Where does a new wearable microchip that monitors vital signs get its power?

November 27, 2012 By News Staff

Answer: from cellphones

Electrical engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) have developed new technology to monitor medical vital signs, according to OSU. The sensors are so small and cheap they could fit onto a bandage, be manufactured in high volumes and cost less than a quarter.

Part of what enables this small size, said Patrick Chiang, an associate professor in the OSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, is that the system doesn’t have a battery. It harvests the sparse radio-frequency energy from a nearby device – in this case, a cellphone. The small smart phone carried by hundreds of millions of people around the world can now provide the energy for important biomedical monitoring at the same time.

Photo of the body-monitoring chip courtesy of OSU

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