Thread-based sensors measure body metrics

The development at Tufts University in Massachusetts raises the potential for thin, inconspicuous tattoo-like patches that could, according to the team, measure athletic performance, monitor worker or driver fatigue, assist with physical therapy, enhance virtual reality games and systems, and improve computer-generated imagery in cinematography.

Thread-based transistors promise fully flexible electronics

Described in Scientific Reports, the technology adds to thread-based sensors developed at Tufts that can be woven into textiles, measuring gases and chemicals in the environment or metabolites in sweat.

According to Tufts, the researchers placed two threads in an "X" pattern on the back of a subject's neck during experiments. Coated with an electrically conducting carbon-based ink, the sensors detect motion when the threads bend, creating strain that changes the way they conduct electricity. When the subject performed a series of head movements, the wires sent signals to a Bluetooth device, which then transmitted data wirelessly to a computer or smartphone for analysis.