Sobianin Ihor, Psoma Sotiria D, Tourlidakis Antonios
School of Engineering & Innovation, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece.
Micromachines (Basel). 2024 Jan 10;15(1):118. doi: 10.3390/mi15010118.
The human body is a source of multiple types of energy, such as mechanical, thermal and biochemical, which can be scavenged through appropriate technological means. Mechanical vibrations originating from contraction and expansion of the radial artery represent a reliable source of displacement to be picked up and exploited by a harvester. The continuous monitoring of physiological biomarkers is an essential part of the timely and accurate diagnosis of a disease with subsequent medical treatment, and wearable biosensors are increasingly utilized for biomedical data acquisition of important biomarkers. However, they rely on batteries and their replacement introduces a discontinuity in measured signals, which could be critical for the patients and also causes discomfort. In the present work, the research into a novel 3D-printed wearable energy harvesting platform for scavenging energy from arterial pulsations via a piezoelectric material is described. An elastic thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film, which forms an air chamber between the skin and the piezoelectric disc electrode, was introduced to provide better adsorption to the skin, prevent damage to the piezoelectric disc and electrically isolate components in the platform from the human body. Computational fluid dynamics in the framework of COMSOL Multiphysics 6.1 software was employed to perform a series of coupled time-varying simulations of the interaction among a number of associated physical phenomena. The mathematical model of the harvester was investigated computationally, and quantification of the output energy and power parameters was used for comparisons. A prototype wearable platform enclosure was designed and manufactured using fused filament fabrication (FFF). The influence of the piezoelectric disc material and its diameter on the electrical output were studied and various geometrical parameters of the enclosure and the TPU film were optimized based on theoretical and empirical data. Physiological data, such as interdependency between the harvester skin fit and voltage output, were obtained.
人体是多种能量的来源，如机械能、热能和生物化学能，这些能量可以通过适当的技术手段加以收集。源于桡动脉收缩和扩张的机械振动是一种可靠的位移来源，可供采集器拾取和利用。对生理生物标志物的持续监测是及时、准确诊断疾病并随后进行治疗的重要组成部分，可穿戴生物传感器越来越多地用于获取重要生物标志物的生物医学数据。然而，它们依赖电池，电池的更换会导致测量信号出现间断，这对患者可能至关重要，也会带来不适。在本工作中，描述了对一种新型3D打印可穿戴能量采集平台的研究，该平台通过压电材料从动脉搏动中收集能量。引入了一种弹性热塑性聚氨酯（TPU）薄膜，它在皮肤和压电圆盘电极之间形成一个气室，以更好地吸附皮肤、防止压电圆盘受损，并使平台中的组件与人体实现电隔离。采用COMSOL Multiphysics 6.1软件框架下的计算流体动力学对一系列相关物理现象之间的相互作用进行了耦合时变模拟。对采集器的数学模型进行了计算研究，并对输出能量和功率参数进行量化以作比较。使用熔融沉积成型（FFF）设计并制造了一个可穿戴平台原型外壳。研究了压电圆盘材料及其直径对电输出的影响，并根据理论和经验数据优化了外壳和TPU薄膜的各种几何参数。获得了诸如采集器与皮肤贴合度和电压输出之间的相互依存关系等生理数据。
