Sttr phase I: a new class of injection molded biosymbiotic devices for long-term, multimodal physiological monitoring

The National Science Foundation awarded $304,950 to Senphonix, Inc. on October 1, 2026, under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to develop injection-molded biosymbiotic devices for long-term, multimodal physiological monitoring as a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project.

The work centers on designing and demonstrating a lightweight mesh wearable sleeve with embedded microsensors, coupled with wireless charging electronics, remote radio communications, and a software-as-a-service system for data analysis and EHR integration. The sleeve uses human factors engineering to achieve user comfort and long-term wearability without adhesives or straps. The embedded sensors measure heart rate, respiration, temperature, and motion. The project aims to deliver clinical-grade wearables suitable for continuous monitoring, addressing current limitations of adhesive-based clinical wearables and consumer watch or ring form factors that cannot collect clinical-grade data from ideal physiological locations.

The anticipated commercial impact includes automating vital sign measurement and documentation to free nursing time currently spent on manual vital sign collection, reduce hospital labor costs, and address nursing shortages and burnout.

Performance occurs at Vadnais Heights, Minnesota. The period of performance runs from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027.

Abstract

The broader impact of this small business technology transfer (STTR) phase I project is to improve patient health outcomes through earlier detection of anomalies and to improve the efficiency of health care by helping nurses take and document vital signs automatically. The commercial impact is vast, since nurses can spend up to 20% (and in some cases more) of their time measuring vital signs manually. Helping to automate these processes can save hundreds of millions of dollars for hospital systems, in addition to directly addressing nursing shortages and nurse burnout. Current clinical grade medical wearables use adhesives and straps and are not suitable for long-term wear due to discomfort and a lack of patient convenience overall. Consumer-oriented watch and ring form factors are not useful for collecting clinical grade data, primarily because hands and wrists are not the ideal location to collect such data. This project will result in demonstration of adhesive-free, non-bulky, comfortable, clinical grade wearables that will lead to a large business enterprise serving multiple clinical segments. This small business technology transfer (STTR) phase I project utilizes a lightweight mesh wearable sleeve with embedded microsensors, coupled with advanced electronics for wireless charging and data capture. The sleeve is coupled with a wireless charging station, remote radio communications for long range data collection, and a software-as-a-service system for data analysis and communication with electronic health records (EHR) systems. The wearable is a highly engineered polymeric sleeve designed for user comfort and long-term wearability using human factors engineering methodologies. The sleeve contains micro antennae and sensors capable of measuring heart rate, respiration, temperature, and motion; and IT can communicate remotely to a single radio receiver that would serve an entire hospital floor, or a mobile APP on the patient?S smartphone, both of which communicate to a hipaa-compliant cloud for secure storage and transmission to the EHR. The combination of multiple materials, biomedical and electrical engineering, software, and artificial intelligence technologies results in a significant advancement of patient monitoring capability. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.