A Flexible Pressure Sensor with Ink Printed Porous Graphene for Continuous Cardiovascular Status Monitoring

Abstract

Flexible electronics with continuous monitoring ability a extensively preferred in various medical applications. In this work, a flexible pressure sensor based on porous graphene (PG) is proposed for continuous cardiovascular status monitoring. The whole sensor is fabricated in situ by ink printing technology, which grants it the potential for large-scale manufacture. Moreover, to enhance its long-term usage ability, a polyethylene terephthalate/polyethylene vinylacetate (PET/EVA)-laminated film is employed to protect the sensor from unexpected shear forces on the skin surface. The sensor exhibits great sensitivity (53.99/MPa), high resolution (less than 0.3 kPa), wide detecting range (0.3 kPa to 1 MPa), desirable robustness, and excellent repeatability (1000 cycles). With the assistance of the proposed pressure sensor, vital cardiovascular conditions can be accurately monitored, including heart rate, respiration rate, pulse wave velocity, and blood pressure. Compared to other sensors based on self-supporting 2D materials, this sensor can endure more complex environments and has enormous application potential for the medical community.

Scalably Nanomanufactured Atomically Thin Materials‐Based Wearable Health Sensors

“…At the level of materials, the intrinsic superior mechanical properties of 2D materials, such as robustness, flexibility, and lightweight, facilitate the realization of wearable sensors in numerous applications. [ 36,38,43,578,633,644,939,46,47,940 ] The physical and electrical properties of 2D materials could be tuned through external stimuli such as strain, [ 150 ] electrical field, [ 97 ] light, [ 941 ] temperature, [ 942 ] and so on 2D materials’ properties could be further engineered to achieve enhanced sensor performance by controlling and harnessing the defects on the surfaces [ 99,125 ] or in the materials. [ 303,943 ] The extremely high surface area‐to‐volume ratios and the atomic thickness of 2D materials can further enable high sensitivities in the formed sensors.…”

“…[ 580–583 ] Heart rate and pulse can provide valuable information for cardiovascular diseases. [ 43,584–586 ] Human muscle movement can provide information on potential lesions or injuries of the human musculoskeletal system because muscle movement is accomplished through a complex and highly coordinated mechanical interaction between bones, muscles, ligaments, and joints within the musculoskeletal system. [ 283,587–589 ] The unique mechanical and electrical properties of 2D materials such as ultra‐low bending rigidity and tunable bandgap make them ideal candidates for wearable mechanical sensors.…”

“…), and broad tunability of the associated sensing behaviors, which are inaccessible to bulk or thin‐film materials, for high‐performance sensor applications. [ 35–39 ] Such intriguing physical characteristics would enable the precise, noninvasive monitoring of the vital physiological signs (e.g., body temperature, [ 40 ] pulse rate, [ 41 ] respiration rate, [ 42 ] and blood pressure [ 43 ] ) from the human body. Meanwhile, the rich chemistry (e.g., coordination bonds, [ 44 ] catalytic property, [ 45 ] etc.)…”

Weaving a magnificent world: 1D fibrous electrodes and devices for stretchable and wearable electronics

“…Recycling carbon nanotubes remains a major challenge due to the complicated modification process of CNTs, difficulty in removing impurities and catalysts, forcing researchers to focus on metal nanomaterials. 44…”

Recent Advances in Immunosafety and Nanoinformatics of Two-Dimensional Materials Applied to Nano-imaging

“…Sensing has covered both environmental and health sectors, contributing to the detection and monitoring of traces of pollutants (66,67) and blood biomarkers (68)(69)(70)(71). The thin structure, large surface area, chemical modifications and quenching ability of 2D materials provide high sensitivity, durability, stability, selectivity, and conductivity for sensors and biosensors (72)(73)(74)(75)(76)(77)(78)(79)(80)(81)(82).…”