Wearable electronic device for X-ray warning and health monitoring

Abstract

The well-developed multifunctional wearable electronic device has fed the demand for human medicine and health monitoring in complex situations. However, the advancement of nuclear technology, especially irradiation medicine and safety inspections, has increased the exposure risk of irradiation safety workers. Traditional irradiation detectors are stiff and incompatible with the skin, and lack human health monitoring function, thus it’s vital to apply these flexible sensors for irradiation warning. Here, we report a novel composite gel device synthesized through solution processes by combining the Cs3Cu2I5:Zn nano-scintillator with the pre-patterned biocompatible gel, exhibiting a bi-functional response to motion/vibration sensing and sensitive irradiation warning. These wearable devices achieve a pressure sensitivity of up to 34 kPa−1 in a low-pressure range (0–3 kPa), a low limit of detection (LoD) down to 1.4 Pa, enabling health monitoring functions of pulse monitoring, finger bending, and elbow bending. Simultaneously, the device scintillates under X-ray irradiation among a wide dose rate range of 54–1167 μGyair s−1. The robust device shows no obvious signal loss after 4000 compression cycles and also excellent irradiation resistance over 50 days, broadening the path for designing and realizing new functional wearable devices.