Category: Sensors
-
Patch monitors muscle activity, dispenses medicine
Kim Dae-Hyeong and colleagues at Seoul National University have created a dermal patch that measures and records muscle activity, dispenses medicine continuously, and stops drug delivery when appropriate. The study was published in Nature Nanotechnology today. The system is ideal for Parkinson’s patients, as tremors that accompany the movement disorder are not constant. The patch senses tremors early…
-
Smart pacifier monitors baby’s health and location
BlueMaestro’s Pacifi monitors a baby’s temperature and transmits the data to a parent’s phone or tablet. Its app plots the data in a graph. Parents can record when medication was administered, set-up alerts, and share the information with nannies and doctors. Pacifi features a built in proximity sensor that allows parents to monitor the pacifier’s location…
-
Sensor shoe detects balance, attempts to improve gait
B-Shoe utilizes sensors and an embedded motion device to detect when a wearer loses balance. Using algorithms and a microprocessor, the motion device gently rolls the shoe backward until the person regains balance. The sensors ensure that the corrective action is taken only when needed. The projected was crowdfunded on Indiegogo. It is based on the…
-
Wearables track, manage, predict epileptic seizures
Artefact Dialog | SmartMonitor Artefact Dialog allows epilepsy patients to track, manage, and predict seizures. The patch-like wearable connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone app. It can help wearers remember to take their medications, warn them about seizures, and alert friends, family, or caregivers when a seizure happens. Connected apps help users analyze where they…
-
Crowdfunded, gesture controlled, bluetooth ring
Kickstarter campaign Logbar‘s sensor ring recognizes finger gestures and controls devices. “Ring” allows the wearer to write text messages by drawing in the air, make mobile payments, or control lights or a television. It is being tested for use with the Pebble watch, quadcopter drones and Google Glass. It can be programmed to respond to original shape gesture…
-
Facial expression controlled ear computer/health monitor
AFP | Japan Times Kazuhiro Taniguchi of Hiroshima City University has developed a 17 gram “Earclip-type Wearable PC” equipped with a GPS, compass, gyrosensor, battery, barometer, speaker and microphone. A microchip and data storage enable users to load software. The device is being tested now, with promising applications for the elderly and disabled. The system…
-
Custom fitted, 3D printed, sensor based, implantable cardiac device
Nature paper | Washington University | University of Illinois A custom-fitted, implantable device with embedded sensors, while invasive, may offer an improved method for detecting and treating heart issues. Washington University professor Igor Efimov and University of Illinois professor John Rogers (see previous ApplySci Rogers coverage) have created a 3-D elastic membrane made of a soft, flexible, silicon material that is precisely…
-
Apple patents health monitoring earbuds
United States Patent 8655004 As the sensor based health monitoring market continues to expand, the USPTO on has granted Apple a patent for a biometric headphone system. By positioning the headset in or near the ear, an embedded activity sensor can measure temperature, perspiration and heart rate data, among other metrics. In addition to skin-based…
-
Chemical sensor app for lung cancer detection
Vantage Health/ STSI Press Release Vantage Health and Scripps Translational Science Institute are developing point-of-care chemical sensor apps. STSI will help validate the sensors, which can detect basic volatile organic compounds by using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. They intend to use the sensor to detect VOCs commonly associated with lung cancer. Last month Vantage…
-
Trial: Improved sense of touch and control in prosthetic hand
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/222/222ra19 In the ongoing effort to improve the dexterity of prosthetics, a recent trial showed an improved sense of touch and control over a prosthetic hand. EPFL professor Silvestro Micera and colleagues surgically attached electrodes from a robotic hand to a volunteer’s median and ulnar nerves. Those nerves carry sensations that correspond with the volunteer’s index finger and…
-
Smart holograms diagnose and monitor medical conditions
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/holographic-diagnostics-0 Cambridge researchers are developing responsive, color-changing diagnostic holograms. Silver nanoparticles are formed into three dimensional holograms of predetermined shapes in a fraction of a second using a single laser pulse. They will be used for portable medical tests and devices, to monitor diabetes, cardiac function, infections, electrolyte or hormone imbalance easily,inexpensively, and non-invasively. The…
-
Miniature 3D sensor maps surgical field; scope small enough for use in neurosurgery
http://www.visionsense.com/hp.html Visionsense’s miniature 3D sensor optically maps the surgical field, based on (and imitating) the eye of a bee. A single sensor is divided into hundreds of thousands of tiny “eyes” looking in different directions, using an array of micron-sized elements. The elemental information is translated into left and right eye images, resulting in a…