Monitoring

Imagining a future where hundreds of sensors are placed around forests or farms for large-scale monitoring of the environment, scientists have developed platforms light enough to disperse like dandelion seeds in the breeze when dropped from a drone.

Healthcare workers often have to wear masks for up to 12 continuous hours, during which time they may become seriously exhausted. A new mask-mounted device is designed to help, by monitoring their vital signs and detecting leaks in the mask's seal.

Engineers from Yale University have developed a wearable device that can help individuals assess whether they have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The device clips onto a person’s clothes and capture aerosolized viral particles in the surrounding environment.

For people with coronary heart disease, regular monitoring of bloodstream cholesterol levels is essential – and it typically requires the drawing of blood samples. A new system, however, is claimed to provide the same data simply by imaging the skin of the hand.

A team of engineers has given microchips a new ability – the power of flight. Inspired by wind-dispersed seeds, these “microfliers” are shaped like tiny propellers to catch the wind, and may be the smallest flying structures ever made by humans.

Everyone responds to general anesthetics differently, which can make administering the correct dose tricky. A new device is designed to help, by continuously monitoring anesthetic levels in patients' bloodstreams during surgical procedures.

Even though at-home use of an inhaler or insulin pen can be extremely important, doctors have to pretty much just hope that patients are doing it right. A new system, however, could objectively assess patients' technique within their homes.

Nobody likes needles – at best they’re an unpleasant means to an important end. Microneedle patches could be a painless alternative, and now researchers have developed a way to use them to detect biomarkers at much lower levels without drawing blood.

With colony collapse disorder continuing to decimate honeybee populations, it's more important than ever for beekeepers to monitor hive conditions. The ApisProtect system is made to automate the process, potentially catching problems earlier.

While we have already heard about contact lenses that monitor medical conditions, such lenses are often made from non-traditional materials. A new one, however, is composed of the same hydrogel as regular store-bought contacts.

In order to see if an antidepressant works, patients have to take the drug for at least a month. New research, however, suggests that by monitoring a sleeping patient's brainwaves, the effectiveness of an antidepressant can be gauged in a week.

Many readers are likely already familiar with the oximeters that measure blood oxygen levels via the patient's finger. Well, scientists have now developed a device that works on the same principle, but it can be non-invasively used on unborn fetuses.