Compressible and Stretchable Magnetoelectric Sensors Based on Liquid Metals for Highly Sensitive, Self-Powered Respiratory Monitoring.

Abstract

Healthcare monitoring, especially for respiration, has attracted tremendous attention from academics considering the great significance of health information feedback. The respiratory rate, as a critical health indicator, has been used to screen and evaluate potential illness risks in early medical diagnoses. A self-powered sensing system for medical monitoring is critical and imperative due to needless battery replacement and simple assembly. However, the development of a self-powered respiratory sensor with highly sensitive performance is still a daunting challenge. In this work, a compressible and stretchable magnetoelectric sensor (CSMS) with an arch-shaped air gap is reported, enabling self-powered respiratory monitoring driven by exhaled/inhaled breath. The CSMS contains two key functional materials: liquid metals and magnetic powders both with low Young's modulus, allowing for sensing compressibility and stretchability simultaneously. More importantly, such a magnetoelectric sensor exhibits mechanoelectrical converting capacity under an external force, which has been verified by Maxwell numerical simulation. Owing to the air-layer introduction, the magnetoelectric sensors achieve high sensitivity (up to 17.73 kPa-1), fast response, and long-term stability. The highly sensitive and self-powered magnetoelectric sensor can be further applied as a noninvasive, miniaturized, and portable respiratory monitoring system with the aim of warning for potential health risks. We anticipate that this technique will create an avenue for self-powered respiratory monitoring fields.