Researchers from Penn State University have created a smart diaper with a built-in sensor that will send an alert to a phone once it gets wet. According to the research journal, scientists have embedded four sensors between the layers of a diaper in order to create the smart diaper.
The Mechanism Behind the Smart Diaper
The smart diaper is made out of paper that has been pre-treated with sodium chloride, which is connected to an outline of a circuit board with a tiny lithium battery that is traced over with a pencil to transfer graphite to the surface. So, once the diaper gets wet, the graphite reacts with the liquid and the salt and it’s absorbed by the paper when the electrons flow to the graphite the sensor gets activated.
The lead author Dr. Huanyu Cheng, said, “The application was actually born out of personal experience. There’s no easy way to know how wet is wet, and that information could be really valuable for parents.” “The sensor can provide data in the short-term, to alert for diaper changes, but also in the long-term, to show patterns that can inform parents about the overall health of their child,” wrote Huanyu.
Other Uses of the Sensors
The researchers said their sensor could also be used in hospitals and nursing homes or even to predict major health concerns like cardiac arrest and pneumonia. They tested their device in a face mask and found it was able to classify three different breathing states – deep, regular, and rapid. The researchers could use the data from the sensors to detect the onset of a heart attack or when someone has stopped breathing. It also works as part of a non-contact switch, which can sense the humidity changes in the air from the presence of a finger without the finger touching the sensor.
Also read: The High-tech Smart Fitness Mirrors Make Exercising Easy and Convenient
