A new patch made out of nanomagnets and conductive yarn could have a variety of applications, including cardiovascular monitoring, its creators say.
The technology consists of a small fabric-like patch that can go directly onto the skin; the patch can sense and measure a variety of body and muscle movements, including the most important muscle of all: the heart.
As a potentially lightweight, low-cost and wireless device, such a patch could replace bulkier wearables like EKGs as a way to monitor heart health, one of the lead researchers said.
The research was first presented in the journal Matter earlier this week.
Improving heart monitoring tech is a major focus right now in healthcare technology. Heart disease is the most common condition of seniors and the leading cause of death.
The unnamed patch is not the first miniaturized EKG.
iRhythm makes a wearable patch, Zio, that has been on the market since 2014, and has been conducting ongoing studies on its benefits; the Zio patch, while small and single-use, uses a different design than the fabric model.
iRhythm received a warning from the FDA earlier this month for changing its algorithm without notifying the agency.
Also, a new pilot program from Dandelion Health is evaluating the efficacy of EKG-related artificial intelligence.
Testing demonstrated that the patch is waterproof, malleable and precise, the researchers said.
“Our device is very sensitive to biomechanical pressure,” Jun Chen, assistant professor at the Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We’ve tested the device for cardiovascular monitoring and respiration monitoring…one day, we may be able to reinvent or replace current systems that require external power sources.”
In addition, each individual patch could cost as little as $3, Chen said.
