Health
Scientist creates 'Smart Bandages' to test cholesterol, blood sans needles
Washington | May 17, 2008 3:19:54 PM IST
'Smart bandages' developed by a Mississippi State University electrical engineering researcher may completely do away with the need to use needles for testing cholesterol, insulin and blood chemistry and may also triple life charges of cell phone batteries. This next generation of "smart" adhesive bandage is created by Ray Winton, a professor at Mississippi State University, and may add easier way for clinicians to make medical diagnostics. He said that the bandage could determine internal chemistry and other essential elements of determining critical information without breaking the skin. "You put it on somebody and it reads information. It can read parts of people's biochemistry through their skin," Winton said. Winton said that this new technology of would soon hit the market and may also lead to increasing the life of cell phone battery charges. The main advantage of Winton's adhesive bandages is that they don't need a battery or other on-board power source. The power source used for tiny integrated circuits to detect information like cholesterol is by picking up radio-frequency power by an antenna, making the power source virtually infinite. After sensors detect specific information, the adhesive bandages can be read to indicate medical diagnostics. While Winton continues to refine the process to read the tiny sensors, he said it might take a few hours to read information on the bandages. It was Winton's son, a medical doctor, who gave him the idea to apply his technology toward the medical field, and the electrical engineering professor's younger brother created a start-up company developing the technology. His idea can now expand into other fields as well. He and other business partners continue to explore options with cell phone chipset companies to triple phone battery charges. (ANI)
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