Description du projet
Des nouveaux textiles médicaux intelligents et ajustables – Un nouveau paradigme
Des technologies prometteuses de capteurs imprimables et d’électrodes portatives permettront de sauver des vies en surveillant les données électrophysiologiques de l’organisme et en administrant des électrostimulations. Elles suscitent également des attentes pour des solutions encore plus efficaces, plus sûres et plus faciles d’utilisation dans le cadre médical et d’un mode de vie sain. Dans ce sens, le projet WEARPLEX, financé par l’UE, réalisera des avancées révolutionnaires en intégrant l’électronique imprimable et des électrodes biomédicales souples et portatives à base de textile. L’objectif de cette recherche pluridisciplinaire est de permettre la fabrication d’électrodes multi-pads extensibles à base textile avec des circuits logiques intégrés pour une configuration arbitraire, réglable et flexible du positionnement des pads. Un nouveau paradigme sera fondé à travers une électrode intelligente faite sur mesure et compatible avec n’importe quel système.
Objectif
WEARPLEX is a multidisciplinary research and innovation action with the overall aim to integrate printed electronics with flexible and wearable textile-based biomedical multi-pad electrodes. It aims to answer the growing need for user-friendly electrodes for pervasive measurement of electrophysiological signals and application of electrical stimulation. It focuses on the development of the printable electronics and manufacturing processes for stretchable textile based multi-pad electrodes with integrated logic circuits that enable a significant increase in the number of electrode pads (channels) and facilitate the creation of new products in the sectors of medical electronics and life-style. The advanced printed electronics integrated in WEARPLEX electrodes will allow the individual pads to be connected in arbitrary configurations to the output leads of the electrode. Therefore, the pads will be flexibly organized into several virtual electrodes of arbitrary position, shape and size that can be connected to any standard multi-channel recording and stimulation system. In addition, software methods will be developed for automatic calibration of these virtual electrodes, to detect stimulation/recording hotspots and adjust the virtual electrodes accordingly.
Therefore, the WEARPLEX project will lead to a new generation of smart electrodes that will be able to adapt simultaneously to the user (wearable and stretchable garment), recording/stimulation scenario (movement type and target muscles) and recording/stimulation system (number of channels). This is a paradigm shift in designing the recording and stimulation systems, as the switching electronics is shifted from the custom-made stimulator/recording device to the smart electrode, leading to a universal solution compatible with any system.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinateur
SO17 1BJ Southampton
Royaume-Uni