SleepSmart: Smart Mattress Integrated with e-Textiles and IoT Functions for Sleep Apnea Management

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is one of the most serious sleep disorders. People who is suffered from OSA may not be aware that their upper airway is blocked and they have difficulty to breathe. For this reason, real-time sleep monitoring in daily life is important. In response to this need, I aim to develop an unobtrusive, wireless sleep monitoring system called SleepSmart. SleepSmart, is a smart mattress topper, which is integrated with textile pressure sensors and allows people to monitor their sleeping habits and respiration rate in real-time in their own bed with its IoT functions. The overall research has three milestones: (1) designing the mattress topper, (2) performing signal analysis on the pressure data to extract respiration rate, and (3) establishing an IoT infrastructure to provide services. This paper demonstrates the promising ongoing research results and the goals for future milestones

Designing and testing a wearable, wireless fNIRS patch

Optical brain monitoring using near infrared (NIR) light has got a lot of attention in order to study the complexity of the brain due to several advantages as oppose to other methods such as EEG, fMRI and PET. There are a few commercially available functional NIR spectroscopy (fNIRS) brain monitoring systems, but they are still non-wearable and pose difficulties in scanning the brain while the participants are in motion. In this work, we present our endeavors to design and test a low-cost, wireless fNIRS patch using NIR light sources at wavelengths of 770 and 830nm, photodetectors and a microcontroller to trigger the light sources, read photodetector\u27s output and transfer data wirelessly (via Bluetooth) to a smart-phone. The patch is essentially a 3-D printed wearable system, recording and displaying the brain hemodynamic responses on smartphone, also eliminates the need for complicated wiring of the electrodes. We have performed rigorous lab experiments on the presented system for its functionality. In a proof of concept experiment, the patch detected the NIR absorption on the arm. Another experiment revealed that the patch\u27s battery could last up to several hours with continuous fNIRS recording with and without wireless data transfer

Application of textile waste derived biochars onto cotton fabric for improved performance and functional properties

Akduman, Cigdem/0000-0002-6379-6697; Duman Tac, Gozde/0000-0002-9427-8235WOS: 000510823700016This study investigated the use of textile waste based biochars as fabric additives to improve the clothing performance and impart functional properties to textile materials. For this purpose, cotton, cotton/ polyester and acrylic textile wastes were carbonized at low temperature and derived biochars were applied onto cotton fabrics by conventional printing method Moisture transfer, drying properties, water vapor and air permeability and odor adsorption capability of biochar printed fabrics were investigated by using of several methods. Biochar finishing provided a slight hydrophobic effect on the printed face of the cotton fabrics; therefore, a double-face textile structure could be obtained in terms of hydrophilic/ hydrophobic behavior. With this feature, it was revealed that the addition of biochars improved the moisture transfer, accelerated the drying and increased the water vapor permeability. in addition, the obtained data showed that cotton/polyester fabric derived biochar printed fabrics had odor masking properties. As a result, it was shown that odor masking functional textile materials with high thermo-physiological comfort can be produced by the recycling of textile wastes into biochar and application onto textile fabrics. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUB_ITAK)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [216M406]; Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination UnitEge University [18-B_IL-007]The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the financial support for this research received through the project (No: 216M406) of the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUB_ITAK); and the project (18-B_IL-007) of Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit

A Configurable Wireless Optical Brain Monitor Based on Internet-of-Things Services

There is an increasing interest in understanding the brain in its natural state. This recently led to the wide adoption of portable brain monitors including functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) which uses near-infrared (NIR) light to capture the brain\u27s hemodynamic responses, also known as cerebral oxygenation. Nowadays, fNIRS is used in clinical settings of various medical fields including neurology, neuroscience, clinical psychology, and psychiatry. Compared to its counterpart, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), fNIRS is portable and provides higher temporal resolution for scanning the hemodynamic response of the cortical layer of the brain. fNIRS has the potential to work as a smart wearable device to monitor a brain in an unconstrained setting. However, wearable implementation is challenging as the fNIRS system demands a complex circuit to drive NIR light sources and detect low intensity reflected light from the scalp. Also, the algorithm for the real-Time controlling, configuration, data acquisition, and signal processing are complex for a wearable smart fNIRS. Currently available fNIRS systems are not intelligent, completely wearable or designed as a smart body sensor network (BSN) node. In this paper, we present our recent design of a configurable fNIRS system that acts as a BSN node controlled by a remote Graphical User Interface (GUI). The presented fNIRS system is based on an embedded board where we deployed a internet-of-Things (IoT) based service-oriented architecture providing the functionality of montage configuration, fNIRS signal testing, calibration, channel selection, data collection and wireless data transmission to the GUI. This development can improve the flexibility of the fNIRS system regarding its use in natural environments where the brain functions of moving human subjects are monitored. We have experimentally evaluated working of the hardware, software, GUI and wireless data transmission, and capability of detecting hemodynamic responses

Comparative Evaluation of Torrefaction and Hydrothermal Carbonization: Effect on Fuel Properties and Combustion Behavior of Agricultural Wastes

This study compares two thermal pretreatment methods for the production of energy-densified solid fuel from agricultural wastes. Olive tree pruning (OP) and vineyard pruning (VP) were subjected to torrefaction and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and characterized for fuel applications. Although both processes improved the fuel properties of prunings, biochars have a higher carbonization degree compared to the hydrochars. Ash compositions differ significantly between biochars and hydrocarbons, as well as change with biomass type. the HTC process substantially reduced the fouling potential (AI index <0.1 kg/GJ) due to the reduction of the alkali content, but it was insufficient in decreasing slagging and bed agglomeration tendencies of fuel during combustion. the thermogravimetric analysis displayed that combustion behavior of biochars/hydrochars varied depending on the process type. the ignition temperature (T-i) of biomass increased with an increase of torrefaction temperature from 270 to 346 degrees C for olive pruning and 279 and 353 degrees C for vine pruning, while it varied with respect to the temperature and duration during HTC. the burnout temperature (T-b) of biomass significantly increased after HTC, but it remained almost unchanged after torrefaction. on the other hand, the effect of process type on combustion reactivity varied according to the type of biomass. in summary, the results obtained from this study showed that the effect of pretreatment process type on fuel characteristics of the biomass varies according to the biomass constituents.TUBITAK under the Eranet-Med2 Program of the European Union (Project acronym, MEDWASTE)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [117M570]The financial support from TUBITAK (Project contract no. 117M570) under the Eranet-Med2 Program of the European Union (Project acronym, MEDWASTE) is acknowledged

NAPNEA: A Cost Effective Neonatal Apnea Detection System

Sleep apnea is a prevalent and life-threatening problem, especially in infants. Napnea is a cost-effective neonatal (sleep) apnea detection system that aims to provide affordable alternative methods for continuous respiration monitoring and apnea detection. For infants diagnosed with sleep apnea, the current monitoring systems rely on sticky electrodes wired to a cardio-respiratory monitor or expensive smart devices. Napnea is a compact and affordable solution for apnea monitoring utilizing a soft, smart e-textile chest belt, integrated with a smartphone app