About

Bijan Najafi is a professor at UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, specializing in bioengineering with a focus on wearable technology, digital health, and biomechanics. His research involves developing and validating wearable sensors and telehealth platforms to monitor health status and activity outside traditional clinical settings. He advances digital health solutions that personalize treatment and extend care into the home for chronic and acute conditions. Najafi's work also includes using biomechanical and sensor-based assessments to study gait, balance, physical activity, and frailty, particularly in aging populations. Additionally, he researches chronic disease management, such as diabetic foot disease, wound healing, ulcer prevention, and related biomechanics and monitoring methods. His efforts aim to improve healthcare accessibility and support decentralized models like Care in Place initiatives to ensure equitable access to healthcare through technology integration. Najafi's notable contributions have earned him recognition as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2023, among other awards for his pioneering work in digital health technologies.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Medical emergency
• Psychiatry
• Intensive care medicine
• Demography
• Physical therapy
• Gerontology
• Nursing

Selected publications

• Decrease in Mobility during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Association with Increase in Depression among Older Adults: A Longitudinal Remote Mobility Monitoring Using a Wearable Sensor

  Sensors · 2021 · 65 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Medicine
  • Gerontology
  • Demography

  BACKGROUND: Social isolation during COVID-19 may negatively impact older adults' wellbeing. To assess its impact, we measured changes in physical activity and sleep among community-dwelling older adults, from pre-to post-pandemic declaration. METHOD: Physical activity and sleep in older adults (n = 10, age = 77.3 ± 1.9 years, female = 40%) were remotely assessed within 3-month pre-to 6-month post-pandemic declaration using a pendant-wearable system. Depression was assessed pre-and post-pandemic declaration using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale and was compared with 48 h continuous physical activity monitoring data before and during pandemic. RESULTS: = 0.019). CONCLUSION: This is one of the early longitudinal studies highlighting adverse effect of the pandemic on objectively assessed physical activity and sleep in older adults. Our observations showed need for timely intervention to mitigate hard to reverse consequences of decreased physical activity such as depression.

  DOI

• The DFUC 2020 Dataset: Analysis Towards Diabetic Foot Ulcer Detection

  touchREVIEWS in Endocrinology · 2021 · 94 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Medicine
  • Computer Science

  Every 20 seconds a limb is amputated somewhere in the world due to diabetes. This is a global health problem that requires a global solution. The International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention challenge, which concerns the automated detection of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) using machine learning techniques, will accelerate the development of innovative healthcare technology to address this unmet medical need. In an effort to improve patient care and reduce the strain on healthcare systems, recent research has focused on the creation of cloud-based detection algorithms. These can be consumed as a service by a mobile app that patients (or a carer, partner or family member) could use themselves at home to monitor their condition and to detect the appearance of a DFU. Collaborative work between Manchester Metropolitan University, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust has created a repository of 4,000 DFU images for the purpose of supporting research toward more advanced methods of DFU detection. This paper presents a dataset description and analysis, assessment methods, benchmark algorithms and initial evaluation results. It facilitates the challenge by providing useful insights into state-of-the-art and ongoing research.

  DOI

• Leveraging smart technologies to improve the management of diabetic foot ulcers and extend ulcer‐free days in remission

  Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews · 2020 · 89 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Medicine
  • Intensive care medicine

  Abstract The prevalent and long neglected diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) and its related complications rank among the most debilitating and costly sequelae of diabetes. Management of the DFU is multifaceted and requires constant monitoring from patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. The alarmingly high rates of recurrence of ulcerations in the diabetic foot requires a change in our approach to care and to the vernacular in the medical literature. Our efforts should be directed not only on healing of open wounds, but also on maximizing ulcer‐free days for the patient in diabetic foot remission. The increasing development and use of technology within every aspect of our lives represents an opportunity for creative solutions to prevent or better manage this devastating condition. In particular, recent advances in wearable and mobile health technologies appear to show promise in measuring and modulating dangerous foot pressure and inflammation to extend remission and improve the quality of life for these most complex patients. This review article discusses how harnessing wearables and digital technologies may improve the management and optimize prevention of DFUs by identifying high‐risk patients for triage and timely intervention, personalizing prescription of offloading, and improving adherence to protective footwear. While still in their infancy, we envisage a future network of skin‐worn, jewellery‐worn, and implantable sensors that, if allowed to effectively communicate with one another and the patient, could dramatically impact measuring, personalizing, and managing how we and the patients we serve move through our collective world.

  DOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R41AG032748

  NIH · $100k · 2010

• NIH Grant R44AG050338

  NIH · $1.5M · 2018

• An Innovative Platform for Objective Monitoring of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living

  NIH · $350k · 2018–2019

• NIH Grant R42AG032748

  NIH · $1.9M · 2018

• NIH Grant R42AG03274804

  NIH · $750k · 2017

Frequent coauthors

• David G. Armstrong

  121 shared

• Gurtej S. Grewal

  University of Arizona

  81 shared

• Kamiar Aminian

  École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

  81 shared

• Lawrence A. Lavery

  The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

  61 shared

• Robert Menzies

  Hamad Medical Corporation

  58 shared

• Jane Mohler

  University of Arizona

  55 shared

• Michael Schwenk

  University of Konstanz

  51 shared

• Talal Talal

  Hamad Medical Corporation

  44 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Electrical Engineering

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1995

• M.S., Electrical Engineering

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1991

• B.S., Electrical Engineering

  University of Tehran

  1987

Awards & honors

• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engine…
• American Diabetes Association (ADA) Young Investigator Award…
• American Heart Association (AHA) CVSN Stroke Article of the…
• Nature Colloquium on Biomedicine – Frailty (Invited Young In…
• First Prize – Best Oral Presentation, International Symposiu…

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