KAIST develops a sensor platform that monitors body temperature in real-time

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed an ultra-sensitive sensor platform that can detect human body temperature in real-time with the naked eye and without electronic devices' aid.

The technology detects the temperature through color change by applying a temperature-sensitive color-changing dye to a nanofiber membrane through electrospinning technology.

The color-changing sensor is convenient because it can detect the physical and chemical changes of the sensor only with the naked eye.

However, the conventional commercially available film-type temperature-sensitive color change sensor had a disadvantage because it had low color change sensitivity as the film contained the color of the dye inside, which, in turn, did not effectively show the color change, according to the state-funded university.

A KAIST research team, led by Professor Kim Il-doo, has developed a device that can monitor body temperature in real-time without additional electronic devices.

To resolve this problem, the team, led by Professor Kim Il-doo of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, effectively bound a temperature-sensitive dye to a nanofiber membrane with a large specific surface area and high porosity.

The technology increased the color-change sensitivity to five times or more in the human body temperature range compared to the existing film-type color change membrane.

Also, as the developed sensor is a portable personal healthcare diagnostic device, it does not require a separate electronic device to monitor body temperature in real-time.

“By introducing an advanced electrospinning technique rather than the conventional film-type membrane, we could maximize the reactivity of the temperature-sensitive color-change sensor by controlling the density and alignment direction of the nanofiber membrane,” Professor Kim said.

This is very meaningful, suggesting the possibility of using an aligned nanofiber and yarn-type nanofiber membrane as a wearable temperature-sensitive color change sensor of a mask, bracelet, or patch type attached to the body, he went on to say.

As the technology has a great potential for commercialization as it uses an electrospinning technique that allows mass-produced at low cost, it will help people to easily self-diagnose body temperature with the naked eye and help them manage their health, Kim added.

Advanced Functional Materials published the result of the study.