoring and mitigating fatigue of construction workers exposed to prolonged tasks in seemingly harsh environments.en_US
dcterms.extentxix, 157 pages : color illustrationsen_US
dcterms.isPartOfPolyU Electronic Thesesen_US
dcterms.issued2023en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelPh.D.en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelAll Doctorateen_US
dcterms.LCSHConstruction workers -- Health and hygieneen_US
dcterms.LCSHFatigueen_US
dcterms.LCSHBiosensorsen_US
dcterms.LCSHWearable technologyen_US
dcterms.LCSHHong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertationsen_US
dcterms.accessRightsopen accessen_US

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/12784