A cuff-thermometer solar
A team of Tokyo University researchers recently presented a flexible cuff-thermometer. Self-powered by a solar panel, it sounds an alarm when the patient's temperature becomes too high. Made from organic components through an inkjet printer, cheap and disposable product is intended for use in a hospital setting.
The development of sensors to monitor vital functions is growing, whether smart textiles for sports or medical devices. Examples are numerous developments around the epidermal stamps. The stakes of these innovations are to design devices that are both minimally invasive, energy efficient and inexpensive to produce.
It is in this context that a team of Tokyo University researchers has developed a flexible cuff thermometer powered by a solar panel. Used on the skin or clothes, it beeps when the body temperature of the user exceeds the preset threshold can be between 36.5 and 38.5 ° C.
The cuff combines a flexible solar panel consisting of solar cells, amorphous silicon (a-Si), a piezoelectric speaker, a temperature sensor and a power supply circuit. The latter has been made from organic components deposited by an ink jet printer on a polymer film.
All elements of the cuff thermometer are flexible (flexible components), either photovoltaic cells (solar cells), the piezoelectric speaker (piezoelectric speaker), the fuel system and its management based on organic compounds (organic circuits) or the temperature sensor placed under the arm. © University of Tokyo
An inexpensive, disposable product for hospitals
Moreover, designers cuff specify that this system could be combined with the detection of other vital functions such as heart rate, blood pressure or sweating. The concept has been presented at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (IEEE) held this week in San Francisco (United States). There are currently no commercial project for this innovation.
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