VIDEO: Stretchable, wearable sensors made with chewing gum

US scientists create flexible sensors with gum and carbon nanotubes

Scientists have body sensors that are made from gum and carbon nanotubes so they can move with the most bendable parts of a patients body and track their breathing.

Most conventional sensors today are very sensitive and detect the slightest movement, but many are made out of metal. That means when they're twisted or pulled too much, they stop working. But for sensors to monitor the full range of a body's bending and stretching, they need a lot more flexibility.

To meet that need, researchers have tried developing sensors using stretchy plastics and silicones. But what they gained in flexibility, they lost in sensitivity. Malcolm Xing and colleagues from the American Chemical Society found they could solve this issue by creating a 'supple sensor' using chewing gum.

To make their supple sensor, a team member chewed a typical piece of gum for 30 minutes, washed it with ethanol and let it sit overnight. The researchers then added a solution of carbon nanotubes, the sensing material. Simple pulling and folding coaxed the tubes to align properly.

Human finger-bending and head-turning tests showed the material could keep working with high sensitivity even when strained 530%. The sensor also could detect humidity changes, a feature that could be used to track breathing, which releases water vapour with every exhale.