A monitor displays the body temperature of a passenger (R) arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport
A monitor displays the body temperature of a passenger (R) arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Japanese researchers have developed an armband that alerts its users if they have a fever. It is a flexible, self-powered wearable device that goes off in case of high body temperature. The flexible organic compounds developed for this device demonstrate that it is possible to make such disposable devices that greatly enhance the amount of information available to carers in healthcare settings. The system could also be adapted to provide audible feedback on body temperature, or combined with other sensors to register wetness, pressure or heart rate.

The device combines a flexible amorphous silicon solar panel, a piezoelectric speaker, temperature sensor and power supply circuit created with organic components in a single, flexible wearable package. It is the first organic circuit able to produce sound output and the first to incorporate an organic power supply circuit.

Constant monitoring of health indicators is a focus of interest for infants, elderly and patient care. Sensors for such applications need to be flexible and wireless for patient comfort, maintenance-free and not requiring external energy supply and cheap enough for disposal to ensure personal hygiene. Conventional sensors based on rigid components are unable to meet these requirements. The researchers have developed a flexible solution that incorporates organic components that can be printed by an inkjet printer on a polymeric film.

The self-powered device sounds an audible warning when a person’s body temperature either hits above the average of 37 degrees Celsius or falls one degree below. The thermal sensor can detect temperatures ranging between 36.5 degrees Celsius and 38.5 degrees Celsius. The armband is 30 cm long and 18 cm wide. It was developed by research groups from the University of Tokyo, led by Professor Takayasu Sakurai and Professor Takao Someya. The armband will be presented at the the 2015 IEEE International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco this February.

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