An energy storage device--a coaxial single fibre supercapacitor--was developed using a dip coating method and characterised using electrochemical methods. The specific capacitance per unit area and length were calculated to be 3.18 mF cm(-2) and 0.1 mF cm(-1), respectively, for a 2.6 cm supercapacitor. A 70 cm long fibre supercapacitor was then woven into a piece of fabric. Following characterisation using cyclic voltammetry, we found that this device had the same capacitance as its original value before integration into the fabric.

This paper reports the design and manufacture of three differing types of resistive strain sensitive structures fabricated using the Conductive Lithographic Film (CLF) printing process. The structures, utilising two inks prepared with silver and graphite particulates as the conductive phase, have been analysed to determine electrical and mechanical properties with respect to strain, temperature and humidity when deposited on four alternative substrate materials (GlossArt, PolyArt, Teslin and Melinex).

In this research, fully metal oxide, capacitive humidity sensors for printed electronic applications have been designed and fabricated through the development of conductive indium tin oxide and dielectric aluminum oxide inks for the screen-printing process. Sensors were printed in a parallel plate configuration in 4 and 9 cm2 conductive plate areas. Typically, commercially available discrete humidity sensors have a sensitivity in the range of 0.2–0.5 pF/RH%, whereas the printed humidity sensors presented in this paper have sensitivities of 0.85–7.76 pF/RH% depending on the sensor size, allowing for customizable properties. Response times were measured using a weighted average and found to be 21.4 s on average and recovery times were 4.8 s on average. The sensing performance was highly linear (R 2 > 0.97) for sensors of all sizes across the measured humidity range of 5–95%. Impedance spectroscopy was used to determine the sensing mechanism, and the mechanism was simulated and matched with experimental data. The sensing mechanism analysis shows that the sensing is primarily dictated by alumina at a lower relative humidity. The ITO contributes through increasing the ionic conductivity at a higher relative humidity, contributing to the high linearity of the sensor.

This paper focuses on the challenges of meeting agency requirements as it pertains to the application of human factors in the medical device development (MDD) process. Individual case studies of the design and development process for 18 medical device manufacturers located in the US and EU were analyzed and compared using a multiple case study design. The results indicate that there are four main challenges in implementing international standards. These include a lack of direct access to users for the purposes of device development; a lack of understanding by users with regards to the impact of their feedback on the development process; contract formalities limiting user exchanges; and the attitude of clinical users directly impacting on the device developer's invitation to participate in the development processes. The barriers presented in this research have the potential to be resolved but only with greater commitment by both medical device users and developers.

This paper reports progress in sensor fabrication by the conductive lithographic film (CLF) printing process. Work describing strain-sensitive structures manufactured using a modified printing process and conductive inks is addressed. The performance of a "single-ink" strain-sensitive structure when printed on six alternative substrates (GlossArt, PolyArt, Teslin, Mylar C, Melinex, and Kapton) is analyzed. Though not intending to compete with conventional gauges in high-tolerance measurement, the structures exhibit properties that indicate suitability for novel applications