Epidermal Bioelectronics for Management of Chronic Diseases: Materials, Devices and Systems

Abstract

Chronic diseases are currently posing a major challenge not only to our life expectancy and healthspan but also to the healthcare system, as patients will need continual monitoring, treatment, and care to mitigate some of the severe health complications that may arise. Merely frequent visits to medical facilities and clinics may not be sufficient. Home‐based point‐of‐care diagnosis and monitoring may be needed for the prevention and/or management of long‐term complications. Recent advances in materials, fabrication methods, and bioelectronics have led to some epidermal systems that can measure critical physiological parameters and provide long‐term monitoring of several chronic diseases. In this review, it is systematically outlined the progress of epidermal bioelectronics aimed at managing common chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic wounds. Flexible and stretchable materials with related engineering approaches that render wearability are also discussed. Finally, a list of current challenges, future perspectives as well as potential research directions with the aim towards better translation in bringing these wearable technologies from the laboratory to the clinic and market are presented.

Porous Conductive Textiles for Wearable Electronics

“…Therefore, there is a growing demand for portable and wearable devices that individuals can use to monitor the biological indicators themselves, particularly for chronic diseases such as diabetes that require frequent glucose concentration measurement. 824 Although some portable glucose sensors are available, they still rely on the invasive process of extracting blood from the fingers, which carries the risk of infection. Thus, there is a need for noninvasive alternatives that can provide accurate and reliable measurements of biomolecules in biofluids.…”

“…Detecting the concentration of specific biomolecules in blood is the common diagnostic method for diseases, yet it is labor-intensive and has limited effectiveness. Therefore, there is a growing demand for portable and wearable devices that individuals can use to monitor the biological indicators themselves, particularly for chronic diseases such as diabetes that require frequent glucose concentration measurement . Although some portable glucose sensors are available, they still rely on the invasive process of extracting blood from the fingers, which carries the risk of infection.…”

Dermal-fluid-enabled detection platforms for non-invasive ambulatory monitoring

“…7 Moreover, regular visits to clinics and hospitals are impractical and inadequate for the early detection of chronic diseases given their nature and severity, which, if mistreated, can result in fatal complications. 8 Therefore, ambulatory care based on continuous monitoring and diagnostic systems is essential for disease management.…”