Time setters: wearables that monitor your health

What does a wearable device do?

‘We focus on the possibilities of integrating different sensors such as for measuring your heart to wound monitoring to improve possibilities in medical diagnosis and monitoring.’

'A smart watch does not have the same capabilities as the wearables being created', Shavini explains. This has to do with the fact that the wearables are in close contact with the skin. Then there is also the location. The measurements from the writst aren't as accurate as a measurements from other parts of the body. The sensors used for our measurements investigate possibilities for higher quality than the ones that are available on the market today.

Nursing versus wound monitoring sensors

Some wounds are very hard to heal. Some have a healing process from months to maybe years. Nurse practitioners base their treatment plan on snapshots of visual observation and touch based strongly on experience. 'The Wound Monitoring sensors give you real time data of how your wound is progressing over time for improved support for decision-making and 24/7 care.' Shavini explainsins.

Building up a sensor

Shavini uses hybrid printed electronics (HPE), which give the wearables the flexibility, stretchability and the comfort in wearing. Through the use of HPE there is increased design freedom and faster iterations within research possible to improve understanding between the interaction of wearable devices with people. Each layer of a wearable device is optimized dependent on medical use-case and results provide improvements for the next generation of wearable healthcare devices.