Title: A Wrist-Worn Multimodal Reaction Time Monitoring Device for Ecologically-Valid Cognitive Assessment Show Chinese title

Title: 用于生态有效认知评估的手腕佩戴多模态反应时间监测设备

Abstract: Reaction time (RT) is a fundamental measure in cognitive and neurophysiological assessment, yet most existing RT systems require active user engagement and controlled environments, limiting their use in real-world settings. This paper introduces a low cost wrist-worn instrumentation platform designed to capture human reaction times (RT) across auditory, visual, and haptic modalities with millisecond latency in real-world conditions. The device integrates synchronized stimulus delivery and event detection within a compact microcontroller-based system, eliminating the need for user focus or examiner supervision. Emphasizing measurement fidelity, we detail the hardware architecture, timing control algorithms, and calibration methodology used to ensure consistent latency handling across modalities. A proof-of-concept study with six adult participants compares this system against a benchmark computer-based RT tool across five experimental conditions. The results confirm that the device achieves statistically comparable RT measurements with strong modality consistency, supporting its potential as a novel tool for non-obtrusive cognitive monitoring. Contributions include a validated design for time-critical behavioral measurement and a demonstration of its robustness in unconstrained, ambient-noise environments. It offers a powerful new tool for continuous, real-world cognitive monitoring and has significant potential for both research and clinical applications. Show Chinese abstract

Abstract: 反应时间（RT）是认知和神经生理评估中的基本测量指标，但现有的大多数RT系统需要用户主动参与和受控环境，限制了它们在现实场景中的应用。 本文介绍了一种低成本的手腕佩戴设备平台，旨在在现实条件下以毫秒级延迟跨听觉、视觉和触觉模态捕捉人类反应时间（RT）。 该设备在一个基于微控制器的紧凑系统中集成了同步刺激传递和事件检测，无需用户专注或检查员监督。 强调测量准确性，我们详细描述了用于确保各模态间一致延迟处理的硬件架构、定时控制算法和校准方法。 一项针对六名成年参与者的概念验证研究将该系统与基准计算机RT工具在五个实验条件下进行了比较。 结果证实，该设备实现了统计上可比的RT测量，并具有强大的模态一致性，支持其作为非侵入性认知监测新工具的潜力。 贡献包括一个经过验证的时间关键行为测量设计以及其在无约束、环境噪声环境中的鲁棒性演示。 它为连续的现实世界认知监测提供了一个强大的新工具，并在研究和临床应用中具有重要意义。