In recent years, there has been tremendous growth in both the number and diversity of wearable sensors, including sensors for monitoring mental state. Understanding physiological metrics such as fatigue and stress is an important aspect of human factors research, yet collecting and analyzing these measures can be resource intensive. This paper explores the usability and applicability of four off-the-shelf wearable sensors (Emotiv Epoc, Melon Headband, Spire Stone, and Muse™ Headband) for applied healthcare research. We perform a heuristic usability evaluation of the four sensors and discuss the extent to which each device can be applied to human factors healthcare research in clinical settings.
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