Manitoba researcher using chewing gum as glue for new sensor technology

If you've ever had a piece of gum stuck between your fingers, you know how far it can stretch without breaking.

That elasticity could help it become an important medical tool.

University of Manitoba researcher Dr. Malcolm Xing is working on a wearable medical device, or medical biosensor, made out of gum.

Xing told CTV News that current biomedical sensors are typically made of metal, which can break if twisted too much. Not to mention, the metallic sensors are expensive.

"So that's why we use chewing gum," said Xing. "Safe to use, cheap and super elasticity."

The gum alone can’t determine a heart rate. That job is done by what Xing puts inside the sticky material:  carbon nanotubes.

The carbon nanotubes conduct electricity like a copper wire; however, they're thousands of times smaller than a human hair.

Xing and his team spread them through the gum, and apply them on the skin.

"It was promising once I could measure the heart rate with it," said research assistant, Muhammad Ali Darabi. "Until that time, I wasn't sure."

Xingis in the process of patenting his technology, andlooking for industry partners to invest in it.

The hope is that, a few years from now, gum will be as popular in hospitals as it is on the playground.