Rogers awarded top honor for clinical research excellence

SQI faculty member John Rogers has received the Herbert Pardes Clinical Research Excellence Award for developing an innovative wireless monitoring technology for newborns. The award is the most prestigious annual honor given by the Clinical Research Forum and recognizes the study “that best shows a high degree of innovation and creativity, advances science, and has an impact upon human disease.”

The winning study was published in the journal Science in March 2019 and describes a wireless monitoring system consisting of two flexible, skin-like sensors — one on the chest and one wrapped around a foot — that can provide full vital signs information with clinical-grade precision. The low-cost devices have now been deployed in hospitals in Ghana, India, Kenya and Zambia.

The soft sensors are particularly useful for premature babies given the fragility of their skin, and the wireless nature of the technology enables more skin-to-skin contact with parents, which promotes emotional bonding and has been shown to stabilize vital signs and reduce morbidity.

Read the full press release from the Clinical Research Forum and click below to watch the association’s video about the project.