Joseph Wang and colleagues at the University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA have integrated chemical sensors into two brands of briefs, which will allow the constant monitoring of blood pressure and heart rate. They found that screen printing the sensors directly on the elastic waist provided tight direct contact with the skin. The design will be of great benefit not just to the military but also to the healthcare and sport industries in their view. Their work has been published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal 'Analyst'.
Hydrogen peroxide and NADH
The tight contact and direct exposure to the skin allowed hydrogen peroxide and NADH - both associated with numerous biomedical processes - to be monitored. Durability tests revealed that the stresses associated with everyday wear, such as the folding or stretching of the clothing, did not affect the sensor performance. Wang reported that the specially designed briefs will also reduce hospital expenses as the focus on healthcare shifts from centralised hospital-based treatment to home-based management.
"There are growing needs for developing reliable wearable healthcare monitoring systems," he added.
Prof Richard Compton, lecturer in physical and theoretical chemistry at Oxford University, UK, notes that electrochemical sensors are widely used in niche applications and it is timely for a greater diversity of sensors to emerge, given the sensitivity and low cost of electrochemical measurements. He has full confidence in this idea coming to fruition.
Ethanol, lactate, gases
Wang even intends to develop enzyme sensors for ethanol and lactate that could be used to monitor alcohol levels in drivers or stress levels in soldiers or athletes. Indeed others have suggested that one could monitor other occupational health parameters such as gases. Radon gas, radon daughters and gross alpha and beta radiation have been mentioned, not necessarily in the underpants but as an overhang bush jacket.
For more attend : Printed Electronics USA 2010
