PFT-TT: Using Textile-Based Wearable Sensors Coated with Nanocomposites for Virtual Health and Physical Rehabilitation

PFT-TT：使用涂有纳米复合材料的基于纺织品的可穿戴传感器实现虚拟健康和物理康复

• 批准号: 2329838
• 负责人: Erik Thostenson
• 金额: $ 55万
• 依托单位: University of Delaware
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2025-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2329838&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFT; TT; Using; Textile; Based

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project include the development of improved treatment methodologies for millions of Americans with injuries and movement difficulties. The innovative wearable sensors developed through this program have the potential to allow physical therapists and clinicians to provide better care by monitoring their progress remotely and access to continuous data collected outside of the clinic setting, in the patient’s natural work/home environment. The commercial and societal benefits of this technology offer the potential to reinvigorate segments of the US smart apparel and textile industries as well as nanomanufacturing and nanomaterial characterization. The progress achieved through this project will help in advancing the clinical applications of wearable sensors. Although wearable sensors have made significant progress in recent years, most application focus on vital signs such as pulse and activity levels (e.g. number of steps) with very little attention to human motion, which is a critical unmet need. The sensors developed could lay the foundation for future assistive devices and prosthetics where sensors are integrated for active therapy, feedback, and motion assistance. The proposed project focuses on advancing the technical foundation of textile based wearable sensors developed using an innovative and scalable electrophoretic deposition nanomanufacturing process. The ultra-sensitive wearables have the capability to detect and capture the kinematics and kinetics of human movement. These sensors can be used by physical therapists and clinicians to collect vital data about patient progress outside of a laboratory/clinical setting, which is crucial for providing improved healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to develop new technologies that facilitate virtual health for the evaluation of patient outcomes remotely. An interdisciplinary approach, leveraging collaboration between researchers from materials science, nanomaterials, composite materials, sensing and neuromuscular biomechanics, will be used to evaluate the sensing response, develop calibration protocols, and estimate sensor efficacy. The sensors are non-invasive, comfortable to wear, and low-cost, and the constituent materials used are commercially available for less than $1/gram. Research and development work on improving the robustness and durability, and the creation of a framework for calibration will expand the applications of wearable sensors and potentially facilitate new treatments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该创新合作伙伴关系 - 技术转化 (PFI-TT) 项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力包括为数百万受伤和运动困难的美国人开发改进的治疗方法，通过该项目开发的创新可穿戴传感器有潜力实现这一目标。物理治疗师和竞争对手可以通过远程监控他们的进展并访问在患者的自然工作/家庭环境中收集的连续数据来提供更好的护理，该技术的商业和社会效益提供了重振部分领域的潜力。美国智能服装和尽管可穿戴传感器近年来取得了重大进展，但大多数应用集中在脉搏和活动水平等生命体征上。 （例如步数）很少关注人体运动，这是一个未满足的关键需求。开发的传感器可以为未来的辅助设备和假肢奠定基础，其中传感器集成用于主动治疗、反馈和运动辅助项目。在推进使用创新和可扩展的电泳沉积纳米制造工艺开发的基于纺织品的可穿戴传感器的技术基础。超灵敏可穿戴设备能够检测和捕获人体运动的运动学和动力学。这些传感器可供物理治疗师和冠军使用。在实验室/临床环境之外收集有关患者进展的重要数据，这对于改善医疗保健至关重要。COVID-19 大流行凸显了开发促进虚拟健康以远程评估患者结果的新技术的必要性。跨学科方法，利用材料科学、纳米材料、复合材料、传感和神经肌肉生物力学研究人员之间的合作，将用于评估传感响应、开发校准协议并估计传感器功效。这些传感器是非侵入性的、佩戴舒适的。而且成本低廉，所用组成材料的市售价格低于 1 美元/克。旨在提高坚固性和耐用性的研究和开发工作以及校准框架的创建将扩大可穿戴传感器的应用，并有可能促进新的传感器的发展。该奖项反映了通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，NSF 的法定使命被认为值得支持。