THE CHALLENGE
Strain sensing has the potential to revolutionize biomedicine and how we collect data regarding physiological conditions, but technologies available right now have notable limitations. Current metal or silicon-based strain sensors cannot sense small deformations (less than 5%) and are not biocompatible; as a result, they are not suitable for monitoring human health. These strain sensors are usually not very flexible and cannot be woven onto fabrics for use in wearable devices. They also have a comparatively low strain sensing range unless consumers opt for more expensive models.
OUR SOLUTION
Xiaoting Jia and her team at Virginia Tech have developed a novel, stretchable polymer fiber that can measure strain, is biocompatible, and can be woven into fabrics or configured into a mesh to map strain distribution across multiple dimensions. By innovatively using the process of thermal drawing and doping, the inventors have created a polymer fiber that has multiple modes of operation to measure strain. It remarkably provides a strain sensing range of 400% and is stable over one thousand cycles.
The biocompatibility of these fibers was tested by mounting the engineered mesh on a pig bladder to observe physiological function and measure any reactions, and those tests were quite successful. The strain sensor can be used for a wide variety of applications across biomedical devices and wearable devices. The fiber can also be attached to robotics and prosthetics and provide feedback control of its movement and interactions.
