Nanocomposite Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor in Gait Monitoring for Arthritis Patient

Abstract

It is necessary to recognize the human knee movement for patients with knee joint pain (arthritis) and also in patients’ under-recovery. Pressure variation around the knee joint is considered as a piece of vital information to address the problems in knee joint. Wearable sensors are the generally appropriate procedure for this. In this work, sensing mechanism are arranged in a suitable patella package using CNF (Carbon Nano Fiber) and TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) based nanocomposite piezo-resistive (20% w/w) sensor film with bulk resistivity of 192Ω-cm. It is further tested for its suitability for monitoring the change in the resistance due to pressure variation during knee movement. The reliability of voltage variation under rehashed compressive stacking lab experiments shows significant usage for this piezoresistive film. Hence, it can be effectively utilized for signal acquisition application for knee movement monitoring in the arthritis patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Arthritis
• Gait monitoring
• Piezoresistive
• Wearable sensors

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors like to express their special thanks of gratitude to the management of PSG Institutions and Department of Biomedical Engineering in PSG College of technology. We would also like to show our sincere thanks to the P. Radhakrishnan, Director, K.K. Venkatraman, Professor, PSG Institute of Advanced studies; and R. Subramanian, AGM, PSG Industrial Institute, Coimbatore for sharing their precious time and knowledge with us during this research work. We also thank C. Vivekanandan, Professor Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Dr.N.G.P. Institute of Technology for his valuable directions. We also thank the Instrument Development Program under Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for the material support.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

M. Arumugaraja

M Arumugaraja received his undergraduate degree from Anna University, Chennai, India in 2008 and his postgraduate degree from Anna University, Chennai in 2013. He is pursuing his PhD in biomedical engineering, PSG College of Technology, Anna University, Chennai. His research interests include wearable electronic devices, embedded system for medical applications.

B. Padmapriya

B Padmapriya received her PhD degree in medical image analysis from Anna University, Chennai, India in 2015. Currently she is an associate professor of biomedical engineering in PSG college of technology. Her major interests are image and signal analysis for various biomedical applications. Email: [email protected]

S. Poornachandra

S Poornachandra received his PhD in signal processing from Anna University, Chennai, India in 2017. Currently he is the professor and head of Excel Engineering College, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India. His major interests are signal processing, electronics circuits and its applications in biomedical engineering. Email: [email protected]

P. Ramya

P Ramya received her BE degree from Anna University, Chennai in 2010 and her ME degree from Anna University, Chennai in 2012. She is pursuing her PhD in biomedical engineering, PSG College of Technology, Anna University, Chennai, India. Her area of interests includes embedded systems, digital communication and networks. Email: [email protected]

R. Senthilkumar

R Senthil Kumar completed BE in mechanical engineering and MTech in Nanoscience and technology. Currently, he is pursuing PhD from Anna University, India in the area of piezo responsive nanocomposite sensors for human gait monitoring. Email: [email protected]

T. Sarathi

T Sarathi completed BE in electronics and communication engineering and ME in applied electronics. Currently, he is pursuing PhD from Anna University, India in the area of wireless communication for biomedical devices. Email: [email protected]

G. Sathishkumar

G Sathish Kumar, presently working as a junior research engineer in FIST Lab at PSG Institute of Advanced Studies, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. His major research interests are polymer nano composites and electrospun functional nanofibers. Email: [email protected]

Amitava Bhattacharyya

Amitava Bhattacharyya did his MTech and PhD from IIT Delhi, India. He is working as associate professor in Nanotech Research, Innovation & Incubation Centre (NRIIC), PSG Institute of Advanced Studies and in-charge of Functional, Innovative & Smart Textiles Lab there. Email: [email protected]