In an article by Hello Future, we learn that a team of researchers at the University of Arizona’s College of Engineering have come up with a flexible medical IoT wearable with long-range capabilities.

In a world of increasing need for adaptable, flexible, and long-lasting devices, particularly within health monitoring sector to improve patient outcomes, the researchers 3D-printed mesh sensor “fabric” seems almost too good to be true. According to the interview with Phillip Gutruf, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Arizona’s College of Engineering, the wearable can be “adapted to individual morphology to the point where it is imperceptible to the wearer.”

The wearable boasts an extensive, 75-hour battery life capable of wireless charging and its able to function across urban and rural environments due to the integration of Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) capabilities that utilize LoRa protocols and architecture.

There are a variety of users that would greatly benefit from such a wearable, including remote patients in both rural and dense, urban environments, even the military might find this particular device incredibly useful.

The health data the researchers are particularly interested in is the nearly imperceptible muscle contractions, as well as monitor heart rate and temperature with “an accuracy in the order of millikelvins,” according to Gutruf. The goal is to make user-friendly wearables that people with critical and chronic conditions can see improved health outcomes and receive much better, more personalized care.

It may be a long road to widespread standardization and adoption within the US Healthcare market, but the researchers are working to evaluate the feasibility and secure transmission of data to help clinicians deploy these solutions the right way.