New biosensors and implants will work from human energy

Larry Cheng, professor in the Department of Engineering and Mechanical Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania explains that

his team sought to create devicesthat can harvest energy, and develop sensors that can operate autonomously. An energy harvester of sorts can supply energy to power other devices, while self-powered sensors can provide their own energy to operate as autonomous devices. 

Such sensors could lead to more accurate healthcare and remote health monitoring capabilities.

An international team of researchers led byUniversity of Pennsylvania engineers are exploring the possibility of developing self-powered stretch biosensors that could one day lead to wearable devices that don't need to be recharged, or even sensors that are powered by the process they created. to control. Credit: Penn State.

Researchers said that tensilepiezoelectric materials - solids capable of storing electrical charges - are critical to the development of such devices. Since human tissue is soft and constantly changing shape, materials must be able to bend and stretch.

According to researchers, biosensors can benot simply transferred to the surface of the skin, but may one day be implanted into the body. Chang said advances in material design and development over the past decade have helped researchers develop piezoelectric materials that are flexible and tough enough to withstand the environment within the body, yet so sensitive and effective that they can capture and transform such rapid movements. such as heartbeat and breathing.

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