PFI-TT: Noninvasive, compact, internal body thermometer

该创新-技术转化伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力解决了对传感器的需求，该传感器可以测量皮肤下几厘米处的体内温度，例如心脏或大脑的温度。内部体温与睡眠同步，如果体温与昼夜节律周期不同步，可以施加相对简单的外部刺激来改善睡眠。对于当代社会的其他疾病，如肥胖、生育和抑郁症，也可以提出类似的论点，并且可以从健康扩展到临床应用，如新生儿护理和癌症的热治疗。其价值主张是实现市场上最高精度和可靠性的无创、可穿戴、内部体温测量。该设备的商业潜力非常大：6000万美国成年人报告经常出现睡眠困难，由于生产力损失导致的失眠估计每年的间接成本高达600亿美元。一旦开发出可穿戴传感器原型，潜在客户包括医疗设备制造商和诊所。拟议项目将生产一种低成本、便携式、内部体温计原型，用于个人健康应用。该温度计基于被动电磁测量的基本原理，该测量由放置在皮肤上并在微波频率范围内工作的设备进行。主要的挑战是检测从深层组织层辐射的非常小的功率水平，而不是皮肤上的测量。工程挑战和智力价值在于进一步开发原理验证硬件和算法，以实现商业上可行的设备，准备上市。克服这一挑战将在原型温度灵敏度、空间分辨率、电池寿命、鲁棒性和易用性方面产生规范。工程挑战包括设计超低噪声接收器，实施射频干扰缓解技术，以及设计与身体不同部位皮肤共形的灵活探头天线，所有这些都侧重于低功耗紧凑型实现。在第一阶段利用现成的组件后，随后将设计专用芯片。我们的目标是展示一种最终可以一次性使用的廉价设备。 该设备旨在用于移动的和长期监测应用，具有成熟的市场潜力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project addresses the need for a sensor that can measure temperature inside the body several centimeters under the skin, for example the temperature of the heart or the brain. Internal body temperature is synchronized with sleep, and if body temperature is out of phase with the circadian cycle, relatively simple external stimuli can be applied to improve sleep. Similar arguments can be made for other diseases of contemporary society, such as obesity, fertility, and depression, and can be expanded beyond wellness to clinical applications such as neo-natal care and heat treatment of cancers. The value proposition is in enabling non-invasive, wearable, internal body temperature measurements with the highest accuracy and reliability on the market. The commercial potential of the proposed device is very large: 60 million US adults report frequent difficulty sleeping, with estimated indirect costs from insomnia due to loss of productivity as high as $60 billion annually. Once wearable sensor prototypes are developed, potential customers include medical device manufacturers and clinics.The proposed project will produce a prototype of a low-cost, portable, internal body thermometer for personal wellness applications. The thermometer is based on the fundamental principle of passive electromagnetic measurements made by a device placed on the skin and operating in the microwave frequency range. The major challenge is detecting very small power levels radiated from deep tissue layers as opposed to measurements on the skin. The engineering challenge and intellectual merit lie in further developing the proof-of-principle hardware and algorithms to achieve a commercially viable device ready for marketing. Overcoming this challenge will result in specifications in terms of prototype temperature sensitivity, spatial resolution, battery life, robustness, and ease of use. Engineering challenges include designing an ultra-low noise receiver, implementing radio-frequency interference mitigation techniques, and designing flexible probe antennas conformal to the skin on different parts of the body, all with a focus on low-power compact implementations. After leveraging off-the-shelf components in the first phase, specialized chips will later be designed. The goal is to demonstrate an inexpensive device that can ultimately be disposable. The device is intended for mobile and long-term monitoring applications, with a proven market potential.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.