Nanowire Developed for Blood Pressure Checks
In the June 2008 issue of Popular Mechanics, an article on “10 High-Tech Health Breakthroughs Coming Soon to Your Body” features Zhong Lin (Z.L.) Wang, Regents’ Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech, and his research into an implantable wire for blood pressure checks.
Zhong Lin (Z.L.) Wang, Regents’ Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech
Based on Wang’s work, blood-pressure checks at the doctor’s office could become out-dated with the design of an implantable nanowire that measures pressure fluctuations constantly enabling patients to track their vital stats from home. Wang’s research is aimed at replacing the traditional blood pressure cuff that wraps around the arm. The implantable nanowire can monitor blood pressure in real time and can send an alert signal to the doctor or patient if the blood pressure changes abnormally.
The nanowire is both a semiconductor and piezoelectric. According to Wang, “If there’s an external mechanical force that bends the nanowire, such as blood vessel contractions, it creates an electrical field inside the wire. The presence of this electrical field affects the wire’s conductivity, which is something we can measure. If the conductivity changes, that indicates blood pressure is changing.” Patients would wear a watch-type unit to record data.
In addition to the nanowire being used for blood pressure monitoring, the technology being developed by Wang would allow these sensors to measure other sensitive pressure changes. For example, his research could allow for sensors to be placed in gas lines hundreds of miles long where sensors could help prevent potential explosions.
