About the Project
Access to healthcare is an ever-increasing global issue. Over 15% of current global population require rehabilitation care, but majority of them do not receive healthcare access.
Remote monitoring of human movements and physiological parameters is critical for future healthcare, since this can enable pivotal solutions like telerehabilitation and telemedicine that can significantly increase healthcare access. Further, such technologies can facilitate remote training and performance enhancement for athletes.
Developing accurate, low-cost, comfortable technologies for monitoring of body movements and physiological parameters is extremely challenging. Existing technologies are often bulky, expensive, need recharging, contain limited range and uncomfortable to wear.
The SuS-Tex Research Cluster will develop pioneering wearable technologies for accurate, unobtrusive, comfortable, self-powered and low-cost monitoring of body movements and physiological parameters. This brings together world-class expertise in textiles, materials, soft robotics, sports, healthcare, machine learning and AI, with globally leading industrial and academic partners.
Your Project
Super-smart textiles contain the unique capability of acting as self-powered sensors and energy harvesters. Managing the energy that they produce is critical for their autonomous operation, but such strategies need to contain flexibility and wearability compatible with textiles. This project develops optimum power management, storage and wireless communication techniques for super-smart textiles.
Your Group
This project is part of the prestigious Loughborough University Vice Chancellor’s PhD Cluster – Super-Smart Textiles (SuS-Tex) for Healthcare and Sports. The Doctoral Researcher will join a cohort of 5 Researchers belonging to the SuS-Tex cluster working on highly transdisciplinary topics in this area, and the wider wearable technologies research community at Loughborough University and beyond. The successful candidates will benefit from the world-class expertise and supervision, customised training programs, networking, outreach and career development opportunities, in addition to the standard training and development opportunities of the university.
Loughborough University has been ranked number one in the world for sport-related subjects for six consecutive years. Your primary supervisor is based in Wolfson school, which is one of the largest engineering schools in the UK, ranked in top 100 Universities in the world for Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering, and among top 10 in the UK for Mechanical Engineering.
You will benefit from newly established state-of-the-art Smart Textiles lab facilities and work alongside a team of senior academics and doctoral researchers. Through our Doctoral College, postgraduate courses, group activities, and continuing professional development programmes, there are continual opportunities for building important research skills and networks among your peers and research academics.
We strongly encourage applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures, genders or from people with a disability.
Applicants are also encouraged to contact the primary supervisor – Ishara Dharmasena to discuss about the project or if you have any questions.