Engineers with the University of Missouri (UM) have developed a new soft, stretchable material that could potentially be used in wearable devices that gather key cardiovascular data. The group shared its findings in Science Advances, noting that the material creates such a small amount of pressure that users will not even notice they have it on.[1]
“It is ultrasoft and ultra-stretchable, so when the device is worn on the human body, it will be mechanically imperceptible to the user,” senior author Zheng Yan, PhD, an assistant professor in UM’s department of biomedical, biological and chemical engineering and department of mechanical and aerospace engineering, said in a prepared statement. “You cannot feel it, and you will likely forget about it.
The material, which was designed with liquid-metal elastomer composite and is MRI compatible, should be able to track a user’s blood pressure levels and electrical heart activity at the same time. Also, its built-in antibacterial and antiviral properties should help users wear it on their skin for long periods of time.
In addition, Yan noted in the prepared statement, users should be able to be active when they wear devices made with this new material.
“We call it a mechanical and electrical decoupling, so when the material is stretched, there is only a small change in the electrical performance during human motion, and the device can still record high-quality biological signals from the human body,” he said.
The work on this new material was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Additional information on Yan’s research group is available here. Prior coverage of his team’s efforts in the wearable device space can be read here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.