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Applications and Design of Digital Systems for Sensors and Sensing...
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Applications and Design of Digital Systems for Sensors and Sensing Technologies

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomedical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2025 | Viewed by 3796

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Fahad M. Iqbal

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Imperial College London St Mary's Hospital, London W2 1NY, UK
Interests: wearable sensors; digital health; mhealth; implementation strategies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the dynamic landscape of healthcare digitalization, the prominence of remote solutions has escalated, primarily driven by their mitigation of health risks and improved efficiency. The current epoch is marked by a remarkable expansion in the realm of wearable technologies—a trend poised to persist as new challenges and requirements emerge. These innovations encompass an array of devices such as wearable patches, smartwatches, wristbands, garment-integrated biosensors, skin-affixed tattoos, and other novel accessories, all playing a pivotal role in health monitoring and surveillance.

The advancement in these technologies allows for the detailed recording of various data types, such as physiological biometric parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature) and metrics related to activity and sleep patterns. Their application in diverse fields opens up considerable potential, dependent on their reliability and user acceptability.

A key development is the integration of wearable sensors with digital therapeutics, enhanced by digital alerts. This synergy significantly boosts clinical decision-making, healthcare efficiency, early detection of patient deterioration, and detailed monitoring of recovery, aiming to improve clinical outcomes.

This Special Issue focuses on cutting-edge advancements in wearable sensor technology in healthcare. We invite submissions on remote monitoring of biometric and non-biometric data, AI integration with e-health for clinical decision-making and treatment, and telehealth technology for patient recovery.

We seek studies that test the feasibility, reliability, and validation of sensor technologies, along with implementation strategies. Original research contributions and comprehensive review articles are welcome, providing insights into the latest innovations in wearable medical sensor technology for our readers.

Dr. Fahad M. Iqbal
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • digital sensors
  • clinical applications
  • community healthcare
  • secondary care
  • pilot studies
  • feasibility studies
  • clinical outcomes
  • health monitoring
  • cost analysis
  • technology implementation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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13 pages, 2864 KiB  
Article
Performance of Continuous Digital Monitoring of Vital Signs with a Wearable Sensor in Acute Hospital Settings
by Meera Joshi, Fahad M. Iqbal, Mansour Sharabiani, Hutan Ashrafian, Sonal Arora, Kenny McAndrew, Sadia Khan, Graham Cooke and Ara Darzi
Sensors 2025, 25(9), 2644; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25092644 - 22 Apr 2025
Viewed by 688
Abstract
Background: Continuous vital sign monitoring using wearable sensors has gained traction for the early detection of patient deterioration, particularly with the advent of virtual wards. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the reliability of a wearable sensor for monitoring heart rate (HR), respiratory [...] Read more.
Background: Continuous vital sign monitoring using wearable sensors has gained traction for the early detection of patient deterioration, particularly with the advent of virtual wards. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the reliability of a wearable sensor for monitoring heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and temperature in acutely unwell hospital patients and to identify the optimal time window for alert generation. Methods: A prospective cohort study recruited 500 patients in a single hospital. Sensor readings were compared to standard intermittent nurse observations using Bland–Altman plots to assess the limits of agreement. Results: HR demonstrated good agreement with nurse observations (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.66, r = 0.86, p < 0.001), with a mean difference of 3.63 bpm (95% LoA: −10.87 to 18.14 bpm). RR exhibited weaker agreement (ICC = 0.20, r = 0.18, p < 0.001), with a mean difference of −2.72 breaths per minute (95% LoA: −10.91 to 5.47 bpm). Temperature showed poor to fair agreement (ICC = 0.30, r = 0.39, p < 0.001), with a mean difference of −0.57 °C (95% LoA: −1.72 to 0.58 °C). A 10 min averaging window was identified as optimal, balancing data retention and real-time alerting. Conclusions: Wearable sensors demonstrate potential for reliable continuous monitoring of vital signs, supporting their future integration into real-world clinical practice for improved patient safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Design of Digital Systems for Sensors and Sensing Technologies)
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18 pages, 19560 KiB  
Article
System Integration Design of High-Performance Piezo-Actuated Fast-Steering Mirror for Laser Beam Steering System
by Jung-Gon Kim
Sensors 2024, 24(21), 6775; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24216775 - 22 Oct 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2044
Abstract
This paper presents an innovative piezo-actuated fast-steering mirror (FSM) that integrates control design and system operation to improve the tracking performance of laser beam steering (LBS) systems. The proposed piezoelectric FSM is centered on two pairs of stacked actuators functioning in the tip-tilt [...] Read more.
This paper presents an innovative piezo-actuated fast-steering mirror (FSM) that integrates control design and system operation to improve the tracking performance of laser beam steering (LBS) systems. The proposed piezoelectric FSM is centered on two pairs of stacked actuators functioning in the tip-tilt direction via novel flexible hinges with strain-gauge sensors for position measurement. The suggested flexible hinge scheme allows the first fundamental resonance mode with the optical mirror to exceed 400 Hz while achieving an actuation range of ±5 mrad. Thus, the design offers a wider mechanical actuation range than conventional piezoelectric FSMs. Moreover, LBS systems that use fast-steering motion controllers should be robust against dynamic disturbances, such as periodic external vibrations. Such disturbances, inherently associated with the operating conditions for LBS systems, typically reduce the stability of the tip-tilt motion. To attenuate the effects of such disturbances, a high-precision control system is necessary for the tip-tilt motion. Therefore, a control method integrating a proportional–integral controller with an adaptive feedforward control (AFC) algorithm is outlined to enhance tip-tilt tracking performance during high-speed scanning, compared with conventional LBS systems. Based on experimental findings, the AFC algorithm boosted control performance under dynamic disturbances, such as sinusoidal vibrations with multiple frequencies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Design of Digital Systems for Sensors and Sensing Technologies)
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35 pages, 546 KiB  
Systematic Review
Clinical Outcomes of Passive Sensors in Remote Monitoring: A Systematic Review
by Essam Rama, Sharukh Zuberi, Mohamed Aly, Alan Askari and Fahad M. Iqbal
Sensors 2025, 25(11), 3285; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25113285 - 23 May 2025
Viewed by 480
Abstract
Remote monitoring technologies have transformed healthcare delivery by enabling the in-home management of chronic conditions, improving patient autonomy, and supporting clinical oversight. Passive sensing, a subset of remote monitoring, facilitates unobtrusive, real-time data collection without active user engagement. Leveraging devices such as smartphones, [...] Read more.
Remote monitoring technologies have transformed healthcare delivery by enabling the in-home management of chronic conditions, improving patient autonomy, and supporting clinical oversight. Passive sensing, a subset of remote monitoring, facilitates unobtrusive, real-time data collection without active user engagement. Leveraging devices such as smartphones, wearables, and smart home sensors, these technologies offer advantages over traditional self-reports and intermittent evaluations by capturing behavioural, physiological, and environmental metrics. This systematic review evaluates the clinical utility of passive sensing technologies used in remote monitoring, with a specific emphasis on their impact on clinical outcomes and feasibility in real-world healthcare settings. A PRISMA-guided search identified 26 studies addressing conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia, cancer, cardiopulmonary disorders, and musculoskeletal issues. Findings demonstrated significant correlations between sensor-derived metrics and clinical assessments, validating their potential as digital biomarkers. These technologies demonstrated feasibility and ecological validity in capturing continuous, real-world health data and offer a unified framework for enhancing patient care through three main applications: monitoring chronic disease progression, detecting acute health deterioration, and supporting therapeutic interventions. For example, these technologies successfully identified gait speed changes in Parkinson’s disease, tracked symptom fluctuations in cancer patients, and provided real-time alerts for acute events such as heart failure decompensation. Challenges included long-term adherence, scalability, data integration, security, and ownership. Future research should prioritise validation across diverse settings, long-term impact assessment, and integration into clinical workflows to maximise their utility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Design of Digital Systems for Sensors and Sensing Technologies)
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