Feather-light band-aid sensor
- that can monitor your heart rate
SINTEC, AN EU-FINANCED PROJECT FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING SOFT STRETCHABLE ELECTRONICS, CAN NOW PRESENT ITS LATEST PROTOTYPE. LIGHT AS A FEATHER, THESE STRETCHABLE SENSORS COULD IN THE FUTURE MONITOR HEART RATE, STRESS, BLOOD PRESSURE AND MORE.
“The SINTEC project is important because we are establishing a novel, stretchable platform for the monitoring of physiological properties that can be used by common citizens, athletes, but also in healthcare”, says Gustaf Mårtensson, an expert in complex fluids at Mycronic, one of eight partners in the SINTEC project.
SINTEC’s latest prototype, a modular and compact heart-monitor, measures heart rate and the cardiac cycle using an electrocardiography (ECG).
“This is a modular adhesive product that can be attached to the body. It has a smart USB and built-in power source and a sensor platform”, Gustaf describes as he demonstrates how to apply the stretchable sensor to his arm.
“Using an ECG, this would actually be on my chest, but let’s keep our clothes on here, we can demonstrate it anyways,” he says. Adding that the featherlight sensor is “essentially unnoticed by the user and can be used over extended periods of time.”
The SINTEC project, which ends 2023, is well underway to find a commercial solution for the actual production of stretchable electronics. But, Gustaf reiterates, “the major breakthrough in manufacturing this device is that nobody’s done it before.”
