Low-cost diaper wetness detection using hydrogel-based RFID tags
Name
Diaper_moisture_sensor_manuscript.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
3.77 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
7f58fb07604b38e7d068c1bb625c510e
Author(s)
Sen, Pankhuri
Kantareddy, Sai Nithin R.
Bhattacharyya, Rahul
Sarma, Sanjay E
Date Issued
March 2020
Journal
IEEE Sensors Journal
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Citation
Sen, Pankhur et al. “Low-cost diaper wetness detection using hydrogel-based RFID tags.” IEEE Sensors Journal, 20, 6 (March 2020): 3293 - 3302 © 2020 The Author(s)
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
There is an opportunity to utilize wearable, consumer-oriented sensors for self-health monitoring and preventative medicine. Disposable diaper with built-in lowcost, disposable moisture sensors is one such product. Diaper users include infants, elderly, disabled individuals, and hospital patients. Event-based alerting can enhance care of this population by improving incontinencemanagement, preventing rashes and infections, and avoiding embarrassment. Collected data can be used to optimize change intervals, thereby reducingwaste and expense. In this article,we realize a novel disposable sensor for moisture detection leveraging the material properties of the water absorbing polymer gel common to most diapers. We demonstrate a functional UHF RFID moisture monitor based on hydrogel sensing and propose a hybrid sensor design utilizing metal and hydrogel optimized for a specific diaper geometry. The proposed sensor design achieves a 1-meter read range, a bend radius of < 20mm, is insensitive to sensor orientation relative to the reader, and is lower-cost than sensors with metallic antennas. We detail design considerations for integration with manufacturing processes and conclude by exploring possible future applications enabled by hydrogel sensing.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2019.2954746
