Inmatica-IIT: Innovative low-cost, biocompatible piezoelectric sensors for monitoring cardiac markers

Published in the scientific journal “Biosensors and Bioelectronics” the results of a research conducted by Inmatica and the Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies of the Italian Institute of Technology in Lecce, Italy.

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Lecce, Nov. 15, 2024 – Improving cardiovascular health monitoring through simultaneous recording of cardiac signals on multiple arteries using innovative biocompatible, flexible, wearable, noninvasive and low-cost piezoelectric sensors for continuous and real-time cardiovascular monitoring: this is the result of research conducted by Inmatica and the Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies of theItalian Institute of Technology in Lecce, in conjunction with the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications of the Polytechnic University of Turin and the Department of Innovation Engineering of the University of Salento.

The results were published in the international scientific journal “Biosensors and Bioelectronics” of the Elsevier Group.

The research team aimed to propose a new tool to facilitate personalized medical diagnosis in the prevention of cardiovascular disease by facilitating the simultaneous measurement of multiple parameters, such as blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability.

It is a wearable, miniaturized, noninvasive piezoelectric patch that is sensitive to skin deformations due to arterial pulsation. This new technology, also equipped with flexible electronics, is a safe, more comfortable and less invasiveoption compared to traditional methods and, when compared to approaches recently reported in the scientific literature, which employ toxic piezoelectric materials or unsustainable manufacturing processes, represents a relevant innovation in the area of human health and the environment.

The sensor, made by researchers from IIT’s Smart Healthcare Technologies research line, uses a thin aluminum nitride film on a flexible Kapton substrate and is used to extract heart rate, blood pressure waves, pulse wave velocity, and ABI index (also known as the “Ankle-Arm” index) for cardio- and cerebrovascular risk from four arterial pulse sites: carotid, brachial, radial, and posterior tibial arteries. This simultaneous recording, for the first time in the same experiment, makes it possible to provide a comprehensive cardiovascular health profile of the patient.

The joint research work between IIT and Inmatica has made it possible to combine IIT’s expertise and experience in the field of “wearable” sensor development through nanometer fabrication methodologies with the know-how of Inmatica, a nationally relevant company for Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things.

Both entities also share the common goal of transferring new technological solutions to the market, particularly toward the world of innovative businesses. The deployment of the sensor, in fact, may have an impact and implications of great utility in the field of cardiovascular disease prevention and, in general, in social and health care through the definition of innovative operating models for telemedicine.