Descrizione del progetto
Un nuovo paradigma per tessuti medicali innovativi, intelligenti e adattabili
Alcune tecnologie promettenti di sensori stampabili ed elettrodi indossabili consentono un monitoraggio salvavita dei dati elettrofisiologici provenienti dall’organismo e offrono elettrostimolazione. Queste tecnologie aumentano inoltre le aspettative nei confronti di soluzioni ancora più efficaci, sicure e intuitive per l’uso medico e uno stile di vita sano. Lavorando in questa direzione, il progetto WEARPLEX, finanziato dall’UE compierà progressi rivoluzionari grazie all’integrazione di componenti elettronici stampabili con elettrodi biomedici flessibili e indossabili basati su tessuto. L’obiettivo della ricerca multidisciplinare consiste nel consentire la produzione di elettrodi multi-dischetto estensibili e basati su tessuto con circuiti logici integrati per una configurazione arbitraria, adattabile e flessibile del posizionamento dei dischetti. Sarà creato un nuovo paradigma con un elettrodo intelligente su misura che permetta la compatibilità con qualsiasi sistema.
Obiettivo
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.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinatore
SO17 1BJ Southampton
Regno Unito