Smart Diaper

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An autonomous diaper-embedded sensing platform with on-board urine-activated battery for urinary tract disease screening

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the second most common infection in the body accounting for about 7 and one million office and emergency department visits, respectively, and 100,000 hospitalizations every year. Even though mostly UTIs are easily treatable with antibiotics, if not identified and treated timely, they can be a major cause of additional morbidity (ascending infection, loss of kidney function, and sepsis) in infants and elderly patients suffering from dementia (the two main groups using diapers).

The invented diaper-embedded system is an inexpensive autonomous urinary disease sensing platform with an on-board urine-activated battery, as an early screening alternative to conventional dipstick urinalysis which otherwise requires user intervention. The system is a thin and conformal add-on into a diaper, which autonomously wakes up upon a urination event, analyzes the urine and sends the detection results wirelessly to a remote receiver.

• Publications
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  • W. Seo, et al. "Diaper-embedded urinary tract infection monitoring system powered by a urine-powered battery." Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference (BioCAS), 2015 IEEE. IEEE, 2015.

  • W. Yu, T. Tan, R. Rahimi, B. Jung, and B. Ziaie, "Optical Nitrite Sensor and Urine-Activated Electrochemical Power Source on Paper through Laser-Assisted Patterning and Lamination", Proceedings of the Micro TAS, San Antonio, TX, October 2014.

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Smart Capsule

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Magnetically-activated capsule for gastrointestinal (GI) tract location-specific payload release

A smart capsule intended for location-specific drug release in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Activated through a magnetic proximity fuse, the capsule opens up and releases its powdered payload in a location specified by an implanted miniature magnetic marker or an externally-worn larger magnet.

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nitrate sensor

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Low-cost nitrate sensor for precision agriculture application

As one of the demands of precision agriculture, accurate measurement of soil macronutrients (such as N, P and K) is important for adjusting fertilizer application rates spatially, improving agricultural production and preventing excessive use of fertilizers which otherwise causes (groundwater) contamination. Real-time, in-field and non-destructive detecting methods are desired in modern farm management to reduce operational expense and increase testing throughput and efficientcy.

Printed biodegradable nitrate sensor array with tunable working windows is developed as a low-cost monitoring tool.

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3D-printed battery

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Modular customizable 3D-printed batteries for wearable applications

Zn-air batteries fabricated using commercial dual-extrusion 3D printers: ring and "LEGO" batteries.

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Laser functionalizing materials

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Stretchable and piezoresistive strain sensor via laser carbonizing/pyrolysis of polyimide

Piezoresistive patterns on polyimide film via laser pyrolysis, transferred onto gloves as strain sensors; electrical characterization of the sensors in response to finger motions.

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Stretchable interconnects

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Embroider-and-transfer fabrication of stretchable interconnects and microchannels for wearable applications

Metallic wires are sewn with the PVA thread into a polymeric film using a double thread stitching machine. The patterns are transferred onto a stretchable substrate along with the dissolution of the PVA thread.

• Publications: updating...

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