“Smart stickers” underway for post-surgery monitoring
An advanced sticker solution is in the works to monitor physical activity and alert for health risks, particularly useful for patients who self-check their health at home after a major surgery.
Lead researcher Ramses Martinez, a Purdue University assistant professor of industrial engineering and biomedical engineering has said that the wearable sticker technology is a first – his research was recently published in ACS Advanced Materials and Interfaces. The technology by Purdue University is one of their many global advancements made in health as part of Purdue’s 150th anniversary.
The cellulose “smart stickers” are biocompatible and breathable, patterned in serpentine shapes much like skin, and conform to internal organs without any adverse reactions, thus, making the devices imperceptible to the wearer.
Notably, these stickers are coated with molecules that repel water, oil, dust and bacteria, which can quickly degrade normal paper. But each sticker is cheap to produce and can be made using printing and manufacturing technologies similar to those used to print books.
The Purdue stickers could be used as implantable sensors to monitor the sleep of patients after important cardiac surgery, and even athletes could use the stickers to monitor their heart rate while exercising.
Martinez has said that the low cost and compatibility of the stickers with current large-scale manufacturing techniques will allow quick adoption of wearable technology in single-use diagnostic systems. The sticker technology is patented through the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, while Purdue continues to look for partners to test and commercialize their technology.
Category: Features, Technology & Devices
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