Toward the use of temporary tattoo electrodes for impedancemetric respiration monitoring and other electrophysiological recordings on skin

The development of dry, ultra-conformable and unperceivable temporary tattoo electrodes (TTEs), based on the ink-jet printing of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) on top of commercially available temporary tattoo paper, has gained increasing attention as a new and promising technology for electrophysiological recordings on skin. In this work, we present a TTEs epidermal sensor for real time monitoring of respiration through transthoracic impedance measurements, exploiting a new design, based on the application of soft screen printed Ag ink and magnetic interlink, that guarantees a repositionable, long-term stable and robust interconnection of TTEs with external “docking” devices. The efficiency of the TTE and the proposed interconnection strategy under stretching (up to 10%) and over time (up to 96 h) has been verified on a dedicated experimental setup and on humans, fulfilling the proposed specific application of transthoracic impedance measurements. The proposed approach makes this technology suitable for large-scale production and suitable not only for the specific use case presented, but also for real time monitoring of different bio-electric signals, as demonstrated through specific proof of concept demonstrators

Electrically Conductive Cotton Textile and Its Applications

Electronic textiles (e-textiles) have been considered as important applications in wearable electronics, which can combine the functionality of smart electronic devices with the comfort and flexibility of stylish clothing. Herein, we have successfully prepared a conductive textile via electroless deposition onto cotton textiles by using a three-step treatment process. The cotton textiles are first dipped in P4VP-SU8 solution to form a uniform layer for the subsequent absorption of silver ions. Then, the cotton textiles are immersed in silver nitrate solution in preparation for the next step electroless deposition. The sheet resistance can be as low as 0.05 Ωsq-1. Two sensors were made based on the copper coated cotton textiles. One is flexible pressure sensor, the other is ECG sensor. Both sensors performed well, proving this method is a promising candidate for applications in the fabrication of functional textile-based wearable devices

NASA Tech Briefs Index, 1977, volume 2, numbers 1-4

Announcements of new technology derived from the research and development activities of NASA are presented. Abstracts, and indexes for subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief number are presented for 1977

On-Line Monitoring of Engine Health Through the Analysis of Contaminants in Engine Lubricant

Monitoring automobile liquids, such as engine lubricants, has received increasing attention recently mainly due to environmental and safety legislation, coat saving measures, and customer demand. Literature review in monitoring engine lubricant condition indicates systems approach, an intellectual discipline method to address complex problem, has never been used to monitor engine performance and health through the engine sub-systems such as lubricant system. The literature review also points toward deficiency in considering lubricant as a source of information for engine performance evaluation, and lack of understanding of engine lubricant as a medium with random properties. Engine lubricant condition reflects the state of health of engine through its properties. Recognition and analysis of the correlation between engine lubricant system based on the lubricant properties and engine performance is crucial to provide insight into engine health. The contribution of this research will be implementation of systems approach to monitor engine performance through engine lubricant using new methodologies of surface plasmon resonance, object shape based optical analysis and statistical optical analysis methodologies to monitor optical properties of lubricant with respect to aging process and contaminants in real time and on-line. Degradation of engine lubricant causes variation in the optical properties of lubricant such as refractive index, absorption, statistical optical characteristics, shape parameters and etc. The purpose of using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is to study the change in the reflectivity and incidence angle caused by variation in the refractive index and absorption of lubricant due to its degradation and presence of contaminants. Utilization of SPR measurement for characterization of engine lubricant will develop new knowledge which can be used for on-line condition monitoring of lubricant quality. To investigate the variation in statistical optical characteristics of lubricant, this research also introduces two new methodologies. Statistical optic and object shape-based methodologies are based on the optical analysis of the distortion effect when an object image is obtained through a thin random medium. In the object shape-based optical analysis, several parameters of an acquired object image are measured and compared. In the statistical optic analysis methodology, statistical auto and cross-characteristics are used for the analysis of combined object-lubricant images. Both proposed methodologies utilize the comparison of measured and calculated parameters for fresh and contaminated lubricants. Proposed methodologies are verified experimentally showing ability to distinguish lubricant with different contamination individually and in a combined form. Capabilities of the proposed methodologies are extended to establish the linkage between accumulated travelled distance and the change in the optical statistical properties of the lubricant. Also, on board analysis to detect the presence of coolant, gasoline and water (1%-5%) are performed

Current situation and research prospect of home monitoring technology for cardiovascular system

Cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of death in China. Home medical monitoring of cardiovascular circulatory system (cardiovascular system for short) is of great significance for the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Physiological parameters of the cardiovascular system mainly include blood pressure, cardiac output, blood glucose content, blood oxygen saturation, ECG, respiration, etc. These physiological parameters need long-term daily monitoring to find the abnormalities and changes of the system. Therefore, home medical monitoring is necessary. This paper reviews the current situation of home monitoring technology for the main parameters of cardiovascular system in recent years, and prospects its future research trend

Toward the use of temporary tattoo electrodes for impedancemetric respiration monitoring and other electrophysiological recordings on skin

The development of dry, ultra-conformable and unperceivable temporary tattoo electrodes (TTEs), based on the ink-jet printing of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) on top of commercially available temporary tattoo paper, has gained increasing attention as a new and promising technology for electrophysiological recordings on skin. In this work, we present a TTEs epidermal sensor for real time monitoring of respiration through transthoracic impedance measurements, exploiting a new design, based on the application of soft screen printed Ag ink and magnetic interlink, that guarantees a repositionable, long-term stable and robust interconnection of TTEs with external “docking” devices. The efficiency of the TTE and the proposed interconnection strategy under stretching (up to 10%) and over time (up to 96 h) has been verified on a dedicated experimental setup and on humans, fulfilling the proposed specific application of transthoracic impedance measurements. The proposed approach makes this technology suitable for large-scale production and suitable not only for the specific use case presented, but also for real time monitoring of different bio-electric signals, as demonstrated through specific proof of concept demonstrators

Li-ion batteries monitoring for electrified vehicles applications

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen