Page 97 - Innovation Delaware 2021

EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE
MCET Technologies: Keeping Track of Surgery Patients’ Recovery
Tiny sensors bonded onto textiles might help monitor the recovery of patients after joint replacement surgeries.
That’s the initial focus of MCET Technologies,
co-founded in 2019 by SAGAR DOSHI, a research assistant in the multifunctional and nanocomposites group at the University of Delaware (UD) Center for Composite Materials, and
ERIK THOSTENSON, an associate professor at UD.
MCET stands for Multifunctional Composites and Engineered Textiles. The startup’s patented technology is based on carbon nanotubes, which are measured in nanometers. A human hair is 40,000 to 80,000 nanometers wide.
Patients need to be monitored as they regain their ability to move, but current systems are bulky and heavy, Thostenson says. MCET Technologies’ smart textiles are the opposite: their carbon nanotube composite coatings are very thin and weigh less than a gram. Since they’re flexible, they don’t affect the texture of the textile; since they’re on the outside, they don’t affect how the textile feels. Manufacturing the coatings is inexpensive and relatively eco-friendly, according to the UD College of Engineering, since it can be done at room temperature with water as a solvent.
The coatings are breathable and soft, Doshi says, and the company has started testing their washability.
Doshi and Thostenson have tested sensors on a compression sleeve and on an insole. Data from insole sensors could help assess imbalances after injury. The sensors’ tiny size helps users forget they’re wearing them, meaning their behavior won’t be affected by the sensors’ presence.
“When the material is squeezed, large electrical changes in the fabric are easily measured,” Thostenson says. “As a sensor, it’s extremely sensitive to forces ranging from a touch to detecting tons of pressure.” The sensors’ data can be output by Bluetooth or SD card, perfect for telehealth sessions to review physical therapy.
MCET Technologies is also looking at applications for its
sensors in other industries, like mining and power utilities, and civil engineering. “We’re exploring the structural health of infrastructure, like bridges,” Thostenson says.
Health care is an attractive market because it represents almost 18% of the American economy. Joint replacements are even more attractive because they’re skyrocketing to accommodate people who are living longer and increasingly suffering from obesity.
As part of its pandemic restrictions, UD has put a hold on human testing, but early feedback has enabled the startup to identify “our potential first customers willing to pay for the first few systems manufactured, trial on their patients and work with us to iron out wrinkles,” Thostenson says.
MCET Technologies builds on more than 20 years of research by Thostenson, and the work made up two chapters
of Doshi’s doctoral dissertation. It leverages over $3 million in federal research funding, plus industrial grants and collaboration awarded to Thostenson’s research group. The company expects to make money on royalties paid by manufacturers.
—Ken Mammarella
SAGAR DOSHI AND ERIK THOSTENSON
INNOVATION BY THE NUMBERS
5,625
Number of establishments in Delaware in the education and health care sector
113,675
Number of jobs in Delaware in the education and health care sector
2
Delaware’s ranking for hospital quality among all U.S. states
120,000
Number of square feet covered by the Tower at STAR Campus, where the University of Delaware is training the next generation of health care professionals
Sources: Delaware Prosperity Partnership, U.S. News & World Report, University of Delaware
INNOVATION DELAWARE 95