A new wearable technology could change how we monitor unborn babies at home. PhD researcher Yijing Zhang (Department of Electrical Engineering) has developed a comfortable, portable garment that allows pregnant women to measure their babyâs heartbeat without the need for sticky, uncomfortable gel-based electrode sensors or direct skin contact. The integrated dry electrodes work through clothing, making the process simple and suitable for everyday use.
âCurrent home monitors often work only through direct skin contact, and the gel applied to the skin can cause irritation. It doesnât feel comfortable and is less effective,â Zhang explains.
Wearable garment
During her PhD research, she developed a wearable garment with multiple integrated electrodes and dedicated data-acquisition hardware built around a custom integrated-circuit chip. âPregnant women can avoid the gel and even wear this over their own clothes and easily measure their unborn childâs heartbeat,â she says. Zhang compares the convenience of the garment to wearables (such as smartwatches) that we use today to measure health metrics, like heart rate
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