Smart UV Sensors: A world first to alert users to over-exposure
Researchers at Macquarie University's Nanotechnology Laboratory have made a tiny wearable device that could help millions avoid skin cancer.
A chance conversation on the flight that brought her to study in Australia ultimately led Dr Noushin Nasiri to design a tiny wearable device that measures someone’s sun exposure and alerts them when they’ve exceeded the limit for their skin type.
Nasiri’s wearable 'sun safety sensor' prototype, the first of its kind, is about the size of her fingernail. The real-time sensor detects a user’s exact location, determining whether they are indoors or outdoors, in shade or sunlight, and how much ultra-violet radiation their skin has absorbed over 24 hours.
“Then, if you've gone over the safe limit, the device uses Bluetooth to communicate with an app on your smartphone to send you a text saying you’ve had enough exposure and you should get out of the sun or cover up,” says Nasiri, Head of Macquarie University’s NanoTech Laboratory.
Already smartwatches report the UV index from your GPS location, but it's not personalised. “Knowing your skin type, our sensor can calculate how much cumulative UV you can tolerate and then when you’re at risk, it will alert you immediately,” Nasiri says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQOkCmqyi_A&ab_channel=MacquarieUniversity