MIT engineer develops color-changing fiber optic sensor

Compression bandages are commonly used to apply pressure to a patient's limb to improve blood flow and reduce swelling of the patient's limb. According to different conditions need to apply different sizes of pressure, but there is no reliable method can be used to measure the pressure required to apply pressure during treatment. Recently, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed a biomimetic optomechanical fiber that can change color based on pressure and strain and that can be used as a pressure sensor in compression bandages.

The color of photoelectron bionic fibers developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology depends on how light is emitted in its internal, periodic structure. By changing the shape of the fiber, such as stretching it, the color of the fiber can be adjusted in a predictable manner. The research team believes that its development of stretchable optomechanical fibers will become standard compression bandages in the future, which will allow medical service providers to more easily provide the best pressure for the patient's specific situation.