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Skin impedance sensing for early detection of ulcers based on textile wearables
The goal of the project is to develop a wearable technology to measure skin and sub-cutaneous impedance. Impedance changes when there is tissue damage: tracking this change would enable early detection, monitoring, and prevention of ulcers and wounds. The sensors developed in this project would be based on textiles to allow everyday non-invasive use.
Keywords: wearable, textile, bioimpedance, sensor, e-textile, fabric, garment, pressure ulcers, mobile health
Pressure ulcers are injuries on the skin arising from repetitive and/or prolonged pressure on an area. These can occur in many clinical and preclinical settings (e.g., bed sores, foot ulcers, etc.), are difficult to heal and require long-term care. In order to prevent such ulcers before deleterious symptoms arise, early detection could be possible by monitoring tissue damage occurring under the skin before the ulcer manifests on the surface. Tissue damage causes changes in the electrical properties of the skin: such changes can be measured by monitoring the change in the electrical impedance of the skin with impedance spectroscopy.
Few studies on sensors to perform electrical impedance spectroscopy have shown potential of this technique to detect tissue damage. The next step to advance the research in this field is the translation of these technologies to a fully textile platform to integrate the sensors into regular clothing. The goal of this project is to develop such textile-based impedance sensors and the associated readout electronics to build a compact and wearable system. This project involves extensive hands-on activities such as sensor fabrication and testing and the development of appropriate readout electronics for signal processing with programmable microcontrollers (e.g. Arduino).
Pressure ulcers are injuries on the skin arising from repetitive and/or prolonged pressure on an area. These can occur in many clinical and preclinical settings (e.g., bed sores, foot ulcers, etc.), are difficult to heal and require long-term care. In order to prevent such ulcers before deleterious symptoms arise, early detection could be possible by monitoring tissue damage occurring under the skin before the ulcer manifests on the surface. Tissue damage causes changes in the electrical properties of the skin: such changes can be measured by monitoring the change in the electrical impedance of the skin with impedance spectroscopy. Few studies on sensors to perform electrical impedance spectroscopy have shown potential of this technique to detect tissue damage. The next step to advance the research in this field is the translation of these technologies to a fully textile platform to integrate the sensors into regular clothing. The goal of this project is to develop such textile-based impedance sensors and the associated readout electronics to build a compact and wearable system. This project involves extensive hands-on activities such as sensor fabrication and testing and the development of appropriate readout electronics for signal processing with programmable microcontrollers (e.g. Arduino).
Goals
• Develop a smart textile sensor modality capable of measuring impedance
• Produce and test a prototype of an all-textile impedance sensor
• Write a scientific project report
Tasks
• Literature review (10%)
• Impedance sensing modality development (60%)
• Fabrication of a textile sensor prototype and its validation (20%)
• Data collection and analysis, reporting and presentation (10%)
Your Profile
• Background in Applied Physics, Materials Science, Electronics Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or related fields
• Independent worker with critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Goals • Develop a smart textile sensor modality capable of measuring impedance • Produce and test a prototype of an all-textile impedance sensor • Write a scientific project report Tasks • Literature review (10%) • Impedance sensing modality development (60%) • Fabrication of a textile sensor prototype and its validation (20%) • Data collection and analysis, reporting and presentation (10%) Your Profile • Background in Applied Physics, Materials Science, Electronics Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or related fields • Independent worker with critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Prof Dr Carlo Menon, Dr. Debkalpa Goswami and PhD student Valeria Galli will supervise the candidate and the research will be performed at ETH Zurich’s Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology research group (www.bmht.ethz.ch) in the Balgrist Campus in Zurich, Switzerland.
To apply, use the button below to tell us why you want to do this project ("motivation"); attach a mini CV with your current program of study, your grades and any other info you deem relevant-maybe the name and phone number of a postdoc or a professor willing to be your reference; and make any further comments ("additional remarks"). The ideal duration of the project is 6 months.
Prof Dr Carlo Menon, Dr. Debkalpa Goswami and PhD student Valeria Galli will supervise the candidate and the research will be performed at ETH Zurich’s Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology research group (www.bmht.ethz.ch) in the Balgrist Campus in Zurich, Switzerland.
To apply, use the button below to tell us why you want to do this project ("motivation"); attach a mini CV with your current program of study, your grades and any other info you deem relevant-maybe the name and phone number of a postdoc or a professor willing to be your reference; and make any further comments ("additional remarks"). The ideal duration of the project is 6 months.