Intelligent Wearable and Implantable Devices for Biomedical Applications

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosignal Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 5103

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
ICELab, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark
Interests: integrated circuits and systems for biomedical applications; brain–computer interfaces (BCIs); neuromorphic computing; system-on-a-chip

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Guest Editor
Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Interests: brain imaging; neural engineering; neuroinformatics; motor control; neurorehabilitation; wearable devices; biomedical signal processing; digital biomarkers
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The healthcare industry has recently seen a rising demand for miniaturization, low power consumption, rapid treatments, and minimally invasive and non-invasive clinical methods. To meet these needs, researchers are exploring new technological paradigms that enhance diagnostic accuracy while ensuring patient compliance. Neuromorphic engineering, which utilizes neural models in hardware and software to mimic brain-like behaviors, can revolutionize medicine by offering low power, low latency, compact, and high bandwidth solutions. Implementing neuromorphic computing in wearable or implantable devices—where biological data such as cardiac or brain signals are sensed and transmitted—can significantly minimize power consumption, extend battery life, reduce device size, and add intelligent features to the system. Additionally, it enables quicker decision-making through edge computing (edge AI) and allows the system to learn and adapt independently of individual patients.

Therefore, this Special Issue on “Intelligent Wearable and Implantable Devices for Biomedical Applications” will focus on original research papers and comprehensive reviews, dealing with circuits and systems techniques for intelligent wearable and implantable devices. A system such as this includes not only neuromorphic computing but also its interface and front-end design. Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Bio-inspired and neuromorphic circuits and systems;
  • Spiking neural networks and temporal processing;
  • Brain–computer interfaces;
  • Emerging technologies for neuromorphic computation;
  • Implantable and wearable health devices and systems;
  • Biosensor and interface circuits;
  • Biotelemetry circuits and systems;
  • Bioelectronics;
  • Electrical stimulation, neuromodulation, and closed-loop systems;
  • Organic semiconductors.

Dr. Milad Zamani
Prof. Dr. Dante Mantini
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • bio-inspired and neuromorphic computation
  • spiking neural networks
  • biosensor devices and interface circuits
  • bioelectronics
  • biosensors
  • biotelemetry

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 5533 KiB  
Article
An Innovative Coded Language for Transferring Data via a Haptic Thermal Interface
by Yosef Y. Shani and Simon Lineykin
Bioengineering 2025, 12(2), 209; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12020209 - 19 Feb 2025
Viewed by 394
Abstract
The objective of this research was to develop a coded language, similarly to Morse or Braille, via a haptic thermal interface. The method is based on the human thermal sense to receive and decode the messages, and is to be used as an [...] Read more.
The objective of this research was to develop a coded language, similarly to Morse or Braille, via a haptic thermal interface. The method is based on the human thermal sense to receive and decode the messages, and is to be used as an alternative or complementary channel for various scenarios in which conventional channels are not applicable or not sufficient (e.g., communication with the handicapped or in noisy/silent environments). For the method to be effective, it must include a large variety of short recognizable cues. Hence, we designed twenty-two temporally short (<3 s) cues, each composed of a sequence of thermal pulses, meaning a combination of warm and/or cool pulses with several levels of intensity. The thermal cues were generated using specially designed equipment in a laboratory environment and displayed in random order to eleven independent participants. The participants identified all 22 cues with 95% accuracy, and 16 of them with 98.3% accuracy. These results reflect extraordinary reliability, indicating that this method can be used to create an effective innovative capability. It has many potential implications and is applicable immediately in the development of a new communication capability, either as a single-modality thermal interface, or combined with tactile sensing to form a full haptic multisensory interface. This report presents the testing and evaluating process of the proposed set of thermal cues and lays out directions for possible implementation and further investigations. Full article
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13 pages, 2944 KiB  
Article
Development of a Wearable Electromyographic Sensor with Aerosol Jet Printing Technology
by Stefano Perilli, Massimo Di Pietro, Emanuele Mantini, Martina Regazzetti, Pawel Kiper, Francesco Galliani, Massimo Panella and Dante Mantini
Bioengineering 2024, 11(12), 1283; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11121283 - 17 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1095
Abstract
Electromyographic (EMG) sensors are essential tools for analyzing muscle activity, but traditional designs often face challenges such as motion artifacts, signal variability, and limited wearability. This study introduces a novel EMG sensor fabricated using Aerosol Jet Printing (AJP) technology that addresses these limitations [...] Read more.
Electromyographic (EMG) sensors are essential tools for analyzing muscle activity, but traditional designs often face challenges such as motion artifacts, signal variability, and limited wearability. This study introduces a novel EMG sensor fabricated using Aerosol Jet Printing (AJP) technology that addresses these limitations with a focus on precision, flexibility, and stability. The innovative sensor design minimizes air interposition at the skin–electrode interface, thereby reducing variability and improving signal quality. AJP enables the precise deposition of conductive materials onto flexible substrates, achieving a thinner and more conformable sensor that enhances user comfort and wearability. Performance testing compared the novel sensor to commercially available alternatives, highlighting its superior impedance stability across frequencies, even under mechanical stress. Physiological validation on a human participant confirmed the sensor’s ability to accurately capture muscle activity during rest and voluntary contractions, with clear differentiation between low and high activity states. The findings highlight the sensor’s potential for diverse applications, such as clinical diagnostics, rehabilitation, and sports performance monitoring. This work establishes AJP technology as a novel approach for designing wearable EMG sensors, providing a pathway for further advancements in miniaturization, strain-insensitive designs, and real-world deployment. Future research will explore optimization for broader applications and larger populations. Full article
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Review

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18 pages, 4480 KiB  
Review
Wearable Near-Eye Tracking Technologies for Health: A Review
by Lisen Zhu, Jianan Chen, Huixin Yang, Xinkai Zhou, Qihang Gao, Rui Loureiro, Shuo Gao and Hubin Zhao
Bioengineering 2024, 11(7), 738; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11070738 - 22 Jul 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3034
Abstract
With the rapid advancement of computer vision, machine learning, and consumer electronics, eye tracking has emerged as a topic of increasing interest in recent years. It plays a key role across diverse domains including human–computer interaction, virtual reality, and clinical and healthcare applications. [...] Read more.
With the rapid advancement of computer vision, machine learning, and consumer electronics, eye tracking has emerged as a topic of increasing interest in recent years. It plays a key role across diverse domains including human–computer interaction, virtual reality, and clinical and healthcare applications. Near-eye tracking (NET) has recently been developed to possess encouraging features such as wearability, affordability, and interactivity. These features have drawn considerable attention in the health domain, as NET provides accessible solutions for long-term and continuous health monitoring and a comfortable and interactive user interface. Herein, this work offers an inaugural concise review of NET for health, encompassing approximately 70 related articles published over the past two decades and supplemented by an in-depth examination of 30 literatures from the preceding five years. This paper provides a concise analysis of health-related NET technologies from aspects of technical specifications, data processing workflows, and the practical advantages and limitations. In addition, the specific applications of NET are introduced and compared, revealing that NET is fairly influencing our lives and providing significant convenience in daily routines. Lastly, we summarize the current outcomes of NET and highlight the limitations. Full article
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