Faglige nøgleord: Smart materials, energy, electronics, medical technology, smart devices
Oplæg tilgængeligt på: Engelsk
Just like everything else, the medicine capsules that we eat are also becoming smarter, with cameras and sensors, and electronics. Such devices, called ingestible devices, can be used to get pictures of the stomach and the intestine, diagnose diseases, deliver drugs to specific parts and even sense the pressure and pH inside the body, replacing conventional and painful procedures like endoscopy and colonoscopy. However, at the moment, these devices contain batteries to power the electronics. But are you comfortable eating batteries?
Our body organs are continuously moving, and these movements inside the stomach and the intestine can be used to generate electricity which can power these electronic devices without batteries. This can be done using smart materials which are soft, flexible and safe for the body. My project revolves around making such smart materials and making devices that go inside the body and generate electricity from movement. Imagine eating a capsule and getting pictures of your stomach on your phone without eating a battery!
My project operates in the field of health technology, with a bug focus on material science, electronics and physics. With this project, we aim to make health care more accessible to people with less facilities, and promote remote healthcare. Imagine sitting in South Africa with stomach pain, and a doctor sitting in Denmark giving you treatment over a video call! Healthcare is a basic necessity and we believe everyone in the world should have access to this basic facility. By using the materials that I make, we are also making the electronic devices safer for humans, and reducing electronic waste in the world since the materials are biodegradable.
As a high school student, I used to love science and sports. I used to enjoy building robots and playing football. As a kid, I used to hurt myself a lot, so I used to tell myself that when I grow up, I want to make something to stop people from getting injuries. Now, as a PhD student, I am making (kindof) robots and medicine that can help a lot of people around the world.
During the presentation, I would introduce students to some concepts around these smart materials, and then we would spend time building these smart materials ourselves. Following that, we would use these smart materials to power a light by pressing this device with our fingers. It will be a mix of theoretical presentation and hands-on exercises.