Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Biomedical engineers from University of Tokyo have successfully developed a translucent gel patch that can be used to detect electrical signals and other biomarkers on either the interior or exterior of the body, according to a study published in Nature Communications.
“Just by applying to the body like a compress, our novel sheet sensor detects biometric information extremely accurately,” researchers said in a statement Friday.
The medical device is made of a sticky gel that inhibits a fine grid of interior detectors from sliding, even if the surface they are touching is moving. The sensors within the device are printed at 4-millimeter intervals on very slim plastic. This allows for as many as 144 individual detectors on a gel patch the size of a human palm. Their distance from organ or joint being monitored allows them to acquire highly exact readings. The sheets might be utilized in health care or sports science, the study researchers said.
“Although we are currently at the animal experimentation stage, this compress-like sensor has been successfully attached even to internal tissues such as a rat’s heart,” the team said. “In the future, this technology will be applied to internally implanted electrical systems and the scope of application for electrical devices will increase.”
Current standard sensor technology uses silicon, which is much less flexible and comfortable for the wearer. These sensors have also been found to disrupt the body’s natural functioning and movements. The study team speculated that their novel device could be used in sports, healthcare and public health arenas.
“Conventional wearable electronics have become increasingly smart through the introduction of electronic circuits into items worn on the body such as wristwatches and eyeglasses,” the researchers said. “On the other hand, this research has enabled smartness through introducing electrical components even into items directly applied to the body like a compress or plaster. As a result, there are expectations that this will be applied to 24-hour, stress free biometric measurement technology while going about one’s daily life.”
Earlier this month, engineers at UC Berkeley debuted another sensor prototype that substituted carbon-based polymers for silicon. The Band Aid-like device is designed to be a fitness tracker and preliminary tests show that it performs as well as conventional fitness trackers.
“There are various pulse oximeters already on the market that measure pulse rate and blood-oxygen saturation levels, but those devices use rigid conventional electronics, and they are usually fixed to the fingers or earlobe,” said Ana Arias, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at Berkeley.
The Berkeley device uses red and green LEDs to illuminate the body’s blood vessels. A sensor on another part of the device detects the blood flow pulsing through the arteries and determines a pulse based on that information.
“We showed that if you take measurements with different wavelengths, it works, and if you use unconventional semiconductors, it works,” Arias said. “Because organic electronics are flexible, they can easily conform to the body.”
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