Scientists based in China, Pakistan and Hong Kong have collaborated to develop novel 3D printed sensors that could be used as a basis for the ‘smart beds’ of the future.
研究人员使用FDM 3D打印机和PLA原料，设法产生了基于纤维的亮度光栅（FBG）的压力传感器，能够以高度准确地跟踪人们的睡眠模式。如果在医院环境中应用，团队认为他们的设备有可能帮助员工监控患者的福祉，并在病情恶化的情况下提前进行干预。
研究人员在论文中说：“在3D打印传感器上已经完成了有限的工作，以确定其用作'智能床'或垫子的好处，以监视睡眠患者。”“在我们的研究中，FDM过程用于开发基于FBG的创新压力传感器。这些传感器的主要优点包括轻巧，温度不敏感和快速原型，具有低成本，高精度，EMI和时间效率。”
FBG 3D printing-potential
Generally, an FBG is a few millimeter-long microstructure inscribed into a short segment of optical fiber, that’s able to modulate any light passing through it in response to temperature, strain or vibrational stimuli. The high thermal sensitivity of such devices has lent them extensive mechanical engineering, textile and medical applications, but their efficacy is dependent on their material base.
过去，使用胶水，色带或磁带和环氧树脂制造了面向医疗保健的FBG传感器，但该过程仍然耗时，设备密集并且难以复制。相比之下，3D打印越来越多地可以创建复杂的FBG传感设备，但是到目前为止，研究仅限于定制矫形器，很少研究其睡眠监测潜力。
为了正确地，研究人员使用了猫softwareto design a novel FBG sensor before sending it to闪存打印as a means of adjusting its level of infill, and eventually FDM 3D printing it. Interestingly, once half the device had been printed, the team paused production to place it at the center of a grooved semi-circle, in order to ensure that its sensor was properly sited and capable of strain resistance.
完成原型后，团队可以使用询问器和无线路由器设置立即检测其信号变化，这与其后打印冷却时间相关。为了更仔细地检查这种关系，并研究其床跟踪的潜力，科学家们开始了另外三个设备，将它们连接起来，并对它们进行校准测试。
Assessing FBG sensors in bed
During initial evaluations, the team’s 3D printed sensors were placed into the moving jaws of a tensile tester, and put under incrementally-higher pressure loads of up to 352.8 N. Each device not only held up to six repeated test cycles, but showed a consistent wavelength change in every step, demonstrating their ability to provide reliable readings.
To assess the end-performance of their devices, the team identified and placed their two best-performing prototypes under the mattress of a bed 20 cm away from each other, before asking a 28-year-old volunteer to simulate the ‘starfish,’ ‘log-right and left’ and ‘free-faller’ sleeping positions on them, with the sensors tracking his changes in posture.
结果表明，随着测试对象改变了身体位置，传感器的读数始终准确，相对错误率小于1％。因此，尽管团队承认他们的设备需要进一步测试，但他们认为，将来，他们可以帮助医生确定患者呼吸的变化，甚至警告他们的心率何时开始降低。
“Testing indicated that FBG sensors sustain stable measurement performance during loading and unloading, and the fitted linear relationship showed that the measured wavelength change is directly proportional to the difference in applied load,” concluded the team in their paper. “The FBG pressure sensors-based smart bed can [therefore] be developed for monitoring patients in hospitals.”
Clinical 3D printed sensors
Over the last year alone, researchers have deployed 3D printing to produce a wide variety of different light, motion and bacteria-sensitive devices, with potential healthcare applications. Last November, scientists atClarkson University使用定制的生物墨水来创建皮肤友好3D printed biosensors，，，，capable of protecting wearers from UV overexposure.
Similarly,Shanghai Institute of Technologyresearchers have developed a 3D printable conductive polymer hydrogel as a basis for producing灵活的可穿戴运动传感器。In advanced testing, the team found that their devices’ mechanical and electroconductive properties made them ideal for soft robotics and wound dressing applications.
这CCDC Soldier Center同时，已经采取了一种微流体方法来监视设备，开发了独特的方法skin-compatible multipurpose biosensorslast year. Working alongside the明尼苏达大学(UMN), the CCDC has managed to 3D print sensors with the potential to physiologically-track troops, and provide them with enhanced awareness of toxic airborne threats in the field.
研究人员的发现在其论文中详细介绍了“Development of FBG pressure sensors using FDM technique for monitoring sleeping postures.” The study was co-authored by Zamir Ahmed Abro, Chengyu Hong, Yifan Zhang, Muhammad Qasim Siddiqui, Abdul Malik Rehan Abbasi, Zafarullah Abrob and Syed Qutaba Bin Tariq.
研究进行了协作Shenzhen University，，，，Donghua University，，，，BUITEMSandHong Kong Polytechnic University。
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Featured image shows the researchers’ detection set-up for their 3D printed bed sensors. Photo via the Sensors and Actuators A: Physical journal.
