[Purpose] This study investigated the effects of self-stretching of cervical muscles,
because the accessory inspiratory muscle is considered to improve pulmonary function.
[Subjects] The subjects were 30 healthy university students 19–21 years old who did not
have any lung disease, respiratory dysfunction, cervical injury, or any problems upon
cervical stretching. [Methods] Spirometry was used as a pulmonary function test to measure
the slow vital capacity before and after stretching. The slow vital capacity of the
experimental group was measured before and after cervical self-stretching. Meanwhile, the
slow vital capacity of the control group, which did not perform stretching, was also
measured before and after the intervention. [Results] The expiratory vital capacity,
inspiratory reserve volume, and expiratory reserve volume of the experimental group
increased significantly after the cervical self-stretching. [Conclusion] Self-stretching
of the cervical muscle (i.e., the inspiratory accessory muscle) improves slow vital
capacity.
Compression and tension sensors with a porous structure have attracted attention recently. Porous sponge sensors have the advantage of a wide deformation range owing to their structural characteristics. In this study, a porous sponge structure was prepared by absorbing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) into the matrix of porous commercial sugar cubes. A conductive network was formed by coating the outside of the sponge skeleton with silver nanowires (AgNWs), which have a high aspect ratio. In addition, a liquid metal (LM), which does not directly form an electrical network but changes from zero-dimensional to one-dimensional under an external force was introduced into this porous sponge structure. The effects of the LM on the sensor sensitivity to pressure and strain were analyzed by comparing the electrical resistance changes of PDMS/AgNW and LM/PDMS/AgNW sponge sensors under tension and pressure. This study shows that the use of a porous structure and an LM may be useful for future wearable sensor design.
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