Gyanesh N. Mathur

Smart healthcare textile sensor system for unhindered-pervasivehealth monitoring

Simultaneous monitoring of physiological parameters- multi-lead Electrocardiograph (ECG), Heart rate variability, and blood pressure- is imperative to all forms of medical treatments. Using an array of signal recording devices imply that the patient will have to be confined to a bed. Textiles offer durable platform for embedded sensor and communication systems. The smart healthcare textile, presented here, is a mobile system for remote/wireless data recording and conditioning. The wireless textile system has been designed to monitor a patient in a non-obstructive way. It has a potential for facilitating point of care medicine and streamlining ambulatory medicine. The sensor systems were designed and fabricated with textile based components for easy integration on textile platform. An innovative plethysmographic blood pressure monitoring system was designed and tested as an alternative to inflatable blood pressure sphygmomanometer. Flexible dry electrodes technology was implemented for ECG. The sensor systems were tested and conditioned to daily activities of patients, which is not permissible with halter type systems. The signal quality was assessed for it applicability to medical diagnosis. The results were used to corroborate smart textile sensor systems ability to function as a point of care system that can provide quality healthcare.

Development of thermoelectric inks for the fabrication of printable thermoelectric generators used in mobile wearable health monitoring systems

Power consumption appears to be the biggest technical issue and performance bottleneck in the development of mobile wearable health monitoring systems. One promising approach for addressing this challenge is to harvest the body heat energy using flexible thermoelectric generators, and printing is a low-cost technique for large-scale fabrication of flexible circuits and systems. This paper discusses the development of thermoelectric inks that can be used in the fabrication of thermoelectric generators, which can be used as sustainable power sources for mobile wearable health monitoring systems. The operation mechanism of thermoelectric generators for body heat harvesting is discussed, followed by the requirements on the properties of thermoelectric inks for the fabrication of printable thermoelectric generators. To achieve high thermoelectric figure of merit, we synthesized nano-structured thermoelectric materials with high Seebeck coefficient and low thermal conductivity, and developed surface functionalized carbon nanotubes that can be used as conducting agents for improving the electrical conductivity of thermoelectric inks.

Printable low-cost sensor systems for healthcare smart textiles

Smart textiles-based wearable health monitoring systems (ST-HMS) have been presented as elegant solutions to the requirements of individuals across a wide range of ages. They can be used to monitor young or elderly recuperating /convalescent patients either in hospital or at home, or they can be used by young athletes to monitor important physiological parameters to better design their training or fitness program. Business and academic interests, all over the world, have fueled a great deal of work in the development of this technology since 1990. However, two important impediments to the development of ST-HMS are:-integration of flexible electrodes, flexible sensors, signal conditioning circuits and data logging or wireless transmission devices into a seamless garment and a means to mass manufacture the same, while keeping the costs low. Roll-to-roll printing and screen printing are two low cost methods for large scale manufacturing on flexible substrates and can be extended to textiles as well. These two methods are, currently, best suited for planar structures. The sensors, integrated with wireless telemetry, facilitate development of a ST-HMS that allows for unobtrusive health monitoring. In this paper, we present our results with planar screen printable sensors based on conductive inks which can be used to monitor EKG, abdominal respiration effort, blood pressure, pulse rate and body temperature. The sensor systems were calibrated, and tested for sensitivity, reliability and robustness to ensure reuse after washing cycles.

Music close to one's heart: heart rate variability with music,diagnostic with e-bra and smartphone

Music is a powerful elicitor of emotions. Emotions evoked by music, through autonomic correlates have been shown to cause significant modulation of parameters like heart rate and blood pressure. Consequently, Heart Rate Variability (HRV) analysis can be a powerful tool to explore evidence based therapeutic functions of music and conduct empirical studies on effect of musical emotion on heart function. However, there are limitations with current studies. HRV analysis has produced variable results to different emotions evoked via music, owing to variability in the methodology and the nature of music chosen. Therefore, a pragmatic understanding of HRV correlates of musical emotion in individuals listening to specifically chosen music whilst carrying out day to day routine activities is needed. In the present study, we aim to study HRV as a single case study, using an e-bra with nano-sensors to record heart rate in real time. The e-bra developed previously, has several salient features that make it conducive for this study- fully integrated garment, dry electrodes for easy use and unrestricted mobility. The study considers two experimental conditions:- First, HRV will be recorded when there is no music in the background and second, when music chosen by the researcher and by the subject is playing in the background.

Size and shape dependence of the electrochemical properties ofhematite nanoparticles and their applications in lithium ionbatteries

Hematite nanoparticles are a type of promising electrode active materials for lithium ion batteries due to their low cost and high specific capacity. However, the cycling performances of hematite nanoparticles are not as good as those of the conventional electrode active materials for lithium ion batteries. This paper reports the study on the relationship between the electrochemical properties and the particle sizes and shapes, aiming to optimize the electrochemical properties of hematite nanoparticles for their applications in lithium ion batteries. Three types of hematite nanoparticles were compared, including hematite nanospheres with an average diameter of 200 nm, hematite nanoflakes with an average maximum dimension of 200 nm, and hematite nanospheres with an average diameter of 30 nm. Their crystalline structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and their particle morphologies were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Composite electrode materials were made from hematite nanoparticles with carbon black as the conducting material and PVDF as the binding material (hematite : carbon black : PVDF = 70 : 15 : 15). Prototype lithium ion batteries (CR2032 button cells) were assembled with the composite electrodes as cathodes, metal lithium as anodes, and Celgard 2400 porous membrane as separators. It was found that in the first few cycles, the specific discharge capacity of hematite nanospheres with an average diameter of 30 nm is higher than those of the other two, while after first seven cycles, the specific discharge capacity of hematite nanospheres with an average diameter of 30 nm is lower than those of the other two. Possible approaches for improving the cycling performance and rate capacity of hematite nanoparticles are discussed at the end of this paper.

E-bra with nanosensors, smart electronics and smart phone communication network for heart rate monitoring

Heart related ailments have been a major cause for deaths in both men and women in United States. Since 1985, more women than men have died due to cardiac or cardiovascular ailments for reasons that are not well understood as yet. Lack of a deterministic understanding of this phenomenon makes continuous real time monitoring of cardiovascular health the best approach for both early detection of pathophysiological changes and events indicative of chronic cardiovascular diseases in women. This approach requires sensor systems to be seamlessly mounted on day to day clothing for women. With this application in focus, this paper describes a e-bra platform for sensors towards heart rate monitoring. The sensors, nanomaterial or textile based dry electrodes, capture the heart activity signals in form Electrocardiograph (ECG) and relay it to a compact textile mountable amplifier-wireless transmitter module for relay to a smart phone. The ECG signal, acquired on the smart phone, can be transmitted to the cyber space for post processing. As an example, the paper discusses the heart rate estimation and heart rate variability. The data flow from sensor to smart phone to server (cyber infrastructure) has been discussed. The cyber infrastructure based signal post processing offers an opportunity for automated emergency response that can be initiated from the server or the smartphone itself. Detailed protocols for both the scenarios have been presented and their relevance to the present emergency healthcare response system has been discussed.

Low voltage pentacene OTFT integration for smart sensor control circuits

The past decade has witnessed remarkable progress in Organic electronics and Organic sensor technology on flexible substrates. Temperature and strain sensors for wireless active health monitoring systems have been tested and demonstrated. These sensors need control circuits to condition and transmit the measurand to the data acquisition system. The control circuits have to be incorporated on to the same substrate as the sensing element. So far, Pentacene based Organic Thin-Film Transistors (OTFTs) have been the most promising candidates for integrated circuit applications. To this end, optimization of the OTFT fabrication process is needed to obtain reliable and reproducible transistor performance in terms of mobility, threshold voltage, drive currents, minimal supply voltage and minimal leakage currents. The objective here is to minimize the leakage losses and the voltage required to drive this circuitry while maintaining process compatibility. The choice of dielectric material has been proven to be a key factor influencing all the desirable characteristics stated above. This paper investigates the feasibility of using a High K/Low K, Tantalum Pentoxide/Poly (4-vinyl phenol) (PVP) hybrid dielectric in Pentacene-based OTFTs to lower the operating voltages. Inverters and simple logic gates like 2-input NAND are simulated with these OTFTs. The results indicate that these OTFTs can indeed be used to build large scale integrated circuits with reproducibility.

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of spinel lithium manganese oxides for lithium ion batteries

Spinel lithium manganese oxides (LiMn2O4) are favorable cathode materials for secondary lithium ion batteries mainly due to their low cost and excellent environmental suitability. Further, because of their high electrochemical potentials, spinel lithium manganese oxides are a type of promising cathode materials for high-power lithium ion batteries, such as the batteries for electric vehicles. However, the electrochemical properties of LiMn2O4 are strongly influenced by the synthesis methods and conditions. In this paper, the electrochemical properties of spinel LiMn2O4 synthesized by solid state reaction and sol-gel method were compared and analyzed. The effects of particle sizes on the electrochemical properties of spinel LiMn2O4 were discussed.

Study of the electrochemical properties of magnetite, maghemite and hematite nanoparticles for their applications in lithium ion batteries

Iron oxide nanoparticles, including magnetite, maghemite and hematite, are promising electrode active materials for lithium ion batteries due to their low cost, high capacity and environmental friendliness. Though the electrochemical properties of each kind of iron oxide nanoparticles have been intensively studied, systematic comparison of the three kinds of iron oxides is hardly reported. This paper reports the study and comparison of the electrochemical properties of magnetite, maghemite and hematite nanoparticles with the same shape and size. In this work, hematite and maghemite nanoparticles were obtained from commercial magnetite nanoparticles by thermal treatments at different conditions. Their crystalline structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), their magnetic properties were measured by a vibration sample magnetometer (VSM), and their particle morphologies were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Composite electrodes were made from iron oxide nanoparticles with carbon black as the conducting material and PVDF as the binding material (iron oxide : carbon black : PVDF = 70 : 15 : 15). Prototype lithium ion batteries (CR2032 button cells) were assembled with iron oxide composite electrodes as cathodes, metal lithium as anodes, and Celgard 2400 porous membrane as separators. The impedance and discharge-charge behaviors were characterized by a Solartron electrochemical workstation and an Arbin battery tester, respectively. It was found that at the same shape and size, hematite nanoparticles has higher specific discharge and charge capacities than magnetite and maghemite nanoparticles.

Lithium iron phosphates as cathode materials in lithium ionbatteries for electric vehicles

Olivine-structured lithium iron phosphates are promising cathode materials in the development of high power lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles. However, the low electronic conductivity and ionic conductivity of lithium iron phosphates hinder their commercialization pace. This work aims to verify the approaches for improving the electrochemical properties of lithium iron phosphates. In this work, sol-gel method was used to synthesize carbon coated lithium iron phosphates and nickel doped lithium iron phosphates, and their particle sizes were controlled in the nanometer to sub-micrometer range. The crystalline structures of the synthesized lithium iron phosphates were characterized by X-ray diffraction, and their morphologies were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. To study their electrochemical properties, prototype lithium ion batteries were assembled with the synthesized lithium iron phosphates as cathode active materials, and with lithium metal discs as the anodes, and the discharge / charge properties and cycling behaviors of the prototype batteries were tested at different rates. The synthesized lithium iron phosphate materials exhibited high capacity and high cycling stability. It was confirmed that particle size reduction, carbon coating and metal doping are three effective approaches for increasing the conductivity of lithium iron phosphates, and thus improving their electrochemical properties. Experimental results show that by combing the three approaches for improving the electrochemical properties, lithium iron phosphate composites with characteristics favorable for their applications in lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles can be developed, including high specific capacity, high rate capacity, flat discharge voltage plateau and high retention ratio.