Blueprint for nanomaterials in wearable sensors published

Physicist Dr. Conor Boland at the University of Sussex has published a “blueprint” to help scientists understand how to evaluate and optimize the effectiveness of nanomaterials used in real-time health monitoring devices, a recent article in Printed Electronics World reported. 

Dr. Boland’s paper explores the dilemma concerning the fact that the further a material can be stretched, the less sensitive it is, the article said. His research looks at the relationship between three things: how far a material can stretch while making a measurement (working factor), sensitivity (gauge factor),  and a material’s stiffness (Young’s modulus) and provides benchmarks for each, which may describe the performance of an optimum sensing material.

Dr. Boland’s paper, “Stumbling Through the Research Wilderness, Standard Methods to Shine Light on Electrically Conductive Nanocomposites for Future Health-Care Monitoring,” was published in the journal ACS Nano.