senzori de corp – Baza de Date

Silk ar putea îmbunătăți sensibilitatea, flexibilitatea senzorilor de corp care pot fi purtați ( Silk could improve sensitivity, flexibility of wearable body sensors )

Pe baza rezultatelor preliminare, Zhang dorește să exploreze modalități de a crea un set integrat de senzori auto-susținători care să fie alimentați de nano-generatori. Ea sugerează, de asemenea, că senzorii de mătase ai echipei sale ar putea fi folosiți pentru a construi roboți mai reali care să poată simți atingerea, temperatura sau umiditatea și pot chiar distinge între vocile diferitelor persoane.

Posted: Aug 21, 2017
Silk could improve sensitivity, flexibility of wearable body sensors (Nanowerk News) From smart socks to workout clothes that measure exertion, wearable body sensors are becoming the latest „must-have” technology. Now scientists report they are on the cusp of using silk, one of the world’s most coveted fabrics, to develop a more sensitive and flexible generation of these multi-purpose devices that monitor a slew of body functions in real time.
The researchers are presenting their work today at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
„There is a whole world of possibilities for silk sensors at the moment. Silk is the ideal material for fabricating sensors that are worn on the body,” Yingying Zhang, Ph.D., says. „One possibility we foresee is for them to be used as an integrated wireless system that would allow doctors to more easily monitor patients remotely so that they can respond to their medical needs more rapidly than ever before.”

Silk could soon be used to produce more sensitive and flexible body sensors like this one. (Image: Yingying Zhang)
Body sensors, which are usually made with semiconductors, have shown great potential for monitoring human health. But they have limitations. For instance, strain sensors, which measure changes in force, cannot be highly sensitive and highly stretchable at the same time. Silk, a natural material that is stronger than steel and more flexible than nylon, could overcome these problems. The fiber is also lightweight and biocompatible. However, silk doesn’t conduct electricity very well. To address this challenge, Zhang and colleagues at Tsinghua University in China sought to find a way to boost the conductivity of silk so it could be successfully used in body-sensing devices.
The researchers decided to try two different strategies. In one approach, they treated the silk in an inert gas environment with temperatures ranging from 1,112 degrees to 5,432 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, the silk became infused with N-doped carbon with some graphitized particles, which is electrically conductive. Using this technique, the scientists have developed strain sensors, pressure sensors and a dual-mode sensor capable of measuring temperature and pressure simultaneously.
In the other approach, the team fed either graphene or carbon nanotubes to silkworms. Some of these nanoparticles were naturally incorporated into the silk produced by the worms. So far, this method hasn’t produced electrically conductive fibers, but the researchers are still experimenting with this technique and are hopeful they can make it work.
Based on the preliminary results, Zhang wants to explore ways to create an integrated set of silk-based, self-sustaining sensors that would be powered by nano-generators. She also suggests that her team’s silk sensors might be used to build more realistic robots that can sense touch, temperature or humidity and can even distinguish between different people’s voices.

Source: American Chemical Society

Read more: Silk could improve sensitivity, flexibility of wearable body sensors

Dispozitive electronice extensibile, care au o lungime cvadruple

ar putea fi folosit pentru senzori concepuți pentru a monitoriza anumite funcții biologice.Ideale pentru pielea artificială pe proteze sau mașini robotizateÎnlătură termen: îmbrăcăminte conectată și senzori pe corp îmbrăcăminte conectată și senzori pe corp

Posted: Feb 29, 2016
Stretchable electronics that quadruple in length (w/video) (Nanowerk News) EPFL researchers have developed conductive tracks that can be bent and stretched up to four times their original length. They could be used in artificial skin, connected clothing and on-body sensors.

Conductive tracks are usually hard printed on a board. But those recently developed at EPFL are altogether different: they are almost as flexible as rubber and can be stretched up to four times their original length and in all directions. And they can be stretched a million times without cracking or interrupting their conductivity. The invention is described in an article published today in the journal Advanced Materials („Intrinsically Stretchable Biphasic (Solid–Liquid) Thin Metal Films”).
Both solid and flexible, this new metallic and partially liquid film offers a wide range of possible applications. It could be used to make circuits that can be twisted and stretched – ideal for artificial skin on prosthetics or robotic machines. It could also be integrated into fabric and used in connected clothing. And because it follows the shape and movements of the human body, it could be used for sensors designed to monitor particular biological functions.
“We can come up with all sorts of uses, in forms that are complex, moving or that change over time,” said Hadrien Michaud, a PhD student at the Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces (LSBI) and one of the study authors.
Extensive research has gone into developing an elastic electronic circuit. It is a real challenge, as the components traditionally used to make circuits are rigid. Applying liquid metal to a thin film in polymer supports with elastic properties naturally seems like a promising approach.

Thin and reliable
Owing to the high surface tension of some of these liquid metals, experiments conducted so far have only produced relatively thick structures. “Using the deposition and structuring methods that we developed, it’s possible to make tracks that are very narrow – several hundredths of a nanometer thick – and very reliable,” said Stéphanie Lacour, holder of the Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Neuroprosthetic Technology and who runs the lab.
Apart from their unique fabrication technique, the researchers’ secret lies in the choice of ingredients, an alloy of gold and gallium.
“Not only does gallium possess good electrical properties, but it also has a low melting point, around 30o,” said Arthur Hirsch, a PhD student at LSBI and co-author of the study. “So it melts in your hand, and, thanks to the process known as supercooling, it remains liquid at room temperature, even lower.” The layer of gold ensures the gallium remains homogeneous, preventing it from separating into droplets when it comes into contact with the polymer, which would ruin its conductivity.

Source: By Sarah Perrin, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

Read more: Stretchable electronics that quadruple in length (w/video)