Summary:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Bioengineering have developed a soft material system that generates a giant magnetoelastic effect to enable self-powered pressure sensors for biomonitoring in wearable devices.
Background:
The magnetoelastic effect is the change in a material’s magnetic properties under mechanical stress or deformation. It is traditionally observed in metal alloys when deformed under an externally-applied magnetic field. This effect has been ignored in soft systems comparable to human tissues because of the large amount of mechanical force required to generate an observable effect. Investigation into the magnetoactive properties of soft materials such as magnetic gels has been active in recent years. Furthermore, due to their diverse properties, their demand has increased for the use of sensors, vibration absorbers, and soft robots. However, magnetoelasticity has not been fully studied in these soft materials. Therefore, there is a need to generate soft material systems which exhibit the magnetoelastic effect under lower mechanical stress levels and are better suited for use in human-centered designs such as bioelectronics.
Innovation:
UCLA researchers in the Department of Bioengineering have developed a soft polymer matrix that is capable of generating a giant magnetoelastic effect in soft-matter electronics using dipole-dipole interactions. The material demonstrated feasibility to induce magnetic induction to generate self-powered biomechanical sensors stretchable up to 550%. In tests, the technology provided an extremely wide sensing range, from 3.5 Pa to 2,000 kPa (~20 times larger than that of sensors in other categories) with a response time ~ 5ms. In comparison to traditional bulky metal alloys, the soft material system exhibits 3.3 times larger magnetomechanical coefficient. Several advantages of this soft polymer system include not requiring an externally-applied magnetic field, utilizing forces comparable to physiological ranges of the human body, and verified biocompatibility. The soft polymer material could aid in the further development of more efficient wearable devices for self-powered biomechanical sensing and ultra-wide sensing range.
Potential Applications:
• Self-powered biomechanical sensing
• Wearable devices
• Vibration absorbers
• Implantable devices
• Physiological biosensors
• Arrhythmia detection
Advantages:
• Biocompatibility verified in-vitro
• Self-powered biomechanical-to-electrical energy conversion
• Ultra-high magnetoelastic materials
• Soft, stretchable materials vs. traditional metal alloys
• Wide sensing range
• Waterproof
Development to Date:
Successful demonstration of device.