IIT Bhubaneswar develops wearable patch to measure health parameters – Times of India

The team is working on adding a blood pressure check-up feature in this. It does not use electrons like the smart watch uses. This patch uses photons for its system. It will help healthcare professionals in the coming days.

Wearable electronics devices have advanced significantly, but their accuracy and longevity has been largely limited. Alternatively, flexible and wearable optical sensing systems hold the potential to overcome such challenges while satisfying the user needs, said Rajan Jha, physics professor from IIT Bhubaneswar.

“We introduce a fully bendable and wearable sensor that is capable of measuring body temperature, joint bending in different directions, and tracking limb activities, facial motions, respiration and pulse rate,” said Jha, who is heading such work in IIT Bhubaneswar at Nanophotonics and Plasmonics Laboratory in School of Basic Sciences.

As the measurements are based on changes in the light parameters rather than current as in electronic devices, he said, such a wearable device is very sensitive and accurate. Another advantage of this technology is the ability to measure multiple parameters at the same time, he added.

“We are currently extending our technology’s capabilities to detect multiple physical properties over wider range by changing factors such as the structure of the optical fiber, the coating on the probe area, and using biodegradable/biocompatible materials to make the system environmentally friendly and sustainable,” said the researchers Pratik Mishra, Subrat Sahu and Kalipada Chatterjee.

The team published their article on this research work in an international journal ‘Advanced Materials Technologies’ last week. This indigenous system will have applications in areas such as robotics, smart clothing, and a variety of devices that monitor small movements due to its extreme sensitivity and robustness.

IIT Bhubaneswar director Virendra Kumar Tewari said these promising wearable optical devices hold scope for revolutionizing healthcare services and can lay the foundation for the growth of a new group of industries dedicated to commercializing public healthcare facilities.