EAGER: Origami-Based, Shape-Adaptive, Skin-Like Wireless Sensors for Monitoring COVID-19 Patients in Field Hospitals

COVID-19大流行令公众健康面临巨大风险，其中医疗空间及设施的短缺大大削弱了疾病控制并导致死亡率上升。部署野战医院，如临时体育场和医疗帐篷，已在世界范围内采用，以缓解这一问题。然而，简单的野战医院的性质和大流行病中医疗资源的稀缺使它们在很大程度上设备不足，人员不足。因此，密切监测临时战地医院的病人是一项挑战，对那些可能出现症状迅速恶化和健康状况恶化的人构成威胁。该项目将通过推进设计和制造的基础知识来应对这一挑战，以实现类似皮肤的无线无电池传感器，这些传感器可以在野战医院的环境中快速轻松地实施。设想的传感器将适应各种体型，并能够密切监测COVID-19患者的体温，咳嗽和呼吸，而不会干扰他们的日常生活。也可在医疗器械不足的正规医院或自我隔离患者家中使用。整体而言，该项目将探索工程途径，以应对COVID-19大流行带来的紧迫社会挑战。该项目将包括一个“我们是。我们关心”的教育推广计划，培养学生对工程创新的热情，以应对社会挑战。本科生将参与这项研究。高中生也将通过实践研讨会参与其中，他们将体验工程研究如何以及为什么能够影响社会和拯救生命。该项目的目标是提高柔性电子产品的设计和制造知识，以实现能够在临时野战医院持续监测COVID-19患者的重要健康信号的皮肤状设备，传统的医疗保健工具不足或不可用。这些设备将采用近场通信技术，实现无线、无电池的呼吸、咳嗽和体温传感。为了实现这一目标，PI将使用协作的高灵敏度应变传感器网络来实现运动盲呼吸和咳嗽检测。PI将利用可部署的折纸设计来实现超高的形状适应性，以适应各种身体尺寸，而无需定制。这种基于折纸的方法将极大地推动柔性电子产品从当前的局部皮肤集成模式转变为变革性的“一刀切”形状适应性。复杂的有限元分析和机械测试将确保设备的完整性。将演示设想的设备在传统野战医院模型中的操作以及快速部署折纸医院的新概念，以展示这些设备的功效。该项目以柔性电子的创新为中心，并从航空航天工程等其他学科中汲取灵感，以推动柔性电子领域的发展。总的来说，该项目将解决最先进的无线，无电池表皮电子设备和先进的健康监测传感器之间的差距，在设备不足，人手不足的医疗空间和设施的需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the public health in great risks, among which the shortage of medical spaces and facilities has significantly curtailed disease control and resulted in higher fatality rate. Deploying field hospitals such as makeshift stadiums and medical tents has been adopted worldwide to mitigate this issue. However, the nature of simple field hospitals and the scarce medical resources in a pandemic make them largely underequipped and understaffed. Therefore, it is challenging to closely monitor the patients in temporary field hospitals, posing threats to those who may experience rapid symptom progression and health deterioration. This project will address this challenge by advancing the fundamental knowledge of design and fabrication to realize skin-like, wireless, battery-free sensors that can be quickly and easily implemented in the environments of field hospitals. The envisioned sensors will be adaptable to a wide range of body shapes and capable of closely monitoring temperature, coughing, and breathing of COVID-19 patients without interference with their daily living. They can also be used in regular hospitals where the medical instruments are insufficient or at home for patients under self-isolation. Overall, this project will explore an engineering pathway to respond to the pressing societal challenges in COVID-19 pandemic. This project will include a “We Are. We Care” educational outreach plan to cultivate students’ passion for engineering innovation to address societal challenges. Undergraduate students will be involved in this research. High school students will be engaged as well through hands-on workshops where they will experience how and why engineering research can impact society and save lives.The objective of this project is to advance the knowledge of design and fabrication of flexible electronics to realize skin-like devices capable of continuously monitoring the vital health signals of COVID-19 patients in temporary field hospitals, where conventional healthcare instruments are insufficient or unavailable. The devices will employ near-field communication technology to achieve wireless, battery-free sensing of breathing, coughing, and body temperature. To achieve the objective, the PI will use a network of collaborative, high-sensitive strain sensors to realize motion-blind breathing and coughing detection. The PI will leverage deployable origami designs to achieve ultra-high shape adaptability to fit with a wide range of body sizes without customization. This origami-based approach will greatly advance flexible electronics from the current paradigm of local skin integration to a transformative, “one-size-fits-all” shape adaptability. Sophisticated finite element analyses and mechanical testing will ensure the integrity of devices. Operation of the envisioned devices in models of conventional field hospitals and a new concept of fast-deployable origami hospital will be demonstrated to show the efficacy of the devices. This project centers on innovations of flexible electronics and draws inspirations from other disciplines such as aerospace engineering to advance the field of flexible electronics. Overall, this project will address the gaps between the state-of-the-art wireless, battery-free epidermal electronics and the needs for advanced health monitoring sensors in underequipped, understaffed medical spaces and facilities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.