Credit: Jacobs School of Engineering/UC San Diego

San Diego, California – Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed the first flexible wearable device capable of monitoring both biochemical and electric signals in the human body. The Chem-Phys patch records electrocardiogram (EKG) heart signals and tracks levels of lactate, a biochemical that is a marker of physical effort, in real time. The device can be worn on the chest and communicates wirelessly with a smartphone, smart watch or laptop. It could have a wide range of applications, from athletes monitoring their workouts to physicians monitoring patients with heart disease.

Nanoengineers and electrical engineers at the UC San Diego Center for Wearable Sensors worked together to build the device, which includes a flexible suite of sensors and a small electronic board. The device also can transmit the data from biochemical and electrical signals via Bluetooth.

Nanoengineering professor Joseph Wang and electrical engineering professor Patrick Mercier at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering led the project, with Wang's team working on the patch's sensors and chemistry, while Mercier's team worked on the electronics and data transmission. They describe the Chem-Phys patch in the May 23 issue of Nature Communications.

"One of the overarching goals of our research is to build a wearable tricorder-like device that can measure simultaneously a whole suite of chemical, physical and electrophysiological signals continuously throughout the day," Mercier said. "This research represents an important first step to show this may be possible."

Most commercial wearables only measure one signal, such as steps or heart rate, Mercier said. Almost none of them measure chemical signals, such as lactate.

That is the gap that the sensor designed by researchers at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego aims to bridge. Combining information about heart rate and lactate--a first in the field of wearable sensors--could be especially useful for athletes wanting to improve their performance. Both Mercier and Wang have been fielding inquiries from Olympic athletes about the technologies the Center for Wearable Sensors produces.

"The ability to sense both EKG and lactate in a small wearable sensor could provide benefits in a variety of areas," explained Dr. Kevin Patrick, a physician and director of the Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems at UC San Diego, who was not involved with the research. "There would certainly be interest in the sports medicine community about how this type of sensing could help optimize training regimens for elite athletes," added Patrick, who is also a member of the Center for Wearable Sensors. "The ability to concurrently assess EKG and lactate could also open up some interesting possibilities in preventing and/or managing individuals with cardiovascular disease."

The researchers' biggest challenge was making sure that signals from the two sensors didn't interfere with each other. This required some careful engineering and a fair bit of experimentation before finding the right configuration for the sensors.

Making the patch
Researchers used screen printing to manufacture the patch on a thin, flexible polyester sheet that can be applied directly to the skin. An electrode to sense lactate was printed in the center of the patch, with two EKG electrodes bracketing it to the left and the right. Engineers went through several iterations of the patch to find the best distance between electrodes to avoid interference while gathering the best quality signal. They found that a distance of four centimeters (roughly 1.5") between the EKG electrodes was optimal.

Researchers also had to make sure the EKG sensors were isolated from the lactate sensor. The latter works by applying a small voltage and measuring electric current across its electrodes. This current can pass through sweat, which is slightly conductive, and can potentially disrupt EKG measurements. So the researchers added a printed layer of soft water-repelling silicone rubber to the patch and configured it to keep the sweat away from the EKG electrodes, but not the lactate sensor.

The sensors were then connected to a small custom printed circuit board equipped with a microcontroller and a Bluetooth Low Energy chip, which wirelessly transmitted the data gathered by the patch to a smartphone or a computer.

Testing
The patch was tested on three male subjects, who wore the device on their chest, near the base of their sternum, while doing 15 to 30 minutes of intense activity on a stationary bike. Two of the subjects also wore a commercial wristband heart rate monitor. The data collected by the EKG electrodes on the patch closely matched the data collected by the commercial wristband. The data collected by the lactate biosensor follows closely data collected during increasing intensity workouts in other studies.

Next steps
Next steps include improving the way the patch and the board are connected and adding sensors for other chemical markers, such as magnesium and potassium, as well as other vital signs. Physicians working with Wang and Mercier are also excited about the possibility of analyzing the data from the two signals and see how they correlate.

“A wearable chemical-electrophysiological hybrid biosensing system for real-time health and fitness monitoring”

Authors: Somayeh Imani,*, Amay J. Bandodkar,*, A.M.Vinu Mohan, Rajan Kumar, Shengfei Yu, Joseph Wang & Patrick P. Mercier, Departments of NanoEngineering and Electrical Engineering, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

Funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health (R21EB019698), Samsung and the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.

Source: UC San Diego

Cincinnati, Ohio – 5ME has developed and launched a new resource page on 5ME.com to showcase how profitable and efficient manufacturing can be achieved with 5ME’s patented cryogenic machining technology. The new webpage will include video, exclusive information, free downloadable resources to highlight benefits and dispel misconceptions, educational blog posts, and more.

An integral part of the cryogenic machining hub is a recently designed and easy-to-understand info-graphic showing how companies can attain profitable manufacturing through the 5Ms of efficiency – manpower, materials, machines, methods and money – in relation to cryogenic machining.

“By providing information and educational materials for shop owners and managers, we believe that these decision makers will have a better understanding of how 5ME’s patented cryogenic machining technology will help them increase profitability and efficiency,” said Pete Tecos, executive vice president of marketing and product strategy, 5ME. “Our exclusive technology allows companies to utilize environmentally friendly methods of manufacturing while increasing processing speed and part integrity and decreasing tool wear.”

To see 5ME’s Cryogenic Machining online resource page, click here.

Source: 5ME

Chicago, Illinois – One of the biggest challenges in manufacturing today is the user-friendliness of machines and the training of our workforce. It has become increasingly more difficult to hire experienced or highly skilled manufacturing talent, so employers are faced with the reality of growing and educating their workforce. This situation creates an even greater undertaking when it comes to EDM machines, as unlike most Milling machines that have a standardized or universal control interface, EDM equipment traditionally requires its own unique control (due in part to proprietary technologies). In the EDM world, EDM machines from different OEM’s will have very different control systems, and EDM machine controls even from within the same OEM will be dramatically different between Wire EDM, Sinker EDM, and EDM Drilling. This presents a significant challenge to preparing the next-generation workforce. 

Almost all EDM machine tool OEM’s have upgraded their control systems to a more graphical Windows-based system, but this alone does not improve productivity or support the needs of an inexperienced operator. To address the current workforce skills-gap, Makino’s solution has been to develop a new streamlined machine interface called Hyper-i that is used in all of its EDM machine systems. The Hyper-i control represents a significant step -forward in EDM, as this is the first time a single common and universal interface has been used on all (3) EDM machine disciplines. Beyond the reduced training requirements that a common EDM machine control will provide, the Hyper-i control delivers an extremely user-friendly interface that empowers an operator to be more productive.

In addressing the needs of the next-generation workforce, the Makino’s Hyper-i control utilizes a touch screen interface that is similar to smartphones and tablets. This method of operation makes interfacing with the machine more friendly and intuitive, as this eliminates the operator having the re-learn how to interact with the machine. The Hyper-i control uses a 24” wide high-definition touch screen, making the highly graphical touch interface very welcoming and effective. The Hyper-i control also contains many advanced help functions that are placed right where the operator needs them, preventing the operator needlessly searching for information. Items such as built-in electronic machine manuals, video training tutorial for machine operation and machine maintenance, process improvement E-Tech Doctor applet, and Machine Utilization Tracking functions are all integrated into the Hyper-i control and designed for easy access at any time.

Another key area for improvement in EDM operations is the reduction of machine consumables. For Wire EDM, the biggest operational expense is the consumption of wire to produce a part. Many EDM OEM’s have introduced technologies that reduce wire consumption, and this represents a significant cost savings that lasts the life of the machine. For Sinker EDM operations, the manufacturing costs are dedicated to the required electrodes. In North America, graphite is the most popular electrode material for Sinker EDM, as it provides the fastest removal rates, but multiple electrodes may be required to achieve part accuracy and quality. Many OEM’s have developed new generator technologies for Sinker EDM that reduce the electrode wear, which will reduce the required number of electrodes that must be machined, and this new technology also offers the ability to Rough and Finish a part detail using a single electrode. 

About the presenter
Brian Pfluger is the EDM product line manager at Makino with more than 20 years of EDM experience. He has a degree in manufacturing technology, was a journeyman tool & die maker/machinist, and is a past instructor and educator for the machine trades.

Jacksonville, Florida – Toyota Motor North America is joining forces with DEKA Research and Development, the company founded by legendary inventor Dean Kamen, to support mobility solutions for the disabled community. This agreement will help DEKA to proceed with plans to complete the development and launch the next generation iBOT motorized wheelchair.

The iBOT is a revolutionary motorized wheelchair with two sets of powered wheels that can be rotated to allow the user to “walk” up and down stairs. The wheelchair allows users to rise from a sitting level to approximately six feet in height and travel in this "standing" configuration, and is capable of traveling through a wide variety of terrain types.

“Our company is very focused on mobility solutions for all people,” said Osamu “Simon” Nagata, executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Toyota Motor North America, who announced the agreement at the Paralyzed Veterans of America’s 70th Annual Convention. “We realize that it is important to help older adults and people with special needs live well and continue to contribute their talents and experience to the world.”

“Toyota and DEKA share the same vision of making mobility available to people of every kind of ability,” said DEKA founder Dean Kamen. “We are excited about this new relationship and excited about what it means for making that dream a reality.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Toyota will license balancing technologies held by DEKA and its affiliate for medical rehabilitative therapy and potentially other purposes. The companies continue to engage in ongoing discussions about how Toyota can further support DEKA and its mobility assistance technology.

Source: Toyota & DEKA Research and Development