A team of Japanese researchers has developed a new disposable organic sensor that can be attached to a diaper and will let the carer know when it needs changing. The flexible integrated circuit printed on a single plastic film transmits information and receives its power wirelessly, and could potentially be manufactured for a few yen (US cents), the developers told AFP.
The system, which uses organic materials that can be printed with inkjet technology, was developed by a team led by professors Takayasu Sakurai and Takao Someya at the University of Tokyo.
In addition to use in infants' diapers, the technology can be applied to adult nappies, which are a big-seller in rapidly-ageing Japan.
Regular diapers change colour to indicate they are wet, but a care-giver still needs to take off the wearer's clothes to see.
"If sensing is done electronically, you can tell simply by coming close to the wearer -- without unclothing him or her," Someya said.
The technology could also be put directly on the skin like a plaster, in place of often ring-shaped devices currently used in hospitals to monitor pulse and blood oxygen levels, he said.
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The flexibility of a single sheet of plastic film reduces discomfort for wearers and means it can be applied to a larger number of places -- offering greater potential for doctors or carers to monitor well-being.
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Currently the data-reading device needs to be a few centimetres (inches) from the sensor, but Someya said the team was exploring how practical this is and whether they can boost the distance.
Researchers are to unveil their work at an academic gathering now under way in San Francisco.
Source-AFP