I-Corps: Development of Printed and Flexible Impact Sensing Platform

这个I-Corps项目研究了印刷的柔性压力传感器的商业化潜力。这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力在于，作为一种平台技术，所提出的系统可以很容易地移植到一系列应用中，包括：体育表演，物理治疗，医疗诊断市场等。 使用增材印刷制造技术制造该感测系统的方法可能对新兴的印刷电子工业具有深远的技术和经济影响。它展示了制造成本有效、柔性、适形和重量轻的电子设备的能力。这项新技术的采用对于那些寻求开发可穿戴电子设备的人来说尤其重要。该产品的商业化还将验证制造传感器性能与硅基器件相当的电子器件的能力。在成本效率方面，使用印刷技术制造传感系统预计可将平均生产成本降低约70%。该项目的长期目标是利用这项技术开发一系列智能可穿戴传感器，以检测导致伤害的影响并改善诊断。例如，这种技术已经有了一个明确的市场，即保护性头盔市场，与撞击有关的创伤性脑损伤通常是由脑震荡引起的。 与得到及时医疗护理的伤害相比，未报告的伤害（通常未经治疗）与脑震荡相关的并发症会增加。在许多情况下，目前依靠自我报告受伤的方法有可能加重潜在危险的头部受伤。该团队的技术将通过自动检测和记录潜在危险影响的发生来帮助降低创伤性脑损伤的风险。撞击数据将用于客观地测量用户可能受伤的程度，从而减少可能导致用户进一步受伤的不准确诊断的机会。

This I-Corps project investigates the commercialization potential of printed, flexible pressure sensors. The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is that, as a platform technology, the proposed system can be easily ported for use in a range of applications including: sports performance, physical therapy, medical diagnostics markets, and many others. The method of fabricating this sensing system, using additive print manufacturing technology, may have a profound technological and economic impact on the emerging printed-electronics industry, It demonstrates the capability to manufacture cost effective, flexible, conformable and light weight electronic devices. The adoption of this new technology will be of particular importance to those seeking to develop wearable electronic devices. The commercialization of this product will also validate the ability to fabricate electronic devices with sensor performance comparable to that of silicon based devices. In terms of cost efficiency, the use of printing technology for fabricating sensing systems is anticipated to reduce the average production cost by approximately 70%. The long-term goal of this project is to use this technology to develop a range of smart, wearable sensors to detect impacts that causes injuries and improve diagnostics. For example, an identifiable market for this technology already exists, that is, for protective headgear.Impact-related traumatic brain injuries often result from concussions. The complications associated with concussions increase for unreported injuries, often left untreated, when compared to injuries that receive prompt medical attention. In many cases the current methods of relying on self-reported injuries runs the risk of aggravating a potentially dangerous head injury. This team's technology would help reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury by automatically detecting and recording the occurrences of potentially dangerous impacts. Impact data would be used to objectively measure the level of a user's possible injury, thus reducing the chance of an inaccurate diagnosis which can result in further injuries to the user.