Wearable health devices, sensors, and patches are seeing an explosive growth in terms of innovation and design. According to the campus newspaper ‘The Daily Aztec,” the Smart Health Institute at San Diego State is working on wireless sensors to measure movement and posture in healthy people.
While the main purpose of the sensors may be movement and posture measurements, researchers believe that there are broader applications forthe sensors when embedded into wearables or implantable electronics. These applications include recording electrical signals emitted by the brain, muscle movements, and other physiological signals. Further, these sensors can be used for assessment or rehabilitation in conditions that arise due to poorly coordinated muscles such as cerebral palsy, stroke, or traumatic brain injury. Since these sensors can capture physiological and environmental data, researchers at the Smart Health Institute believe that these sensors will find use in assistive technologies, medical prosthetics, and wearable prosthetics. The development here is being done by bringing together faculty with varied backgrounds, from chemistry to biochemistry to mechanical engineering, which is likely to help accelerate the progress of getting these sensors to market.
Sensors are critical components in providing medical professionals with information to monitor and manage a patient’s health. As the medical community takes advantage of these innovations, health management will be more informed and timely, thus reducing hospital costs and keeping patients healthy.
