Researchers have developed realistic skin-mimicking models that could help improve the accuracy of optical medical devices and wearable sensors across a wider range of skin tones. The multilayer silicone phantoms incorporate artificial blood vessels and simulated blood flow, enabling controlled testing of technologies such as pulse oximeters. The team found that coffee more closely replicated the optical properties of skin pigmentation than commercial skin-tone pigments, producing reflectance spectra of multi-layered phantoms that better matched human skin. Imaging experiments showed that darker pigmented layers increasingly masked signals from underlying blood vessels, reflecting a known challenge for light-based health measurements. The durable phantoms may provide a valuable tool for reducing skin-tone-related bias in the development and evaluation of optical healthcare technologies.

PaveX, a Purdue University-related startup that uses advanced AI to automate road condition assessments and help public works departments maintain infrastructure, has received a $305,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop its technology.

Mohammad Jahanshahi, CEO and founder, said the broad impact of the 18-month project is to develop the company’s patent-pending, low-cost, vehicle-mounted sensing approach that can be deployed widely to state, national and international infrastructure agencies.