Abstract
In the last decades, fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) have become increasingly attractive to medical applications due to their unique properties such as small size, biocompatibility, immunity to electromagnetic interferences, high sensitivity and multiplexing capability. FBGs have been employed in the development of surgical tools, assistive devices, wearables, and biosensors, showing great potentialities for medical uses. This paper reviews the FBG-based measuring systems, their principle of work, and their applications in medicine and healthcare. Particular attention is given to sensing solutions for biomechanics, minimally invasive surgery, physiological monitoring, and medical biosensing. Strengths, weaknesses, open challenges, and future trends are also discussed to highlight how FBGs can meet the demands of next-generation medical devices and healthcare system.
Highlights
The increase in life expectancy is directly related to improvements in the quality of life, healthcare delivery systems, and patient management
Particular attention is given to sensing solutions for biomechanics, minimally invasive surgery, physiological monitoring, and medical biosensing
The increasing attention given to fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) by publications on the use of this technology in the field of medicine and healthcare underlines the strong interest to fulfill the gap between research and clinical practice [7], [8]
Summary
The increase in life expectancy is directly related to improvements in the quality of life, healthcare delivery systems, and patient management. Recent scientific breakthroughs and technological advancements are changing the way diseases are diagnosed and treated. All these transformations are involved in the so-called Healthcare 4.0 revolution [3]. The increasing attention given to FBGs by publications on the use of this technology in the field of medicine and healthcare underlines the strong interest to fulfill the gap between research and clinical practice [7], [8]. This paper aims at giving an overview of the FBGs-based sensing solutions, their principle of work, and their most recent applications in medicine. Issues and challenges which have dampened the FBGs clinical acceptance are discussed to promote the development of innovative FBGs-based sensing solutions for personalized healthcare and precision medicine.
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