{"id":90257,"date":"2025-09-28T06:33:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T06:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/90257\/"},"modified":"2025-09-28T06:33:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T06:33:12","slug":"roxana-chicas-designs-wearable-patch-to-detect-heat-strain-in-outdoor-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/90257\/","title":{"rendered":"Roxana Chicas designs wearable patch to detect heat strain in outdoor workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientist Roxana Chicas has collaborated with the Georgia Institute of Technology to create a wearable<\/a> biopatch for outdoor workers to monitor and protect their health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The all-in-one wearable patch tracks vital signs like temperature and heart rate when worn on the chest, with AI<\/a> detecting early warning signs of overheating.<\/p>\n

“We wanted to create something easy to wear, comfortable, and unobtrusive, something workers could forget they even had on, while still being able to monitor multiple signals simultaneously,” Chicas told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

\"WearableNurse scientist Roxana Chicas has designed a device to help keep farmworkers safe in the heat<\/p>\n

Named SENSE Biopatch, the device uses sensors to monitor multiple physiological signs at once, including skin temperature, hydration, heart rate, variability, physical activity and blood oxygen levels.<\/p>\n

“By integrating these data streams, the biopatch provides a comprehensive view of how heat exposure affects the body,” Chicas explained.<\/p>\n

“Our goal is that AI algorithms will then analyse the signals in real time to identify patterns and predict potential adverse health events, enabling real-time alerts and interventions.”<\/p>\n

\"SENSEThe wearable biopatch monitors vital signs such as heart rate and skin temperature<\/p>\n

Chicas, who migrated from El Salvador to the US at age four and is a trained nurse, designed the device after growing up hearing stories of the “back-breaking work” her father and others did in construction and landscaping.<\/p>\n

“I often found myself interpreting for workers who had been injured,” she described. “Being bilingual and bicultural allowed me to bridge these worlds, but I realised it wasn’t enough.”<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Friend<\/p>\n

Wearable Friend device aims to fight loneliness with AI companionship\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

“I needed a deeper understanding \u2013 about medical conditions, treatment plans, and how to advocate more effectively for these hardworking individuals,” she continued.<\/p>\n

“That drive led me to pursue an associate’s degree in nursing, and ultimately a PhD, equipping me with the knowledge and tools to support a population I know so personally.”<\/p>\n

\"WearableThe device incorporates AI technology<\/p>\n

To refine the patch’s shape and functionality, Chicas and her team conducted a study with 178 farmworkers.<\/p>\n

This followed two smaller pilot studies that tested adhesives capable of staying in place despite heavy sweating.<\/p>\n

“Their input directly inspired us to design a single, comfortable, all-in-one wearable patch that could monitor multiple signals while minimising disruption, keeping workers engaged and empowered to participate in research.”<\/p>\n

Other health products recently featured on Dezeen include a bioplastic electric toothbrush<\/a> and a handheld device designed to provide comfort after pregnancy loss<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is courtesy of Roxana Chicas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientist Roxana Chicas has collaborated with the Georgia Institute of Technology to create a wearable biopatch for outdoor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[3498,18,37812,135,58847,19,17,10357,11385,82,9918],"class_list":{"0":"post-90257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-artificial-intelligence-ai","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-farms","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-health-products","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-sectionall","16":"tag-sectiontechnology","17":"tag-technology","18":"tag-wearable-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}