Researchers at University Park, Pa.-based Penn State created a prototype of a wireless, wearable transmitter that could be used for both health monitoring and clinical treatments, according to an April 14 news release.
The transmitter, which can send wireless data at a range of almost 300 feet, can be easily integrated with numerous computer chips or sensors. The device has the potential to be applied in remote patient monitoring and healthcare treatment use cases.
"We are really excited that this research could one day lead to networks of sensors and transmitters worn on the body, all communicating with each other and external devices," said Huanyu Cheng, PhD, assistant engineering science and mechanics professor at Penn State, according to the news release. "What we're imagining is science fiction at the moment, but we are working to make it happen."
The researchers built the device in layers, with the bottom layer consisting of a copper mesh with a pattern of overlapping, wavy lines. The bottom layer touches the skin, while the top layer serves as the radiating element in the antenna and creates the structured process through which the antenna mesh stretches and flattens to be flexible on the skin.