A wearable biosensor for monitoring breathing in young children | ICT & health

Wheezing, called ‘wheezing’ in English, is a serious condition that is estimated to affect one in three young children in the first five years of their lives. It is a sign that if not diagnosed and treated correctly and early, it will cause irreversible damage to the lungs in old age. Scientists have now developed a wearable biosensor to continuously monitor the breathing of young children.

At the moment, the options for continuous monitoring of children’s breathing during the preschool period (from 2 to 5 years) are still limited. The wearable biosensor developed by Chinese scientists could change that. The research is recent published in Wearable Electronics magazine.

Biosensor

One of the challenges in monitoring breathing is the effect of humidity and temperature. “Respiratory temperature and humidity coexist and interfere with each other, so using respiratory temperature or humidity to identify respiration inevitably reduces the accuracy and stability of the analysis ,” said Yuanjie Su, senior author of the study and a professor at the University of Electrical Science. and China Technology.

The new biosensor has been developed in such a way that it is not affected by the temperature and humidity of the air that is taken in and taken out of it. This allows the sensor to accurately distinguish between wheezing and normal breathing.

Constant monitoring

In a study published in the journal Wearable Electronics, a group of researchers from China described the development of a sensor for continuous and stable monitoring of breathing. In particular, the sensor is isolated from the effects of temperature and humidity on the respiratory airflow and can accurately differentiate between wheezing and normal breathing.

“Temperature and respiratory humidity coexist and interfere with each other, so tracking temperature or respiratory humidity to identify respiration will definitely reduce accuracy and stability. Current breathing sensors measure the expansion and contraction of the abdomen and chest during breathing. They are also insensitive to humidity and temperature. However, body movements such as limb movements or coughing can create signals that can affect measurement accuracy. ”

explains the study’s senior author and co-correspondent Yuanjie Su, a professor at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

Carbon nanotubes

The team found that integrating low-density superconducting carbon nanotubes into electrospun polyacrylonitrile scaffolds helped detect exhaled air. In addition, the hydrophobic and flexible latex film coating effectively prevents humidity and temperature fluctuations caused by exhaled gases, while at the same time reducing the impact on the mechanical deformation of exhaled gases.

“Furthermore, collecting and analyzing multiple breath samples can accurately identify diseases because of the inherent variability and uncertainty of each individual breath, which is the ultimate goal of the analysis process ,” said Su.

The team hopes that their findings will encourage others in the field to carry out further research and development to improve the sensitivity of these types of respiratory sensors and thus improve their practical applications.

Asthma monitoring

Monitoring asthma remotely, continuously or regularly, without patients going to a family doctor or hospital every time, has also proven its added value many times. This is a well-known and well-known initiative in the Netherlands Airlift. By regularly completing online questionnaires, along with an online breath test, it can be determined whether a visit to the doctor is necessary or whether it is sufficient to change medication.

A ventilator is already being used in dozens of Dutch hospitals, but there are also other initiatives, such as Home study program for patients with asthma at Santeon, Catharina Hospitals in Eindhoven, CWZ in Nijmegen and Maasstad Hospital in Rotterdam.