ActiGraph, a Pensacola, Fla.-based provider of objective physical activity and sleep/wake measurement solutions for the global research community and pharmaceutical industry, has released the ActiGraph GT9X Link activity monitor. The redesigned ActiGraph Link expands upon the company’s scientifically validated physical activity and sleep measurement platform with a rich feature set that delivers an improved subject experience along with multiple new channels of sensor data captured by a gyroscope, magnetometer and secondary accelerometer.

Equipped with Bluetooth Smart technology, the ActiGraph Link supports wireless heart rate data capture and mobile data uploads to ActiGraph’s cloud-based Study Admin platform, giving academic and clinical research teams the ability to securely monitor subject compliance and activity measures in real time from any web browser.

The redesigned ActiGraph Link features a high resolution liquid crystal display (LCD) window that can be programmed to operate as a watch face and/or to display subject activity measures, including steps and kcals, in real time. The ActiGraph Link is 25% smaller than the company's flagship research activity monitor, the wGT3X-BT, with a streamlined, low-profile case for optimal wearability and comfort.

The ActiGraph Link provides the unique opportunity for highly sophisticated body movement and position analysis using raw sensor data captured by an integrated Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The IMU contains a 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis magnetometer and secondary 3-axis accelerometer, which together deliver nine component motion sensing in addition to the device’s primary 3-axis accelerometer. This robust dataset paves the way for novel scientific and clinical applications such as gait analysis, inclination and fall detection, which have utility within numerous disease and therapeutic areas, including Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, pain, rehabilitation and aging and related conditions.

“The ActiGraph Link is the product of an ongoing collaboration with members of the research community who need a measurement tool that captures highly accurate, validated data with minimal burden to the subject population,” said Jeff Arnett, CEO of ActiGraph. “The end user experience has become an increasingly important consideration, particularly as ActiGraph becomes more widely involved in clinical trials and pharmaceutical research, where patient monitoring periods can last for months at a time. The ActiGraph Link’s aesthetic and functional enhancements address these challenges while also delivering completely new channels of data that expand its utility in many patient and disease populations.”