IIT Guwahati Develops Wireless Device To Monitor Subtle Movements In Coma Patients

GUWAHATI: In a significant development, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-Guwahati) have engineered a gel-based device that boosts the capability of wirelessly recording motion signals that can provide crucial insights into the condition of patients in coma.

IIT Guwahati, in a statement on Monday, said that they have succeeded in developing the cost-effective device that is wearable.

It revealed that the organohydrogel sensor, placed on the bodies of those patients who are in a state of comatose (Coma) or suffering similar conditions, can detect subtle movements over an extended period by using a wireless device and a smartphone.

According to IIT Guwahati, this will turn out to be beneficial for healthcare professionals as they will receive invaluable insights into the patient's conditions, based on which, they can make appropriate interventions.

The findings of the study have been published in the prestigious scientific journal namely ACS Applied Material and Interfaces. Ritvika Kushwaha, Souradeep Dey, Kanika Gupta, Prof. Biman B Mandal, and Prof. Debapratim Das are its co-authors.

As per experts, flexible and wearable electronics play a crucial role in boosting human capabilities, having functions like artificial skin and prosthetics to assist human movements or incorporating with clothing and the human body in areas like bioelectronics, wearable sensors, energy-storage devices, and stretchable optoelectronic devices.

“Particularly, stretchable wearable devices are extremely beneficial for sensing minor movements of body parts. In situations where monitoring minute limb movements is crucial such as comatose patients or similar conditions, stretchable gels are employed,” the IIT Guwahati statement read.

Professor Debapratim Das said that they introduced a secondary cross-linking to substantially enhance the mechanical properties of the gel and applied precise ratios of glycerol and water so as to ensure environmental tolerance from -20 to 40 degrees C.

He added that their findings reveal the gel's impressive bio-compatibilty, allowing its safe application on human skin without any side-effects.

Notably, the researchers made a device that was connected through a smartphone via Bluetooth where signals were recorded upon deformation of the gel, which indicated that the gel has the potential to be used as a wearable device.

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