HEALTHCARE


Physicists at the University of Sussex aim to revolutionise the way that the health of babies is monitored.


Graphene “salad dressing” inspires health monitor


T


he technology is based on a liquid made from an emulsion of graphene, water and oil that conducts electricity. Because


graphene is cheap to produce, the new breakthrough should be affordable. It is claimed to be the most sensitive liquid-based device to have ever been developed, and has great potential in other areas, for conditions such as sleep apnoea and even for joggers wanting to keep track of their breathing and heart rates. Professor Alan Dalton estimates that the technology will be made available within two to four years. A prototype has been created and the team are talking to commercial sponsors to fund bringing the product to market. Because the new liquid is so sensitive, it picks up very small signals when attached to the body. To monitor the pulses of babies, clunky sensors currently need to be attached to tiny feet or hands, and the sensors often fall off. The information is then relayed to a monitor by wires which can restrict movement. This development would monitor wirelessly and non-invasively, using a fitness tracker band – or even embedded within the fabric of a sensor vest. “We have created a sensor that has the potential to drastically improve early detection of life-threatening symptoms such as sleep apnoea or cardiac arrhythmia, where constant monitoring with conventional equipment is challenging outside the hospital environment,” Dalton says. “I came up with the idea for the new graphene emulsion at the core of this technology while making salad dressing – which is a type of emulsion – at home with my daughter. It’s amazing how, as scientists,


20 /// DAQ, Sensors & Instrumentation Vol 1 No. 1


❱ ❱ High sensitivity medical strain gauges (above) are based on an emulsion containing graphene particles (below)


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we take inspiration from the everyday world around us.” Dr Matthew Large, lead researcher on the project in the School of Mathematics and Physical Science, says: “What’s exciting about this new type of conductive liquid is how sensitive it is to being stretched. When the graphene particles are assembled around the liquid droplets electrons can “hop” from one particle to the next; this is why the whole liquid is conductive. When we stretch our sensors we squeeze and deform the droplets; this moves the graphene particles further apart and makes it much harder for the electrons to hop across the system. The sensitivity of this new kind of strain sensor is actually much higher by a significant margin than any liquid-based device ever reported.” EE


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