Projects

The H.E.A.R.T. Project - (H)arvesting RF (E)nergy for Health (A)nalytics & (T)elemetry

Jazmín Renteria Gonzalez, PI: Dr. Syed Kamrul Islam

ADVL Laboratory - University of Missouri, Columbia, Spring 2025

As the world becomes dependent on wireless transmission technology, biomedical devices need to catch up from their outdated analog designs. The H.E.A.R.T. Project - Harvesting RF Energy for Health Analytics and Telemetry - aims to address this demand by developing a compact, low-cost RF- powered health monitoring system that integrates PVDF and other fluoride-derived substrates for energy generation via the user. This system hopes to integrate ECG, PPG, SpO2, and respiratory rate monitoring sensing modules into a wearable form factor, enabling real-time biometric data collection without reliance on traditional power sources. Unlike commercial wearables like the Fitbit or Apple Watch, the first stage of this device will be constructed using off-the-shelf components, drastically reducing cost and increasing accessibility for under-resources communities. The second stage of this project will include materials science exploration and experimentation, gathering the best piezoelectric materials for a wearable form factor; miniaturization in the form of a wearable IC circuit is then to follow. This project will involve a lot of signal conditioning, impedance matching, hardware development, IC development, etc., which will lay the groundwork for integration into a wearable form factor. By creating a device that can operate independently, this project has the potential to push wearable health monitoring towards a more sustainable future where people have a greater access to chronic illness detection and prevention.