Wearable Thermal Conductivity and Core Temperature Sensor for Health Monitoring
Project Description
Continuous, comfortable monitoring of human thermophysiology can inform hydration, fever detection, heat stress risk, and recovery. Core temperature is hard to measure noninvasively; skin temperature alone is insufficient. This project designs a flexible, skin-conformal sensor that combines active thermal measurements (micro-heater plus thermal response) to estimate local thermal conductivity/diffusivity and infer core temperature via physics-based models and ML calibration. The system will integrate low-power electronics, robust skin-safe packaging, and signal processing for motion/ambient compensation, aiming for a validated prototype and pilot data.
Supervisor
ZHENG, Qiye
Quota
2
Course type
UROP1000
UROP1100
UROP2100
UROP3100
UROP4100
Applicant's Roles
• Hardware: Flexible device with micro-heater and thermistors/RTDs, low-noise readout, skin-safe encapsulation.
• Algorithms: Transient thermal inversion for conductivity/diffusivity; sensor fusion with ambient/accelerometer; ML calibration against surrogate core-temp references.
• Human factors: Comfort, adhesion, and repeatable placement; IRB-exempt phantom tests and limited on-body pilots as appropriate.
• Deliverables: Working prototype, calibration protocols, initial on-skin validation, and a tech report/paper draft.
• Algorithms: Transient thermal inversion for conductivity/diffusivity; sensor fusion with ambient/accelerometer; ML calibration against surrogate core-temp references.
• Human factors: Comfort, adhesion, and repeatable placement; IRB-exempt phantom tests and limited on-body pilots as appropriate.
• Deliverables: Working prototype, calibration protocols, initial on-skin validation, and a tech report/paper draft.
Applicant's Learning Objectives
• Hands-on experience in wearable sensor design, embedded systems, and thermal inverse problems.
• Understanding of human thermoregulation, measurement artifacts, and signal conditioning.
• Skills in experimental design, IRB basics, and translating lab results to practical devices.
• Understanding of human thermoregulation, measurement artifacts, and signal conditioning.
• Skills in experimental design, IRB basics, and translating lab results to practical devices.
Complexity of the project
Challenging