Flexible Epidermal Sensor Research Articles

Multifunctional hydrogel sensor with Tough, self-healing capabilities and highly sensitive for motion monitoring and wound healing

Flexible epidermal sensors based on conductive hydrogels hold great potential for wearable devices and personal medical monitoring. Integrating real-time monitoring of injury and motion activities can essentially enhance treatment outcomes by providing detailed data to guide clinical practice. However, the application of conductive hydrogel epidermal sensors in diverse remains challenging. In this study, a multifunctional PVA/AM/AAPBA/Graphene Oxide (referred to as MHPBA-GO hydrogel) was designed as an epidermal sensor for combined functions of accelerating wound healing and motion sensing. This sensor possesses excellent biocompatibility and multifunctional therapeutic properties, including flexibility, self-healing features, and tunable photothermal conversion capability. It can sensitively monitor human motion and small electrophysiological signals to diagnose related activities and diseases. The corresponding gauge factor (GF) values under 0–200% strain are 1.8 (0–90%), 2.1 (90–160%), and 8.5 (160–200%), respectively. Furthermore, using a diabetic rat mode demonstrated that the composite hydrogel sensor can be used as an efficient wound dressing to promote wound healing. This study provides a valuable reference and guidance for the development of flexible epidermal sensors with multifunctionality for personal health monitoring.

Self-Healable, Self-Adhesive and Degradable MXene-Based Multifunctional Hydrogel for Flexible Epidermal Sensors.

Conductive hydrogels have garnered significant interest in the realm of wearable flexible sensors due to their close resemblance to human tissue, wearability, and precise signal acquisition capabilities. However, the concurrent attainment of an epidermal hydrogel sensor incorporating reliable self-healing capabilities, biodegradability, robust adhesiveness, and the ability to precisely capture subtle electrophysiological signals poses a daunting and intricate challenge. Herein, an innovative MXene-based composite hydrogel (PBM hydrogel) with exceptional self-healing, self-adhesive, and versatile functionality is engineered through the integration of conductive MXene nanosheets into a well-structured poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and bacterial cellulose (BC) hydrogel three-dimensional (3D) network, utilizing multiple dynamic cross-linking synergistic repeated freeze-thaw strategy. The hydrogel harnesses the presence of dynamically reversible borax ester bonds and multiple hydrogen bonds between its constituents, endowing it with rapid self-healing efficiency (97.8%) and formidable self-adhesive capability. The assembled PBM hydrogel epidermal sensor possesses a rapid response time (10 ms) and exhibits versatility in detecting diverse external stimuli and human movements such as vocalization, handwriting, joint motion, Morse code signals, and even monitoring infusion status. Additionally, the PBM hydrogel sensor offers the added advantage of swift degradation in phosphate-buffered saline solution (within a span of 56 days) and H2O2 solution (in just 53 min), maintaining an eco-friendly profile devoid of any environmental pollution. This work lays the groundwork for possible uses in electronic skins, interactions between humans and machines, and the monitoring of individualized healthcare.

Flexible Accelerated-Wound-Healing Antibacterial Hydrogel-Nanofiber Scaffold for Intelligent Wearable Health Monitoring.

Flexible epidermal sensors hold significant potential in personalized healthcare and multifunctional electronic skins. Nonetheless, achieving both robust sensing performance and efficient antibacterial protection, especially in medical paradigms involving electrophysiological signals for wound healing and intelligent health monitoring, remains a substantial challenge. Herein, we introduce a novel flexible accelerated-wound-healing biomaterial based on a hydrogel-nanofiber scaffold (HNFS) via electrostatic spinning and gel cross-linking. We effectively engineer a multifunctional tissue nanoengineered skin scaffold for wound treatment and health monitoring. Key features of HNFS include high tensile strength (24.06 MPa) and elasticity (214.67%), flexibility, biodegradability, and antibacterial properties, enabling assembly into versatile sensors for monitoring human motion and electrophysiological signals. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that HNFS significantly enhances cell proliferation and skin wound healing, provide a comprehensive therapeutic strategy for smart sensing and tissue repair, and guide the development of high-performance "wound healing-health monitoring" bioelectronic skin scaffolds. Therefore, this study provides insights into crafting flexible and repairable skin sensors, holding potential for multifunctional health diagnostics and intelligent medical applications in intelligent wearable health monitoring and next-generation artificial skin fields.

A multifunctional sensor for real-time monitoring and pro-healing of frostbite wounds

Flexible epidermal sensors based on conductive hydrogels hold great promise for various applications, such as wearable electronics and personal healthcare monitoring. However, the integration of conductive hydrogel epidermal sensors into multiple applications remains challenging. In this study, a multifunctional PAAm/PEG/hydrolyzed keratin (Hereinafter referred to as HK)/MXene conductive hydrogel (PPHM hydrogel) was designed as a high-performance therapeutic all-in-one epidermal sensor. This sensor not only accelerates wound healing but also provides wearable human-computer interaction. The developed sensor possesses highly sensitive sensing properties (Gauge Factor = 4.82 at high strain), strong mechanical tensile properties (capable of achieving a maximum elongation at break of 600 %), rapid self-healing capability, stable self-adhesive capability, biocompatibility, freeze resistance at −20 °C, and adjustable photo-thermal conversion capability. This therapeutic all-in-one sensor can sensitively monitor human movements, enabling the detection of small electrophysiological signals for diagnosing relevant activities and diseases. Furthermore, using a rat frostbite model, we demonstrated that the composite hydrogel sensor can serve as an effective wound dressing to accelerate the healing process. This study serves as a valuable reference for the development of multifunctional flexible epidermal sensors for personal smart health monitoring. Statement of significanceAccelerated wound healing reduces the risk of wound infection, and conductive hydrogel-based sensors can monitor physiological signals. The multifunctional application of conductive hydrogel sensors combined with wound diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities can meet personalized medical requirements for wound healing and sensor monitoring. The aim of this study is to develop a multifunctional hydrogel patch. The multifunctional hydrogel can be assembled into a flexible wearable high-performance diagnostic and therapeutic integrated sensor that can effectively accelerate the healing of frostbite wounds and satisfy the real-time monitoring of multi-application scenarios. We expect that this study will inform efforts to integrate wound therapy and sensor monitoring.

Flexible planar capacitive devices for hydration and sweat sensing

Skin is one of the most complex structures in the body, with many physiological functions. Skin acts as the barrier or an interface between the external environment and internal organs. Hydration within the skin is varied, known as the skin’s water-loading. Perspiration occurs when watery fluid is secreted through the eccrine and apocrine glands. Flexible epidermal sensors are fabricated, which can be used to measure skin hydration and perspiration (sweat) as these sensors need to be skin-conformable. Polyimide and polydimethylsiloxane are used as they are flexible and skin compliant, and the sensing layer is formed on them. The sensitivity of hydration sensors was in the range of 0.002–0.0046/%, while for sweat sensors, it was in the range of 0.092–0.116 μl−1. Stability tests indicated that external factors such as environment or physical deformation and skin curvature do not affect the performance of the as-prepared sensors. The sensitivity and stability results of the planar capacitor are highly suitable for flexible hydration and sweat-sensing applications. The proposed sensors offer an outstandingly good option for incorporation into wearable systems for physical personal health monitoring. In the future, we plan to integrate these sensors on a single substrate to create a multimodal device.

Two-Channel Epidermal RFID Sensor for the Wireless Bilateral Analysis of Nasal Respiration

Abnormal breathing can be a symptom of an unhealthy status. Conventional diagnostic exams involve cumbersome and intrusive instrumentation, such as nasal cannulas, that is, uncomfortable for the user and that, most of the times, do not consider the breathing asymmetries between the two nostrils. This article describes a two-channel flexible epidermal sensor for the wireless and less-invasive bilateral monitoring of nasal breathing based on temperature measurement. The device is suitable to adhere to the prolabium and comprises two coupled T-match antennas whose Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Integrated Circuits (ICs) are placed at the entrance of the nostrils. They are provided with embedded temperature sensors so that they implement both sensing and transmission of the data. A measurement campaign is carried out to provide a quantitative characterization of the dual-channel device as a breath sensor by comparison with a conventional flow meter. The two nostrils can be independently monitored due to a negligible cross-sensitivity of the two ICs’ temperature data. Moreover, temperature-based measurements proved capable to reproduce typical clinical breathing features, with less than 12% uncertainty with respect to flow waveforms.

Sweat-Resistant Silk Fibroin-Based Double Network Hydrogel Adhesives.

The adhesion between flexible epidermal sensors and human skin is essential for maintaining the stable functionality of the sensors. However, it is still challenging for epidermal electronic devices to achieve durable adhesion to the surface of the skin, especially under sweaty or humid conditions. Here, we report a silk fibroin-polyacrylamide (SF-PAAm) double network (DN) hydrogel adhesive with excellent biocompatibility, strong and durable adhesion on wet surfaces, and tunable adhesive properties. The hydrophilic PAAm network greatly improves the water retention capability of the DN hydrogel and reduces the β-sheet crystalline content of SF, leading to excellent adhesive properties of the hydrogel across a wide range of humidity. The SF-PAAm DN hydrogel adhesive can be readily integrated with different epidermal sensor arrays and performs very well in real-time on-body sweat sensing. The SF-PAAm DN hydrogels have great potential for application in various epidermal healthcare sensors as well as medical adhesives for other medical applications.

Tannic Acid-Silver Dual Catalysis Induced Rapid Polymerization of Conductive Hydrogel Sensors with Excellent Stretchability, Self-Adhesion, and Strain-Sensitivity Properties.

The application of conductive hydrogels in intelligent biomimetic electronics is a hot topic in recent years, but it is still a great challenge to develop the conductive hydrogels through a rapid fabrication process at ambient temperature. In this work, a versatile poly(acrylamide) @cellulose nanocrystal/tannic acid-silver nanocomposite (NC) hydrogel integrated with excellent stretchability, repeatable self-adhesion, high strain sensitivity, and antibacterial property, was synthesized via radical polymerization within 30 s at ambient temperature. Notably, this rapid polymerization was realized through a tannic acid-silver (TA-Ag) mediated dynamic catalysis system that was capable of activating ammonium persulfate and then initiated the free-radical polymerization of the acrylamide monomer. Benefiting from the incorporation of TA-Ag metal ion nanocomplexes and cellulose nanocrystals, which acted as dynamic connecting bridges by hydrogen bonds to efficiently dissipate energy, the obtained NC hydrogels exhibited prominent tensile strain (up to 4000%), flexibility, self-recovery, and antifatigue properties. In addition, the hydrogels showed repeatable adhesiveness to different substrates (e.g., glass, wood, bone, metal, and skin) and significant antibacterial properties, which were merits for the hydrogels to be assembled into a flexible epidermal sensor for long-term human-machine interfacial contact without concerns about the use of external adhesive tapes and bacterial breeding. Moreover, the remarkable conductivity (σ ∼ 5.6 ms cm-1) and strain sensitivity (gauge factor = 1.02) allowed the flexible epidermal sensors to monitor various human motions in real time, including huge movement of deformations (e.g., wrist, elbow, neck, shoulder) and subtle motions. It is envisioned that this work would provide a promising strategy for the rapid preparation of conductive hydrogels in the application of flexible electronic skin, biomedical devices, and soft robotics.

Epidermal Electrode Technology for Detecting Ultrasonic Perturbation of Sensory Brain Activity.

We aim to demonstrate the in vivo capability of a wearable sensor technology to detect localized perturbations of sensory-evoked brain activity. Cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) were recorded in mice via wearable, flexible epidermal electrode arrays. We then utilized the sensors to explore the effects of transcranial focused ultrasound, which noninvasively induced neural perturbation. SSEPs recorded with flexible epidermal sensors were quantified and benchmarked against those recorded with invasive epidural electrodes. We found that cortical SSEPs recorded by flexible epidermal sensors were stimulus frequency dependent. Immediately following controlled, focal ultrasound perturbation, the sensors detected significant SSEP modulation, which consisted of dynamic amplitude decreases and altered stimulus-frequency dependence. These modifications were also dependent on the ultrasound perturbation dosage. The effects were consistent with those recorded with invasive electrodes, albeit with roughly one order of magnitude lower signal-to-noise ratio. We found that flexible epidermal sensors reported multiple SSEP parameters that were sensitive to focused ultrasound. This work therefore 1) establishes that epidermal electrodes are appropriate for monitoring the integrity of major CNS functionalities through SSEP; and 2) leveraged this technology to explore ultrasound-induced neuromodulation. The sensor technology is well suited for this application because the sensor electrical properties are uninfluenced by direct exposure to ultrasound irradiation. The sensors and experimental paradigm we present involve standard, safe clinical neurological assessment methods and are thus applicable to a wide range of future translational studies in humans with any manner of health condition.