Hydrogen storage in Mg: A most promising material

Life expectancy in most countries has been increasing continually over the several few decades thanks to significant improvements in medicine, public health, as well as personal and environmental hygiene. However, increased life expectancy combined with falling birth rates are expected to engender a large aging demographic in the near future that would impose significant burdens on the socio-economic structure of these countries. Therefore, it is essential to develop cost-effective, easy-to-use systems for the sake of elderly healthcare and well-being. Remote health monitoring, based on non-invasive and wearable sensors, actuators and modern communication and information technologies offers an efficient and cost-effective solution that allows the elderly to continue to live in their comfortable home environment instead of expensive healthcare facilities. These systems will also allow healthcare personnel to monitor important physiological signs of their patients in real time, assess health conditions and provide feedback from distant facilities. In this paper, we have presented and compared several low-cost and non-invasive health and activity monitoring systems that were reported in recent years. A survey on textile-based sensors that can potentially be used in wearable systems is also presented. Finally, compatibility of several communication technologies as well as future perspectives and research challenges in remote monitoring systems will be discussed.

Wearable Sensors for Remote Health Monitoring.

One-dimensional coordination polymers: applications to material science

▪ Abstract Metal-hydrogen (M-H) systems are interesting from both a theoretical and a practical point of view. M-H systems are utilized for energy-storage systems, in sensor applications, and in catalysis. These systems are often exploited as models for studying basic material properties, especially when the size of these systems is small and nonbulk-like contributions become dominant. Surfaces, nanocrystals, vacancy- and dislocation-rich materials, thin films, multilayers, and clusters as systems of major interest are addressed in this review. We show that the hydrogen solubility of M-H systems is strongly affected by the morphology and microstructure of and the stress between regions of different hydrogen concentration. For small-sized systems, surface- or interface-related sites become important and change the overall solubility as well as the phase boundaries of M-H systems. In thin films deposited on stiff substrates, compressive stresses evolve during hydrogen loading because the films are effective...

HYDROGEN IN METALS: Microstructural Aspects

Hydrogen storage alloys are of particular interest as a novel group in functional materials owing to their potential and practical applications in Ni/MH rechargeable batteries. This review is devoted to the specific alloy families developed for high-energy and high-power Ni/MH batteries in the last decades, especially for EV, HEV and PHEV applications. The scope of the work encompasses principles of Ni/MH batteries, electrochemical hydrogen storage thermodynamics and kinetics, prerequisites for hydrogen storage electrode alloys and recent advances in hydrogen storage electrode alloys. Rare earth AB5-type alloys, Ti- and Zr-based AB2-type alloys, Mg-based amorphous/nanocrystalline alloys, rare earth-Mg–Ni-based alloys and Ti–V-based alloys are highlighted. Additionally, the challenges met in developing advanced hydrogen storage alloys for Ni/MH rechargeable batteries are pointed out and some research directions are suggested.

Advanced hydrogen storage alloys for Ni/MH rechargeable batteries

A novel wireless multi sensor bracelet has been developed. The design choices of the bracelet - based on insights obtained with a predecessor sensor bracelet -, as well as the rationale for the choice of sensors, are presented. The hardware and software architecture are described. An example of obtained sensor data is shown. The limited battery life of the performance optimized product software fell short of the one week design target. A power optimization of the software has been made, which meets the battery life design target. It is based on current consumption measurements, and optimized sensor timing. The tradeoffs between high performance - short battery life, and low performance - long battery life are analyzed. The learnings from recent field studies on work-related stress and affective health are discussed.

/pdf/wireless-multi-sensor-bracelet-with-discreet-feedback-p93vlpnm8m.pdf

Wireless multi sensor bracelet with discreet feedback

The measurement of human emotions in a daily life setting is reviewed in this chapter. In detail the hardware aspects of the Philips Research emotion measurement platform are described. The platform contains a wireless skin conductance wristband, a wireless chest strap ECG sensor and a wireless ear clip blood volume pulse sensor, which together with an internet tablet as hub form a personal wireless network. Two examples of applications, which have been evaluated in the form of concepts are presented.

Unobtrusive Emotions Sensing in Daily Life

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a thermoelectric device (10), in particular a thermoelectric generator (10), comprising a flexible foil (1) on which two groups (2, 3) of series-connected strip-shaped parts (2A, 3A) are formed, where the materials chosen for the two groups of parts (2A, 3A) are materials with a different thermoelectric coefficient and said two groups of parts are formed in a pattern (100) such that the connections (4) between one part (2A) of one group (2) and another part (3A) of the other group (3) are alternately positioned in two spaced apart areas (G1, G2) of the foil (1), and after the formation of the parts (2A, 3A) on a substrate (5), the foil (1) is attached to the strip­shaped parts (2A, 3A), after which the substrate (5) is removed. According to the invention, for the substrate (5) use is made of a rigid (=relatively thick) substrate (5), and before the substrate (5) is removed a rigid (= relatively thick) carrier plate (6) is attached to the foil (1) that is removed again from the foil (1) after removal of the rigid substrate (5). In this way, the method is particularly suitable for the use of semiconductor substrates (5) which can be rapidly removed by chemical-mechanical polishing. Preferably, the foil (1) with the device (10) is folded or coiled before use.

Method of manufacturing a thermoelectric device and thermoelectric device obtained by means of such a method

In social sciences such as psychiatry and psychology the use of objective measurement devices, let alone high tech equipment, is still rare. Psychiatric diagnostic processes are still depending heavily onthe observations, experience, and skills of a diagnosing psychiatrist or psychologist, which are sometimes backed up by the uses of (paper-and-pencil) tests. Of course, the rise of neuroimaging techniques such as EEG, CAT, MRI and fMRI have enormously increased the possibilities to objectively study brain anomalies in psychiatric patients, but nevertheless, establishing a psychiatric diagnosis is still mainly based on the (behavioural) criteria described in DSM-IV, whichhave to be observed and assessed by a human diagnostician. Many ofthe major challenges of mental health care, however, are not dealingwith the specific diagnostic categories presented in the DSM-IV, but with the behavioural manifestations and problem behaviours that stem from these psychiatric illnesses. Aggressive and disruptive behaviour, for instance, are the main causes for involuntary psychiatricadmissions, even though aggressive behaviour is not a specific diagnostic category in the DSM-IV. Nevertheless, psychiatric professionals are expected to be able to predict dangerousness and violence risks of individual psychiatric patients, for instance when having tojudge about the necessity of forced pharmacological treatment, involuntary admissions, or the whether it is safe enough to discharge a patient. In other words, they make these assessments about risks of aggressive behavior, without it being an official psychiatric illness in terms of the DSM-IV, and without having access to measurement tools or equipment that can assess a state of physiological hyper arousal, let alone an assessment that can objectively predict imminent aggression.

Can mobile skin conductance assessments be helpful in signalling imminent inpatient aggression

The present invention relates to a device (10) for detecting a circadian phase shift of a user (48). The device comprises: an interface for obtaining a skin conductance signal of the user (48) and sleep cycle information of the user (48); a processing unit (14) for determining an internal clock wake-up time based on the obtained skin conductance signal (20) and an external clock wake-up time based on the obtained sleep cycle information; and an evaluation unit (16) for evaluating a circadian phase shift of the user (48) based on the internal clock wake-up time and the external clock wake-up time. The present invention further relates to a corresponding method as well as to a wearable system (22) for monitoring a circadian phase shift of a user (48).

Martin Ouwerkerk

Papers

Wireless multi sensor bracelet with discreet feedback

Unobtrusive Emotions Sensing in Daily Life

Method of manufacturing a thermoelectric device and thermoelectric device obtained by means of such a method

Can mobile skin conductance assessments be helpful in signalling imminent inpatient aggression

Circadian phase detection system