Bioinspired Stretchable Transducer for Wearable Continuous Monitoring of Respiratory Patterns in Humans and Animals

Abstract

We report a bio-inspired continuous wearable respiration sensor modeled after the lateral line system of fish which is used for detecting mechanical disturbances in the water. Despite the clinical importance of monitoring respiratory activity in humans and animals, continuous measurements of breathing patterns and rates are rarely performed in or outside of clinics. This is largely because conventional sensors are too inconvenient or expensive for wearable sensing for most individuals and animals. The bio-inspired air-silicone composite transducer is placed on the chest and measures respiratory activity by continuously measuring the force applied to an air channel embedded inside a silicone-based elastomeric material. The force applied on the surface of the transducer during breathing changes the air pressure inside the channel, which is measured using a commercial pressure sensor and mixed-signal wireless electronics. We extensively characterized the transducer produced in this work and tested it with humans, dogs, and laboratory rats. The bio-inspired air-silicone composite transducer may enable the early detection of a range of disorders that result in altered patterns of respiration. The technology reported can also be combined with artificial intelligence and cloud computing to algorithmically detect illness in humans and animals remotely, reducing unnecessary visits to clinics.

Non‐Invasive Flexible Electro‐Mechanical Sensors for Human Respiratory Monitoring and Chronic Disease Management

“…Normally, the time required for a normal human breath is 3-5 s, so the response and recovery time of the sensor must be less than this interval. [120] Generally, the inherent viscoelasticity of the polymer matrix and the mismatch in the interaction between the conductive material and the substrate leads to inevitable hysteresis and slower response times in almost all composite-based sensors. [121] To reduce the adhesion between the filler and the matrix, we can choose materials with low viscoelasticity.…”

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“…That is why we set out to computationally assess dog personality in everyday settings (compared to highly specialized facilities or laboratory settings) with wearables. In the wearable sensing literature, studies used devices for monitoring dog activity [11,13,54,54,96], detecting pruritic behaviors (i.e., scratching, head shaking) [34], and tracking breathing patterns [19]. This stream of research recently inspired the fast-growing market of pet wearables [100] with a number of consumer-grade platforms readily available such as FitBark 1 (location, activity, and sleep tracking), PetPace 2 (vital signs and behavior tracking), and PitPat 3 (activity tracking with gamified social elements).…”

A Stretchable Filament Sensor with Tunable Sensitivity for Wearable Robotics and Healthcare Applications

“…[11,12] This is due to the fact that hydraulic fluids are far more reactive to load variations than pneumatic ones [11,12b,13] ref. [14] with a response rate at least 50 times faster, [15] offering a major advantage. Other sensing methods include the use of liquid metal filled in a soft silicone tube to monitor strain via the change of resistance ref.…”