The authors have developed a biological probe at the nanoscale with a magnetic carbon nanotube (mCNT) tip that has the ability to transfer fluids. Fabrication is performed by injection of mCNTs into micropipettes, which are then positioned as probe tips via magnetophoresis, and affixed with polymeric adhesive. In this letter the authors discuss the magnetic fabrication process and demonstrate the versatility of this probe.

Recent advancements in conductive yarns and fabrication technologies offer exciting opportunities to design and knit seamless garments equipped with sensors for biomedical applications. In this paper, we discuss the design and application of a wearable strain sensor, which can be used for biomedical monitoring such as contraction, respiration, or limb movements. The system takes advantage of the intensity variations of the backscattered power (RSSI) from an inductively-coupled RFID tag under physical stretching. First, we describe the antenna design along with the modeling of the sheet impedance, which characterizes the conductive textile. Experimental results with custom fabricated prototypes showed good agreement with the numerical simulation of input impedance and radiation pattern. Finally, the wearable sensor has been applied for infant breathing monitoring using a medical programmable mannequin. A machine learning technique has been developed and applied to post-process the RSSI data, and the results show that breathing and non-breathing patterns can be successfully classified.

We investigate physical properties of polymer dispersed liquid crystal transmission gratings which influence the light diffraction efficiency behavior. Scanning electron microscopy is used to determine the orientation and shape of nanometer-sized liquid crystal droplets in a polymer host. Dependence of diffraction efficiency on light polarization suggests that the orientation of a liquid crystal within the ellipsoidal droplets is axial. The distribution of droplet orientations appears to vary for different grating spacings. The switching properties of the gratings are investigated and analyzed with a sinusoidal dielectric tensor modulation model. The analysis also takes into account orientational distribution of average directors and spatial distribution of the droplets. Temperature dependence of diffraction efficiency is tentatively explained by a structural transition within the droplets and the presence of impurities in droplets.

No abstract