Department of Physics and Electronics, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, Japan.
Sci Adv. 2016 Nov 23;2(11):e1601473. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1601473. eCollection 2016 Nov.
Real-time health care monitoring may enable prediction and prevention of disease or improve treatment by diagnosing illnesses in the early stages. Wearable, comfortable, sensing devices are required to allow continuous monitoring of a person's health; other important considerations for this technology are device flexibility, low-cost components and processing, and multifunctionality. To address these criteria, we present a flexible, multifunctional printed health care sensor equipped with a three-axis acceleration sensor to monitor physical movement and motion. Because the device is designed to be attached directly onto the skin, it has a modular design with two detachable components: One device component is nondisposable, whereas the other one is disposable and designed to be worn in contact with the skin. The design of this disposable sensing sheet takes into account hygiene concerns and low-cost materials and fabrication methods as well as features integrated, printed sensors to monitor for temperature, acceleration, electrocardiograms, and a kirigami structure, which allows for stretching on skin. The reusable component of the device contains more expensive device components, features an ultraviolet light sensor that is controlled by carbon nanotube thin-film transistors, and has a mechanically flexible and stable liquid metal contact for connection to the disposable sensing sheet. After characterizing the electrical properties of the transistors and flexible sensors, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept device that is capable of health care monitoring combined with detection of physical activity, showing that this device provides an excellent platform for the development of commercially viable, wearable health care monitors.
实时医疗保健监测可以通过早期诊断疾病来预测和预防疾病或改善治疗效果。需要可穿戴的、舒适的、传感设备来实现对人体健康的连续监测;这项技术的其他重要考虑因素包括设备的灵活性、低成本的组件和处理、多功能性。为了满足这些标准,我们提出了一种灵活的、多功能的印刷医疗保健传感器,配备三轴加速度传感器来监测身体的运动和动作。由于该设备设计为直接贴在皮肤上,因此它具有模块化设计,有两个可分离的组件:一个设备组件是不可重复使用的,而另一个是一次性的,设计用于与皮肤接触。这款一次性感应片的设计考虑到了卫生问题以及低成本的材料和制造方法,同时集成了印刷传感器来监测温度、加速度、心电图和折纸结构,以适应皮肤的拉伸。该设备的可重复使用组件包含更昂贵的设备组件,具有由碳纳米管薄膜晶体管控制的紫外线传感器,以及用于与一次性感应片连接的机械灵活且稳定的液态金属接触。在对晶体管和柔性传感器的电气性能进行了表征之后,我们展示了一个概念验证设备,该设备能够进行医疗保健监测和物理活动检测,表明该设备为开发商业上可行的、可穿戴的医疗保健监测器提供了一个极好的平台。