WPI looks to develop sensors that can detect blood loss in wounded soldiers

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, or WPI, said it is preparing to launch a project that will focus on the early detection of blood loss as a way of saving the lives of soldiers who are wounded in battle.

The three-year project is funded by a $1.9 million grant from the US Army, and the research will be conducted in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, WPI said.

Part of the project will be devoted to developing miniaturized wireless sensors that soldiers wear into battle. The sensors are being designed to measure such things as blood loss by shining infrared and visible light through the skin, WPI said.

The team will also be looking at creating algorithms that can relay the sensor data to smartphones that Army medics can use as hand-held diagnostic tools, WPI said.

The project will be led by Ki Chon, professor and head of WPI’s biomedical engineering department, and Yitzhak Mendelson, associate professor of biomedical engineering, WPI said.