Flexible Organic Sensors for Biomechanical Measurements

Speaker: Tse Nga Tina Ng
Affiliation: Professor, UC San Diego

Abstract:  This presentation will show two examples of using wearable sensors to characterize human physiology and movement patterns.  Cardiovascular monitors are being developed using organic photosensors responsive to the short wavelength infrared (SWIR) spectra. Currently conventional SWIR sensors are limited by complex die transfer and bonding processing. Here we are advancing SWIR photodiodes by using a new generation of semiconducting polymers that are processed by solution processing techniques and allow simple direct deposition. The bulk heterojunction photodiodes show photo-response spanning from the visible to 1.7 micron. We develop a physical model to pinpoint the origins of efficiency losses by decoupling the exciton dissociation efficiency and charge collection efficiency, and identify avenues that will improve sensor detectivity. Several demonstrations will show the various potential applications of organic SWIR photodiodes including blood pulse measurements, spectroscopic identification, and image reconstruction.

Another type of biomechanical measurements involves the development of an instrumented glove for augmenting movement disorder assessments. The sensor glove measures the power required to move a patient’s arm and offers an objective route for the evaluation of movement disorders in patients with neuromuscular injuries and in children with autism. The system is based on capacitive pressure sensing, and it provides better resolution over the current best practices. Our goal is to enable effective evaluation of intervention outcomes and thus inform treatment decisions.

Biography:  Dr. Tse Nga Tina Ng is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of California San Diego (UCSD), USA. She received her PhD in Physical Chemistry under the supervision of Professor John Marohn at Cornell University. Subsequently she worked at Palo Alto Research Center before joining UCSD in 2015. Her projects involved engineering solution materials and inventing new devices and systems using ink-jet and other types of digital fabrication. Her work on printed systems has received the 2012 Innovation Award from Flextech Alliance, named Runner-up for the Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award, and received second place in the 2017 Bell Lab Prize. She is a member of the External Advisory Board for Partnership for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) and is on the Editorial Board of the journal Flexible Printed Electronics

For more information, contact Prof. Ankur Mehta (mehtank@ucla.edu)

Date/Time:
Date(s) - Mar 12, 2018
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Location:
Mong Learning Center – EE-VI – #180
404 Westwood Plaza , Los Angeles California 90095