Sensor-based health monitoring
Our investigation is on the capabilities of wearable sensor systems for non-invasive, accurate, and objective monitoring of individuals’ health and developing novel technologies that offer improved performance and acceptability compared to conventional methodologies used in a wide range of medical applications. Designing multisensory wearables in a miniature platform customized for individual usage is necessary while targeting the highest performance, feasibility, and user comfort. The novelty of Dr. Imtiaz’s pre-Clarkson research in monitoring food intake and cigarette smoking behavior includes an eyeglass-attachable piezo-resistive sensor, an inertial sensor, and an optical sensor; ear-mount pressure sensor; ultra-low-power egocentric camera; instrumented bottle for infant’s milk intake; etc. With my Clarkson group, I am now implementing intelligence to the sensor itself and redesigning them utilizing the resources in my established, under-development Center for Advanced PCB Design and Manufacture (CAPDM). I am also working towards developing lightweight machine learning and deep learning models for microcontrollers. This combined research will facilitate a) encouraging proactive healthcare, b) keeping patients engaged, c) performing long-term monitoring of vulnerable patients or infants, and d) benefiting healthcare providers and industry.
Fabrication of novel sensors
With Dr. Silvana Andreescu, I am working on designing, modeling, and fabricating novel electrochemical sensor systems. One example is a textile wiring technology that transforms any fabric into a pressure-responsive one by impregnating a novel electrically conductive polymer within textile fibers imparting the textile’s conductivity and pressure sensitivity characteristics. We are currently working on fabricating smart shoe insoles and multifunctional outfits where we are embedding inertial and tiny BLE sensors with this pressure-sensitive thread. Our endeavor will continue integrating a battery-free wireless transmission by screen-printing the wireless LC sensor into the flexible substrate, ensuring low-power design, usage comfort, and durability.