Med-Tech Innovation University News
NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSITIES Smart wear from Liverpool
Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) have invented new electromagnetic wave sensors that can be woven into any fabric and incorporated into any garment. Invisible and undetectable to the wearer, these non-invasive sensors are sensitive enough to pick up a wide range of vital signs and can transmit these readings in real time to devices located many metres away. The sensor design (with garments and wristbands incorporating the technology) has just been published as the 2.5 millionth patent application (GB2500000) by the UK Intellectual Property Office.
The research team comprises Professor Ahmed Al-Shamma’a, Dr Andrew Shaw, Dr Alex Mason and Stephen Wylie, who work as part of LJMU’s Microwave Sensor Group. Professor Al-Shamma’a said, “While we are still in the early stages of development, the range of potential applications for this wearable sensor technology is immense, not just in the health care sector but also in sporting and military applications. “The traditional hospital identity bracelet, for example, could eventually be adapted to include this sensor technology. Garments could also be developed for people with dementia living in
Professor Ahmed Al-Shamma’a and Dr Alex Mason
Nottingham gets smart for the heart
An electronic smart pump that aims to increase the survival chances of victims of chronic heart failure is being developed by researchers at Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The smart aortic graft would be implanted into a removed section of the aorta to improve the heart’s efficiency. A smart material, which expands when a voltage is applied to it, would surround an inner woven tube to act as a pump. The tube would be made using auxetic techniques, which allow it to collapse and expand.
The device, for which a patent
has been filed, would create a counter blood flow by “beating” out of phase with the diseased heart. When the heart fills with blood, the woven tube would contract to increase pressure in the heart. When the heart then pumps oxygenated blood around the body, the tube would expand to release the pressure and
04 ¦ September/October 2013
increase the blood flow. Using 3D printing techniques, the research team aims for the smart pump to be tailor-made to each patient by using MRI scan data. It would be powered by a battery implanted in the patient’s body and be entirely self-contained.
Associate Professor David Richens, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said, “The smart aortic graft is a unique, cutting edge solution to a global health problem and promises to be cheaper and better than current devices.”
He continued, “The smart aortic graft would revolutionise the way people are treated and the technologies which underpin the design have the potential to transform the treatment of other diseases such as esophageal achalasia.”
www.ntu.ac.uk
www.med-techinnovation.com
the community, giving care workers a non-invasive way of monitoring their health and wellbeing. A key area for this technology is to support patients in the community with long term conditions such as congestive heart failure, COPD and diabetes etc. and reduce the number of unplanned hospital admissions and emergency interventions.”
www.ljmu.ac.uk
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