Human health monitoring is a chief field in biomedical engineering that aids medical professionals in tracking a patient’s vitals and other numbers of significance. Wearable health devices allow patients to monitor their health in the comfort of their own homes. At the same time, physicians can continue to track these numbers via a computer system that connects to the monitors. However, these devices are often made of firm materials that are unfixable when damaged. When it comes to orthopedic and sports health monitoring, sensor devices meant to measure impact speed should be durable and able to withstand damage. The present study explores the mechanical properties and health monitoring applications of a soft polymer strain sensor composed of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and Polyborosiloxane (PBS) with a carbon nanotube (CNT) filler that is both flexible and self-healing. A fundamental aspect of this double network (DN) is its rate dependency, meaning that the magnitude of a sample’s response depends on the compressive or tensile strain rate. A mathematical model to calculate strain and strain rate from a change in electrical resistance can be constructed to measure the impact force exerted on the polymer DN. This study aims to quantify strain and strain rate as a function of electrical resistance by observing the change in resistance across varying tensile strain rates (1s^-1, 0.1s^-1, 0.01s^-1, and 0.001s^-1).
Kamisato, Mia, and Clark, Angelina,
"Self-Healing Flexible Sensors for Health Monitoring"
(2024).
Summer Research Symposium.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.26300/e6vm-0z42
Each year, Brown University showcases the research of its undergraduates at the Summer Research Symposium. More than half of the student-researchers are UTRA recipients, while others receive funding from a variety of Brown-administered and national programs and fellowships and go …
