KIURI Institute, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea.
Nano Science Technology Institute, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2021 Sep;10(17):e2002280. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202002280. Epub 2021 Mar 16.
Wearable healthcare devices have garnered substantial interest for the realization of personal health management by monitoring the physiological parameters of individuals. Attaining the integrity between the devices and the biological interfaces is one of the greatest challenges to achieving high-quality body information in dynamic conditions. Liquid metals, which exist in the liquid phase at room temperatures, are advanced intensively as conductors for deformable devices because of their excellent stretchability and self-healing ability. The unique surface chemistry of liquid metals allows the development of various sensors and devices in wearable form. Also, the biocompatibility of liquid metals, which is verified through numerous biomedical applications, holds immense potential in uses on the surface and inside of a living body. Here, the recent progress of liquid metal-based wearable electronic devices for healthcare with respect to the featured properties and the processing technologies is discussed. Representative examples of applications such as biosensors, neural interfaces, and a soft interconnection for devices are reviewed. The current challenges and prospects for further development are also discussed, and the future directions of advances in the latest research are explored.
可穿戴式医疗设备通过监测个体的生理参数，已经引起了人们对实现个人健康管理的浓厚兴趣。在动态条件下实现设备与生物接口之间的完整性，是获取高质量身体信息的最大挑战之一。液态金属在室温下处于液态，具有优异的拉伸性和自修复能力，因此被广泛用作可变形器件的导体。液态金属独特的表面化学性质允许开发各种传感器和可穿戴设备。此外，液态金属的生物相容性已通过众多生物医学应用得到验证，在活体表面和内部的应用具有巨大的潜力。在这里，我们讨论了液态金属基可穿戴电子设备在医疗保健方面的最新进展，重点介绍了其特色性能和加工技术。综述了生物传感器、神经接口和设备软互连等应用的代表性实例。还讨论了当前的挑战和进一步发展的前景，并探讨了最新研究进展的未来方向。
