Where the Care App and Care Portal are mentioned, the articles in the Support Center refer to both the Academic & Basic Research Plan (Care Lab App and Care Lab Portal) and the enterprise Plan (Care App and Care Portal), unless indicated otherwise.
The availability of digital biomarkers in the Care App and the Care Portal is defined by the study configuration. For further information on which digital biomarkers are visible for your study configuration, talk to your Study team or account manager.
Aside from being able to read the time and the battery charge level on the EmbracePlus display, participants can also check it periodically to understand if EmbracePlus is connected via Bluetooth to the Care App and recording data. By teaching participants how to read the components of the EmbracePlus display, you can avoid long periods of disconnection, check for any error statuses, and maximize data collection.
While checking the EmbracePlus display is an easy way to confirm connectivity and data collection, it’s important to note that the best way to verify the overall status of EmbracePlus and the data flow is by checking the Care App.
The EmbracePlus display provides the battery indications of EmbracePlus. Read more about checking the EmbracePlus battery level and charging it here.
When EmbracePlus is correctly connected via Bluetooth to the Care App and recording data, participants will see the following components on the display*:
- Time in hours
- Time in minutes
- Empatica heart signifying the Bluetooth connection with the Care App
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Light display background
* The EmbracePlus display components may change when the participant presses one of the side buttons to check the battery level, when an event is tagged, or when the EmbracePlus battery level is critical and a ‘LOW’ message appears on the display. The background display remains light, which means that EmbracePlus is still connected and recording data.
Reading the time
The EmbracePlus display shows a 12-hour clock, with no distinction between AM and PM. The number shown on the outer circle is the hour, while the number shown in the center is the minutes. The time displayed on EmbracePlus is automatically synced with the time of the paired smartphone.
The time on the EmbracePlus display is based on the participant’s paired smartphone’s timezone, but note that the uploaded data in the AWS S3 bucket will be in Universal Time Coordinated (UTC).
EmbracePlus Bluetooth connectivity
The Empatica heart in the 12 o'clock position of the EmbracePlus display is visible when EmbracePlus is connected via Bluetooth to the Care App.
Correspondingly, the Empatica heart will not be visible if EmbracePlus is disconnected via Bluetooth.
When EmbracePlus is disconnected from the Care App, it will continue to store raw sensor data in its internal memory. The maximum number of hours that EmbracePlus can store in its internal memory depends on the study’s predefined sensor mode:
| Pulse Rate Pro |
enterprise SpO2 Pro |
enterprise Actigraphy Pro |
enterprise Actigraphy Optimized |
| ~ 36 hours | ~ 24 hours | ~ 7 days | ~ 14 days |
It’s important to note that no further data will be recorded once the EmbracePlus memory is full.
Furthermore, when EmbracePlus is disconnected, digital biomarkers will not be available on the Care App and Care Portal. It is recommended to stay connected to the paired smartphone as much as possible to ensure that the recorded data are always synchronized. Once the Bluetooth connection with the Care App is established, EmbracePlus will automatically transmit the stored data. The most updated digital biomarkers* shown on the Care App and Care Portal will only be available once all the data has been synced.
*Digital biomarker availability depends on the study configuration.
Data recording
Participants can confirm that EmbracePlus is recording data when the display background is light.
On the other hand, the EmbracePlus display background will turn dark when EmbracePlus is not recording data. This could be expected in the following cases:
- EmbracePlus is charging
- Calibration of a few seconds after EmbracePlus is removed from the cable charger
- Calibration of a few seconds when EmbracePlus is starting up or rebooting
- Specific error cases