Page 28 - Healthcare News Jan/Feb 2023

New Material Solves Problem of Wearable Sensors
AMHERST — A team of research-
ers, led by Trisha Andrew, professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at UMass Amherst, recently announced that they have synthesized a new material that solves one of the most difficult problems in the quest to create wearable, unob- trusive sensitive sensors: the problem of pressure.
“Imagine comfortable clothing that would monitor your body’s movements and vital signs continuously, over long periods of time,” Andrew said. “Such clothing would give clinicians fine-grained details for remote detection of disease or physiological issues.”
One way to get this information is with
tiny electromechanical sensors that turn the body’s movements — such as the
faint pulse felt by placing a hand on one’s chest — into electrical signals. But what happens when someone receives a hug or takes a nap lying on their stomach? “That increased pressure overwhelms the sensor, interrupting the flow of data, and so the sensor becomes useless for monitoring natural phenomena,” Andrew noted.
To solve this problem, the team devel- oped a sensor that keeps working even when hugged, sat upon, leaned on, or oth- erwise squished by everyday interactions. The secret, which was detailed in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies, lies in vapor-printing clothing fabrics with
piezoionic materials. With this method, even the smallest body movement, such as a heartbeat, leads to the redistribution of ions throughout the sensor. In other words, the fabric turns the mechanical motion of the body into an electrical sig- nal, which can then be monitored.
Zohreh Homayounfar, lead author of the study and a graduate student at UMass Amherst, noted that “this is the first fabric-based sensor allowing for real-time monitoring of sensitive target popula- tions, from workers laboring in stressful industrial settings to kids and rehabilita- tion patients.”
Of particular advantage is that this all-fabric sensor can be worn in comfort-
able, loose-fitting clothing rather than embedded in tight-fitting fabrics or stuck directly onto the skin. This makes it far easier for the sensors to gather long-term data, such as heartbeats, respiration, joint movement, vocalization, step counts, and grip strength — a crucial health indicator that can help clinicians track everything from bone density to depression.
Andrew and her group will next use
an array of the pressure sensors under additional scenarios to determine what other types of physiological signals can be extracted, and to what accuracy.
Quabbin Health District Selected for IMPACT in Public Health Program
WARE — The Quabbin Health District has been selected for the inaugural cohort of a new program from the de Beaumont Foundation, called Innovative, Multi-sec- tor Partnerships for Community Trans- formation (IMPACT) in Public Health. IMPACT in Public Health aims to catalyze and support partnerships between govern- mental public-health departments and the private sector, with the goal of strengthen- ing the economic prosperity of communi- ties by advancing public health and equity in identified areas of shared interest.
Five partnership teams in communities across the U.S. will receive funding and technical assistance to establish, develop,
and begin to implement programs that address upstream contributors to local health outcomes over a 15- month period. The Quabbin Health District will be work- ing with Quabbin Wire & Cable Co. Inc, Quaboag Valley Community Develop- ment Corp.; and Quaboag Hills Substance Use Alliance to embark on this grant opportunity with de Beaumont Founda- tion to advance community health in the Belchertown, Pelham, and Ware com- munities, aiming to engage and empower the Quabbin Health District and local businesses to address health and social disparities that can lead to decreased economy.
The grant would allow recruiting of more businesses to participate in strate- gies to reduce unemployment in the com- munities and to connect those who live and work in Ware and Belchertown to lo- cal resources available in order to address health and social disparities and reduce barriers affecting employment.
“Our local businesses contribute im- measurably to the prosperity of the region by providing good jobs, training and development, and important benefits to support individual and family well-being,” said Stacy Gilmour, vice president of Hu- man Resources and Corporate Services for Quabbin Wire & Cable. “The health
of businesses is closely tied to the health of the community, so it is vital to focus on this relationship. The grant will help strengthen these connections and lay the groundwork for health equity and com- munity development.”
Andrea Crete, Quabbin Health Dis- trict’s Public Health director, added that “the district is excited to partner with local businesses and industry to improve the quality of life for those who live and work in the communities.”
To learn more about the project and follow developments from IMPACT in Public Health, visit www.debeaumont.org/ impact-public-health.
BHN Named One of Top Places to Work in Massachusetts
SPRINGFIELD — Behavioral Health Network Inc. (BHN) was named one of the Boston Globe’s “2022 Top Places to Work in Massachusetts.” BHN ranks 24th on the list of 150 companies in Massachu- setts that made the list, and is one of only two companies based in Western Mass.
The recognition is based on anonymous employee surveys about leadership, ap- preciation, benefits, and more, adminis- tered by Energage, the Exton, Pa.-based
employee research and consulting firm. Overall, more than 94,000 employees at 381 companies completed surveys.
BHN employs more than 2,600 em- ployees across Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, Berkshire, and Suffolk counties. The organization serves 45,000 individuals annually with life challenges due to mental illness, substance-use disorders, and intel- lectual and developmental disabilities.
According to Steve Winn, president and
CEO of BHN, “our highest priorities are providing high-quality care and support- ing our staff. To learn that our employees feel valued, respected, and appreciated enough to earn BHN a designation as a Top Place to Work is incredible feedback for us, and will only motivate us to work harder on behalf of our staff.”
BHN offers comprehensive benefits for its employees and is committed to diversi- ty and inclusion in the workplace, seeking
to eliminate social and economic inequi- ties. In 2022, BHN launched the Katherine B. Wilson Staff Excellence Fund, which supports the career development of its workforce by providing funds for license- preparation courses and fees, forgivable loans for tuition costs, community-college courses and certificate programs, and online and live trainings.
Berkshire County Arc Grant to Support Individuals with Brain Injury
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire County
Arc was awarded more than $650,000 in funding to help pay for a house in Russell to support individuals with brain injuries. The house was built to help alleviate the lengthy list of individuals with brain inju-
ries waiting to move out of nursing homes and into residential programs.
The funding comes from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, the Com- monwealth’s Department of Housing and Community Development, and the
Community Economic Development Assistance Corp. Berkshire County Arc also secured a mortgage of $250,000 from Pittsfield Cooperative Bank to pay the remainder of the mortgage.
Berkshire County Arc runs 43 residen-
tial programs — homes — in Western Mass. supporting individuals with brain injuries and development disabilities, along with numerous other programs, em- ploying 800 people and supporting more than 1,000 individuals with disabilities.
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