Sensores de fibra ótica para arquiteturas e-Health

In this work, optical fiber sensors were developed and optimized for biomedical applications in wearable and non-intrusive and/or invisible solutions. As it was intended that the developed devices would not interfere with the user's movements and their daily life, the fibre optic sensors presented several advantages when compared to conventional electronic sensors, among others, the following stand out: size and reduced weight, biocompatibility, safety, immunity to electromagnetic interference and high sensitivity. In a first step, wearable devices with fibre optic sensors based in Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) were developed to be incorporated into insoles to monitor different walking parameters based on the analysis of the pressure exerted on several areas of the insole. Still within this theme, other sensors were developed using the same sensing technology, but capable of monitoring pressure and shear forces simultaneously. This work was pioneering and allowed monitoring one of the main causes of foot ulceration in people with diabetes: shear. At a later stage, the study focused on the issue related with the appearance of ulcers in people with reduced mobility and wheelchair users. In order to contribute to the mitigation of this scourge, a system was developed composed of a network of fibre optic sensors capable of monitoring the pressure at various points of the wheelchair. It not only measures the pressure at each point, but also monitors the posture of the wheelchair user and advises him/her to change posture regularly to reduce the probability of this pathology occurring. Still within this application, another work was developed where the sensor not only monitored the pressure but also the temperature in each of the analysis points, thus indirectly measuring shear. In another phase, plastic fibre optic sensors were studied and developed to monitor the body posture of an office chair user. Simultaneously, software was developed capable of monitoring and showing the user all the acquired data in real time and warning for incorrect postures, as well as advising for work breaks. In a fourth phase, the study focused on the development of highly sensitive sensors embedded in materials printed by a 3D printer. The sensor was composed of an optical fibre with a FBG and the sensor body of a flexible polymeric material called "Flexible". This material was printed on a 3D printer and during its printing the optical fibre was incorporated. The sensor proved to be highly sensitive and was able to monitor respiratory and cardiac rate, both in wearable solutions (chest and wrist) and in "invisible" solutions (office chair).Neste trabalho foram desenvolvidos e otimizados sensores em fibra ótica para aplicações biomédicas em soluções vestíveis e não intrusivas/ou invisíveis. Tendo em conta que se pretende que os dispositivos desenvolvidos não interfiram com os movimentos e o dia-a-dia do utilizador, os sensores de fibra ótica apresentam inúmeras vantagens quando comparados com os sensores eletrónicos convencionais, de entre várias, destacam-se: tamanho e peso reduzido, biocompatibilidade, segurança, imunidade a interferências eletromagnéticas e elevada sensibilidade. Numa primeira etapa, foram desenvolvidos dispositivos vestíveis com sensores de fibra ótica baseados em redes de Bragg (FBG) para incorporar em palmilhas de modo a monitorizar diferentes parâmetros da marcha com base na análise da pressão exercida em várias zonas da palmilha. Ainda no âmbito deste tema, adicionalmente, foram desenvolvidos sensores utilizando a mesma tecnologia de sensoriamento, mas capazes de monitorizar simultaneamente pressão e forças de cisalhamento. Este trabalho foi pioneiro e permitiu monitorizar um dos principais responsáveis pela ulceração dos pés em pessoas com diabetes: o cisalhamento. Numa fase posterior, o estudo centrou-se na temática relacionada com o aparecimento de úlceras em pessoas com mobilidade reduzida e utilizadores de cadeiras de rodas. De modo a contribuir para a mitigação deste flagelo, procurou-se desenvolver um sistema composto por uma rede de sensores de fibra ótica capaz de monitorizar a pressão em vários pontos de uma cadeira de rodas e não só aferir a pressão em cada ponto, mas monitorizar a postura do cadeirante e aconselhá-lo a mudar de postura com regularidade, de modo a diminuir a probabilidade de ocorrência desta patologia. Ainda dentro desta aplicação, foi publicado um outro trabalho onde o sensor não só monitoriza a pressão como também a temperatura em cada um dos pontos de análise, conseguindo aferir assim indiretamente o cisalhamento. Numa outra fase, foi realizado o estudo e desenvolvimento de sensores de fibra ótica de plástico para monitorizar a postura corporal de um utilizador de uma cadeira de escritório. Simultaneamente, foi desenvolvido um software capaz de monitorizar e mostrar ao utilizador todos os dados adquiridos em tempo real e advertir o utilizador de posturas incorretas, bem como aconselhar para pausas no trabalho. Numa quarta fase, o estudo centrou-se no desenvolvimento de sensores altamente sensíveis embebidos em materiais impressos 3D. O sensor é composto por uma fibra ótica com uma FBG e o corpo do sensor por um material polimérico flexível, denominado “Flexible”. O sensor foi impresso numa impressora 3D e durante a sua impressão foi incorporada a fibra ótica. O sensor demonstrou ser altamente sensível e foi capaz de monitorizar frequência respiratória e cardíaca, tanto em soluções vestíveis (peito e pulso) como em soluções “invisíveis” (cadeira de escritório).Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Físic

Stretch sensors for measuring knee kinematics in sports

The popularity of wearable technology in sport has increased, due to its ability to provide unobtrusive monitoring of athletes. This technology has been used to objectively measure kinetic and kinematic variables, with the aim of preventing injury, maximising athletic performance and classifying the skill level of athletes, all of which can influence training and coaching practices. Wearable technologies overcome the limitations of motion capture systems which are limited in their capture volume, enabling the collection of data in-field, during training and competition. Inertial sensors are a common form of technology used in these environments however, their high-cost and complex calibration due to multiple sensor integration can make them prohibitive for widespread use. This thesis focuses on the development of a strain sensor that can be used to measure knee range of motion in sports, specifically rowing and cycling, as a potential low-cost, lightweight alternative to inertial sensors which can also be integrated into clothing, making them more discreet. A systematic review highlighted the lack of alternate technologies to inertial sensors such as strain sensors, as well as the limited use of wearable technologies in both rowing and cycling. Strain sensors were fabricated from a carbon nanotube-natural rubber composite using solvent exchange techniques and employed a piezoresistive sensing mechanism. These were then characterised using mechanical testing, to determine their electrical properties under cyclical strain. The strain sensors displayed hysteretic behaviour, but were durable, withstanding over 4500 strain cycles. Statistical analysis indicated that over 60% of the tests conducted had good intra-test variability with regards to the resistance response range in each strain cycle and sensor response deviating by less than 10% at strain rates below 100 mm/min and less than 20% at a strain rate of 350 mm/min. These sensors were integrated into a wearable sensor system and tested on rowing and cycling cohorts consisting of ten athletes each, to assess the translational use of the strain sensor. This preliminary testing indicated that strain sensors were able to track the motion of the knee during the rowing stroke and cycling pedalling motion, when compared to the output of a motion capture system. Perspectives of participants on the wearable system were collected, which indicated their desire for a system that they could use in their sport, and they considered the translation of this system for real-life use with further development to improve comfort of the system and consistency of the sensor response. The strain sensors developed in this project, when integrated into a wearable sensor system, have the potential to provide an unobtrusive method of measuring knee kinematics, helping athletes, coaches and other support staff make technical changes that can reduce injury risk and improve performance.Open Acces

Smart Sensors for Healthcare and Medical Applications

This book focuses on new sensing technologies, measurement techniques, and their applications in medicine and healthcare. Specifically, the book briefly describes the potential of smart sensors in the aforementioned applications, collecting 24 articles selected and published in the Special Issue “Smart Sensors for Healthcare and Medical Applications”. We proposed this topic, being aware of the pivotal role that smart sensors can play in the improvement of healthcare services in both acute and chronic conditions as well as in prevention for a healthy life and active aging. The articles selected in this book cover a variety of topics related to the design, validation, and application of smart sensors to healthcare

Development of an Objective Measurement System for Quality Assessment of Chest Compressions during CPR

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is the third leading cause of death in Europe, with an associated survival rate of only 8%. A rapid and effective intervention of the community with the application of the Basic Life Support (BLS) algorithm and the execution of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), emphasizing chest compressions, can double chances of victim survival. Being CPR of critical impact on victim survival and extremely accessible to all the community, it is important and necessary to guarantee the quality of BLS education, optimizing CPR skills acquisition and knowledge retention. In this context, the use of devices to support CPR training trough real-time feedback are considered by international guidelines an important tool for BLS education as they allow training monitorization and show improvement on CPR training performance and skills acquisition. Based on this educational need, this project presents several approaches, from electronic sensors to exploratory optical fiber technology, for the development of a low-cost feedback device for CPR training, focused on assessing chest compression quality, in order to facilitate a more objective and regular training, potentiating a more effective knowledge acquisition and retention. From all the technologies tested, the selected approaches for prototype development showed great response and robustness to chest compressions during CPR training, providing accurate assessment of specific parameters of chest compressions, according to current international guidelines. Thus, it is expected that the proposed solution could provide an alternative or a complementary tool for CPR skills acquisition and maintenance on BLS education. As future work, it is recommended the inclusion of ventilation related measurements and further development envisioning educational validation.A paragem cardíaca em contexto pré-hospitalar constitui a terceira causa de morte a nível europeu, com uma taxa de sobrevivência associada de apenas 8%. A intervenção rápida e eficaz da comunidade com a aplicação do algoritmo de Suporte Básico de Vida (SBV) e a execução da manobra de Ressuscitação Cardiopulmonar (RCP), com especial ênfase nas compressões torácicas, pode chegar a duplicar a probabilidade de sobrevivência das vítimas. Tendo esta manobra um impacto crucial na sobrevivência, e sendo extremamente acessível e exequível por qualquer membro da comunidade, é essencial e necessário garantir a qualidade da educação em SBV, otimizando a aquisição e retenção de competências de RCP. Neste contexto, o uso de dispositivos que apoiam o treino da manobra de RCP através de feedback em tempo real são considerados pelas diretrizes internacionais ferramentas importantes na educação em SBV, dado que permitem a monitorização do treino e mostram melhorias na performance da manobra e na aquisição de competências. Tendo por base esta necessidade educacional, este projeto apresenta várias abordagens (desde o uso de sensores eletrónicos à exploração do usa da fibra ótica enquanto sensor) para o desenvolvimento de um dispositivo de feedback de custo controlado, com foco na qualidade das compressões torácicas, de maneira a facilitar um treino mais objetivo e regular, que potencie a aquisição e retenção destas competências. De todas as abordagens testadas, a usada no desenvolvimento do protótipo de treino mostrou uma resposta muito adequada e robusta às compressões efetuadas durante o treino de RCP, fornecendo uma leitura e avaliação precisas de parâmetros específicos das compressões torácicas, de acordo com as atuais diretrizes internacionais. Posto isto, espera-se que a solução proposta providencie uma alternativa ou uma ferramenta complementar na aquisição e manutenção das competências de RCP na educação em SBV. Como trabalho futuro, recomenda-se a inclusão dos parâmetros de treino de RCP relacionados com a ventilação e desenvolvimento de estudos de validação educacional

NASA Tech Briefs, September 2012

Topics covered include: Beat-to-Beat Blood Pressure Monitor; Measurement Techniques for Clock Jitter; Lightweight, Miniature Inertial Measurement System; Optical Density Analysis of X-Rays Utilizing Calibration Tooling to Estimate Thickness of Parts; Fuel Cell/Electrochemical Cell Voltage Monitor; Anomaly Detection Techniques with Real Test Data from a Spinning Turbine Engine-Like Rotor; Measuring Air Leaks into the Vacuum Space of Large Liquid Hydrogen Tanks; Antenna Calibration and Measurement Equipment; Glass Solder Approach for Robust, Low-Loss, Fiber-to-Waveguide Coupling; Lightweight Metal Matrix Composite Segmented for Manufacturing High-Precision Mirrors; Plasma Treatment to Remove Carbon from Indium UV Filters; Telerobotics Workstation (TRWS) for Deep Space Habitats; Single-Pole Double-Throw MMIC Switches for a Microwave Radiometer; On Shaft Data Acquisition System (OSDAS); ASIC Readout Circuit Architecture for Large Geiger Photodiode Arrays; Flexible Architecture for FPGAs in Embedded Systems; Polyurea-Based Aerogel Monoliths and Composites; Resin-Impregnated Carbon Ablator: A New Ablative Material for Hyperbolic Entry Speeds; Self-Cleaning Particulate Prefilter Media; Modular, Rapid Propellant Loading System/Cryogenic Testbed; Compact, Low-Force, Low-Noise Linear Actuator; Loop Heat Pipe with Thermal Control Valve as a Variable Thermal Link; Process for Measuring Over-Center Distances; Hands-Free Transcranial Color Doppler Probe; Improving Balance Function Using Low Levels of Electrical Stimulation of the Balance Organs; Developing Physiologic Models for Emergency Medical Procedures Under Microgravity; PMA-Linked Fluorescence for Rapid Detection of Viable Bacterial Endospores; Portable Intravenous Fluid Production Device for Ground Use; Adaptation of a Filter Assembly to Assess Microbial Bioburden of Pressurant Within a Propulsion System; Multiplexed Force and Deflection Sensing Shell Membranes for Robotic Manipulators; Whispering Gallery Mode Optomechanical Resonator; Vision-Aided Autonomous Landing and Ingress of Micro Aerial Vehicles; Self-Sealing Wet Chemistry Cell for Field Analysis; General MACOS Interface for Modeling and Analysis for Controlled Optical Systems; Mars Technology Rover with Arm-Mounted Percussive Coring Tool, Microimager, and Sample-Handling Encapsulation Containerization Subsystem; Fault-Tolerant, Real-Time, Multi-Core Computer System; Water Detection Based on Object Reflections; SATPLOT for Analysis of SECCHI Heliospheric Imager Data; Plug-in Plan Tool v3.0.3.1; Frequency Correction for MIRO Chirp Transformation Spectroscopy Spectrum; Nonlinear Estimation Approach to Real-Time Georegistration from Aerial Images; Optimal Force Control of Vibro-Impact Systems for Autonomous Drilling Applications; Low-Cost Telemetry System for Small/Micro Satellites; Operator Interface and Control Software for the Reconfigurable Surface System Tri-ATHLETE; and Algorithms for Determining Physical Responses of Structures Under Load

Wearable and BAN Sensors for Physical Rehabilitation and eHealth Architectures

The demographic shift of the population towards an increase in the number of elderly citizens, together with the sedentary lifestyle we are adopting, is reflected in the increasingly debilitated physical health of the population. The resulting physical impairments require rehabilitation therapies which may be assisted by the use of wearable sensors or body area network sensors (BANs). The use of novel technology for medical therapies can also contribute to reducing the costs in healthcare systems and decrease patient overflow in medical centers. Sensors are the primary enablers of any wearable medical device, with a central role in eHealth architectures. The accuracy of the acquired data depends on the sensors; hence, when considering wearable and BAN sensing integration, they must be proven to be accurate and reliable solutions. This book is a collection of works focusing on the current state-of-the-art of BANs and wearable sensing devices for physical rehabilitation of impaired or debilitated citizens. The manuscripts that compose this book report on the advances in the research related to different sensing technologies (optical or electronic) and body area network sensors (BANs), their design and implementation, advanced signal processing techniques, and the application of these technologies in areas such as physical rehabilitation, robotics, medical diagnostics, and therapy

Fiber Bragg Grating Based Sensors and Systems

This book is a collection of papers that originated as a Special Issue, focused on some recent advances related to fiber Bragg grating-based sensors and systems. Conventionally, this book can be divided into three parts: intelligent systems, new types of sensors, and original interrogators. The intelligent systems presented include evaluation of strain transition properties between cast-in FBGs and cast aluminum during uniaxial straining, multi-point strain measurements on a containment vessel, damage detection methods based on long-gauge FBG for highway bridges, evaluation of a coupled sequential approach for rotorcraft landing simulation, wearable hand modules and real-time tracking algorithms for measuring finger joint angles of different hand sizes, and glaze icing detection of 110 kV composite insulators. New types of sensors are reflected in multi-addressed fiber Bragg structures for microwave–photonic sensor systems, its applications in load-sensing wheel hub bearings, and more complex influence in problems of generation of vortex optical beams based on chiral fiber-optic periodic structures. Original interrogators include research in optical designs with curved detectors for FBG interrogation monitors; demonstration of a filterless, multi-point, and temperature-independent FBG dynamical demodulator using pulse-width modulation; and dual wavelength differential detection of FBG sensors with a pulsed DFB laser

Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical engineering is currently relatively wide scientific area which has been constantly bringing innovations with an objective to support and improve all areas of medicine such as therapy, diagnostics and rehabilitation. It holds a strong position also in natural and biological sciences. In the terms of application, biomedical engineering is present at almost all technical universities where some of them are targeted for the research and development in this area. The presented book brings chosen outputs and results of research and development tasks, often supported by important world or European framework programs or grant agencies. The knowledge and findings from the area of biomaterials, bioelectronics, bioinformatics, biomedical devices and tools or computer support in the processes of diagnostics and therapy are defined in a way that they bring both basic information to a reader and also specific outputs with a possible further use in research and development

WOFEX 2021 : 19th annual workshop, Ostrava, 1th September 2021 : proceedings of papers

The workshop WOFEX 2021 (PhD workshop of Faculty of Electrical Engineer-ing and Computer Science) was held on September 1st September 2021 at the VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. The workshop offers an opportunity for students to meet and share their research experiences, to discover commonalities in research and studentship, and to foster a collaborative environment for joint problem solving. PhD students are encouraged to attend in order to ensure a broad, unconfined discussion. In that view, this workshop is intended for students and researchers of this faculty offering opportunities to meet new colleagues.Ostrav