The sensor technology for water quality monitoring (WQM) has improved during recent years. The cost-effective sensorised tools that can autonomously measure the essential physical-chemical-biological (PCB) variables are now readily available and are being deployed on buoys, boats, and ships. Yet, there is a disconnect between the data quality, data gathering, and data analysis due to the lack of standardized approaches for data collection and processing, spatiotemporal variation of key parameters in water bodies and new contaminants. Such gaps can be bridged with a network of multiparametric sensor systems deployed in water bodies using autonomous vehicles, such as marine robots and aerial vehicles to broaden the data coverage in space and time. Furthermore, intelligent algorithms [e.g., artificial intelligence (AI)] could be employed for standardized data analysis and forecasting. This article presents a comprehensive review of the sensors, deployment, and analysis technologies for WQM. A network of networked water bodies could enhance the global data intercomparability and enable WQM at a global scale to address global challenges related to food (e.g., aqua/agriculture), drinking water, and health (e.g., water-borne diseases).

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a group of heart and vasculature conditions which are the leading form of mortality worldwide. Blood vessels can become narrowed, restricting blood flow, and drive the majority of hearts attacks and strokes. Reactive surgical interventions are frequently required; including percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Despite successful opening of vessels and restoration of blood flow, often in-stent restenosis (ISR) and graft failure can still occur, resulting in subsequent patient morbidity and mortality. A new generation of cardiovascular implants that have sensors and real-time monitoring capabilities are being developed to combat ISR and graft failure. Self-reporting stent/graft technology could enable precision medicine-based and predictive healthcare by detecting the earliest features of disease, even before symptoms occur. Bringing an implantable medical device with wireless electronic sensing capabilities to market is complex and often obstructive undertaking. This critical review analyses the obstacles that need to be overcome for self-reporting stents/grafts to be developed and provide a precision-medicine based healthcare for cardiovascular patients. Here we assess the latest research and technological advancement in the field, the current devices; including smart cardiovascular implantable biosensors and associated wireless data and power transfer solutions. We include an evaluation of devices that have reached clinical trials and the market potential for their end-user implementation.

We propose a battery-free temperature monitoring device that can be fitted inside the ear for an accurate core-body temperature (CBT) measurement of a subject. The system can record instantaneous changes in the localized body temperature of authenticated users. The proposed application consists of 2 primary systems: (i) a battery-free temperature sensing Ultra High Frequency Radio Frequency Identification (UHF RFID) sensory tag and (ii), an auxiliary energy harvesting system, which enhances the sensing devices measurement accuracy and precision. The assembly demonstrated a temperature average accuracy of 0.14 C operating at 866 MHz. The system performance demonstrated high stability and repeatability of reported temperature measurements. The devices dimension is a form factor that can easily fit in a front shirt pocket, with a wire tethered earbud temperature sensor. The system is developed to make sensor measurements without requiring a battery for the device. Measurements are made remotely as users pass by checkpoints installed throughout a building. The device is a cost-effective solution for monitoring body temperature in work environments.

Insects use the sun’s position (even when concealed) as a compass for navigation by filtering celestial light intensity and polarisation through their compound eyes. To replicate this functionality, we present a sensor that imitates essential aspects of insect eyes, particularly the fan-like arrangement of polarised light receptors in their dorsal rim area. Our sensor comprises a ring of eight pairs of photodiodes (evaluating two orthogonal orientations of polarised light) to analyse the skylight coming from different directions. Because the layout of our sensor aligns with the polarised light pattern in the sky, a circular-mean model that integrates information spatially across the analysers can estimate the solar azimuth. When using the same sensor design, our model achieves lower compass errors than alternative (and computationally more complex) algorithms, especially under cloudy and occluded skies. Thus, the morphology and processing of the insect celestial compass provide an efficient and robust directional input for navigation.

Over the past decade, there has been exponential growth in the per capita rate of medical patients around the world, and this is significantly straining the resources of healthcare institutes. Therefore, the reliance on smart commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) implantable wireless medical devices (IWMDs) is increasing among healthcare institutions to provide routine medical services, such as monitoring patients’ physiological signals and the remote delivery of therapeutic drugs. These smart COTS IWMDs reduce the necessity of recurring visits of patients to healthcare institutions and also mitigate physical contact, which can minimize the possibility of any potential spread of contagious diseases. Furthermore, the devices provide patients with the benefit of recuperating in familiar surroundings. As such, low-cost, ubiquitous COTS IWMDs have engendered the proliferation of telemedicine in healthcare to provide routine medical services. In this paper, a review work on COTS IWMDs is presented at a macro level to discuss the history of IWMDs, different networked COTS IWMDs, health and safety regulations of COTS IWMDs and the importance of organized procurement. Furthermore, we discuss the basic building blocks of IWMDs and how COTS components can contribute to build these blocks over widely researched custom-built application-specific integrated circuits.

A hybrid charge pump was developed in a 0.13- μm Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) process which utilised high drain-source voltage MOS devices and low-voltage integrated metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors. The design consisted of a zero-reversion loss cross-coupled stage and a new self-biased serial-parallel charge pump design. The latter has been shown to have an area reduction of 60% in comparison to a Schottky diode-based Dickson charge pump operating at the same frequency. Post-layout simulations were carried out which demonstrated a peak efficiency of 38% at the output voltage of 18.5 V; the maximum specified output voltage of 27 V was also achieved. A standalone serial-parallel charge pump was shown to have a better transient response and a flatter efficiency curve; these are preferable for time-sensitive applications with a requirement of a broader range of output currents. These findings have significant implications for reducing the total area of implantable high-voltage devices without sacrificing charge pump efficiency or maximum output voltage.