Flexible Wearable Sensors in Medical Monitoring

Abstract

The popularity of health concepts and the wave of digitalization have driven the innovation of sensors in the medical field. Such continual development has made sensors progress in the direction of safety, flexibility, and intelligence for continuous monitoring of vital signs, which holds considerable promise for changing the way humans live and even treat diseases. To this end, flexible wearable devices with high performance, such as high sensitivity, high stability, and excellent biodegradability, have attracted strong interest from scientists. Herein, a review of flexible wearable sensors for temperature, heart rate, human motion, respiratory rate, glucose, and pH is highlighted. In addition, engineering issues are also presented, focusing on material selection, sensor fabrication, and power supply. Finally, potential challenges facing current technology and future directions of wearable sensors are also discussed.

Wearable, high-resolution sensors for noninvasive monitoring of physiologic variables

“…Noninvasive, continuous, real-time monitoring of physiologic variables is important for diagnostics and management of diseases, health monitoring, exercise science, and sports medicine. To provide continuous, long-term monitoring of physiologic variables, it is necessary to use wearable sensors [1][2][3][4][5]. Multiple noninvasive techniques were proposed for monitoring with wearable sensors, however they often have limitations associated with insufficient accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity [3][4][5].…”

“…To provide continuous, long-term monitoring of physiologic variables, it is necessary to use wearable sensors [1][2][3][4][5]. Multiple noninvasive techniques were proposed for monitoring with wearable sensors, however they often have limitations associated with insufficient accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity [3][4][5].…”

Highly-performance nonwoven pressure sensors with enhanced breathability and durability for human health monitoring

“…In recent decades, the era of intelligence has led to an improvement in quality of life for a majority of people due to the rapid development of science and technology [1]. Over the past decade, smart wearable devices have become indispensable tools in a wide range of fields, including medical monitoring, human-computer interaction, motion detection, and electronic skin applications [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Electronic skin applications have tremendous potential to benefit from pressure sensors, which are essential components of flexible sensors capable of converting physiological signals associated with human movement into electrical signals.…”

Multifunction E-Skin Based on MXene–PA–Hydrogel for Human Behavior Monitoring

“…Mechanically robust, highly adaptive, and wearable soft electronic devices are in high demand for emerging technologies such as human–machine interfaces, , soft robotics, , and personal healthcare. , Flexible sensors, capable of conforming to objects such as human joints or robot bodies for somatosensory perception or intelligent manufacture, are most suitable for these applications. In this context, hydrogels, the cross-linked polymer networks infiltrated with water, have emerged as ideal materials for fabricating flexible sensors. , As a stretchable and biocompatible material, a hydrogel can not only be fitted well within the human body but also be modified conveniently to meet the practical application requirements .…”