IIT Guwahati Researchers Develop Affordable Motion Sensing Technology for Medical Use

Researchers at IIT Guwahati have innovated an affordable gel-based wearable device capable of capturing motion signals. This advancement offers healthcare providers critical insights into patient conditions, enabling timely and appropriate interventions. Check details here 

IIT Guwahati: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati researchers have engineered a cost-effective, gel-based wearable device that is capable of recording motion signals. This provides healthcare professionals with invaluable insights into patient conditions and appropriate interventions can be taken. 

This research has been funded by the Core Research Grant (CRG) from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS). This marks a significant stride toward enhancing the capabilities of wearable electronics, promising a future where flexible sensors play a vital role in healthcare and beyond.

Organohydrogel Sensor

Flexible and wearable electronics play a pivotal role in augmenting human capabilities, serving functions like artificial skin and prosthetics to assist human movements or integrating with clothing and the human body in areas like bioelectronics, wearable sensors, energy-storage devices, and stretchable optoelectronic devices. 

Stretchable wearable devices play a crucial role in detecting subtle body movements, essential in monitoring conditions like those of comatose patients. However, existing gel technologies fall short, lacking in ultra-stretchability, self-healing properties, and often diminishing in sensitivity under extreme temperatures.

Addressing this gap, a research group at IIT Guwahati led by Prof Debapratim Das, Department of Chemistry created organohydrogel. Thsi material showcases impressive features such as extreme stretchability (1000% strain for 100+ cycles), self-healing, anti-freezing, conductivity, and robust mechanical strength and adhesion, maintaining these properties even after prolonged exposure to −20 °C.

The Organohydrogel sensor, placed on the bodies of patients in comatose states or facing similar conditions, through a wireless device and a smartphone can monitor subtle movements over an extended period. 

The findings of the study have been published in the prestigious ACS Applied Material and Interfaces. The co-authors include Ms. Ritvika Kushwaha, Mr. Souradeep Dey, Ms. Kanika Gupta, Prof. Biman B. Mandal, and Prof. Debapratim Das.

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