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Advanced Flexible/Stretchable Electronics: Materials, Technologies and (Bio)-Sensing Application

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2025) | Viewed by 11810

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Akronic P.C., Agia Paraskevi, 15341 Athens, Greece
Interests: CMOS analogue integrated; circuits flexible/stretchable electronics; (bio)-sensors; bioimpedance raman spectroscopy

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Guest Editor
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, Bessemer Building, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Interests: SERS biosensing; nanomedicine; targeted drug delivery; regenerative medicine; cell-matter interaction; femtosecond laser

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in microfabrication, additive fabrication, microelectronics, and sensors are enabling new classes of devices and applications in the fields of biomedical sensors and in industrial applications. Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) systems on chip (SoC) for sensor interrogation and on-node signal processing, advanced computation methods, analog signal processing, data classification and fusion, as well as in-memory computing allow ultra-low power consumption and miniaturization, necessary for IoT, wearable, and implantable devices. Advanced sensors that are flexible and stretchable allow the seamless integration of sensors into the daily routines of users, enabling greater pervasiveness and improved quality of recorded data. Transiency is ideal for implantable devices that can be assimilated once they are no longer needed. Such sensing systems can be dc to medium-frequency electrical sensors (electrochemical, electrophysiological, bioimpedance, gas sensors, physical sensors, etc.) or high-frequency (radar) or optical-based approaches (e.g., photoplethysmography). Issues with sensitivity, selectivity, biocompatibility, packaging, ASIC integration, sensor modelling (especially with regard to mechanical perturbations), sensing modalities, and the co-integration of many types of sensors using different modalities for multi-parametric/multi-modal sensing are of interest to this Special Issue.

Dr. Panagiotis Kassanos
Dr. Meysam Keshavarz
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • wearable sensors
  • stretchable sensors
  • flexible sensors
  • physiological monitoring
  • multiparametric sensing
  • bioimpedance
  • electrochemical sensors
  • sweat analysis
  • implantable devices
  • transient sensors
  • hydrogels
  • composites
  • additive manufacturing
  • microelectronics
  • microfabrication
  • thin-film devices
  • IoT

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 11743 KiB  
Article
The Design and Validation of an Open-Palm Data Glove for Precision Finger and Wrist Tracking
by Olivia Hosie, Mats Isaksson, John McCormick, Oren Tirosh and Chrys Hensman
Sensors 2025, 25(2), 367; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25020367 - 9 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1138
Abstract
Wearable motion capture gloves enable the precise analysis of hand and finger movements for a variety of uses, including robotic surgery, rehabilitation, and most commonly, virtual augmentation. However, many motion capture gloves restrict natural hand movement with a closed-palm design, including fabric over [...] Read more.
Wearable motion capture gloves enable the precise analysis of hand and finger movements for a variety of uses, including robotic surgery, rehabilitation, and most commonly, virtual augmentation. However, many motion capture gloves restrict natural hand movement with a closed-palm design, including fabric over the palm and fingers. In order to alleviate slippage, improve comfort, reduce sizing issues, and eliminate movement restrictions, this paper presents a new low-cost data glove with an innovative open-palm and finger-free design. The new design improves usability and overall functionality by addressing the limitations of traditional closed-palm designs. It is especially beneficial in capturing movements in fields such as physical therapy and robotic surgery. The new glove incorporates resistive flex sensors (RFSs) at each finger and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) at the wrist joint to measure wrist flexion, extension, ulnar and radial deviation, and rotation. Initially the sensors were tested individually for drift, synchronisation delays, and linearity. The results show a drift of 6.60°/h in the IMU and no drift in the RFSs. There was a 0.06 s delay in the data captured by the IMU compared to the RFSs. The glove’s performance was tested with a collaborate robot testing setup. In static conditions, it was found that the IMU had a worst case error across three trials of 7.01° and a mean absolute error (MAE) averaged over three trials of 4.85°, while RFSs had a worst case error of 3.77° and a MAE of 1.25° averaged over all five RFSs used. There was no clear correlation between measurement error and speed. Overall, the new glove design proved to accurately measure joint angles. Full article
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28 pages, 7705 KiB  
Article
Regional Pulmonary Ventilation Assessment Method and System Based on Impedance Sensing Information from the Pentapulmonary Lobes
by Yapeng Zhang, Chengxin Song, Wei He, Qian Zhang, Pengcheng Zhao and Jingang Wang
Sensors 2024, 24(10), 3202; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24103202 - 17 May 2024
Viewed by 1237
Abstract
Regional lung ventilation assessment is a critical tool for the early detection of lung diseases and postoperative evaluation. Biosensor-based impedance measurements, known for their non-invasive nature, among other benefits, have garnered significant attention compared to traditional detection methods that utilize pressure sensors. However, [...] Read more.
Regional lung ventilation assessment is a critical tool for the early detection of lung diseases and postoperative evaluation. Biosensor-based impedance measurements, known for their non-invasive nature, among other benefits, have garnered significant attention compared to traditional detection methods that utilize pressure sensors. However, solely utilizing overall thoracic impedance fails to accurately capture changes in regional lung air volume. This study introduces an assessment method for lung ventilation that utilizes impedance data from the five lobes, develops a nonlinear model correlating regional impedance with lung air volume, and formulates an approach to identify regional ventilation obstructions based on impedance variations in affected areas. The electrode configuration for the five lung lobes was established through numerical simulations, revealing a power–function nonlinear relationship between regional impedance and air volume changes. An analysis of 389 pulmonary function tests refined the equations for calculating pulmonary function parameters, taking into account individual differences. Validation tests on 30 cases indicated maximum relative errors of 0.82% for FVC and 0.98% for FEV1, all within the 95% confidence intervals. The index for assessing regional ventilation impairment was corroborated by CT scans in 50 critical care cases, with 10 validation trials showing agreement with CT lesion localization results. Full article
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12 pages, 3235 KiB  
Article
Breathable and Stretchable Organic Electrochemical Transistors with Laminated Porous Structures for Glucose Sensing
by Haihong Guo, Changjian Liu, Yujie Peng, Lin Gao and Junsheng Yu
Sensors 2023, 23(15), 6910; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23156910 - 3 Aug 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2779
Abstract
Dynamic glucose monitoring is important to reduce the risk of metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Wearable biosensors based on organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have been developed due to their excellent signal amplification capabilities and biocompatibility. However, traditional wearable biosensors are fabricated on flat [...] Read more.
Dynamic glucose monitoring is important to reduce the risk of metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Wearable biosensors based on organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have been developed due to their excellent signal amplification capabilities and biocompatibility. However, traditional wearable biosensors are fabricated on flat substrates with limited gas permeability, resulting in the inefficient evaporation of sweat, reduced wear comfort, and increased risk of inflammation. Here, we proposed breathable OECT-based glucose sensors by designing a porous structure to realize optimal breathable and stretchable properties. The gas permeability of the device and the relationship between electrical properties under different tensile strains were carefully investigated. The OECTs exhibit exceptional electrical properties (gm ~1.51 mS and Ion ~0.37 mA) and can retain up to about 44% of their initial performance even at 30% stretching. Furthermore, obvious responses to glucose have been demonstrated in a wide range of concentrations (10−7–10−4 M) even under 30% strain, where the normalized response to 10−4 M is 26% and 21% for the pristine sensor and under 30% strain, respectively. This work offers a new strategy for developing advanced breathable and wearable bioelectronics. Full article
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Review

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24 pages, 9925 KiB  
Review
Triboelectric Nanogenerators: State of the Art
by Zhan Shi, Yanhu Zhang, Jiawei Gu, Bao Liu, Hao Fu, Hongyu Liang and Jinghu Ji
Sensors 2024, 24(13), 4298; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24134298 - 2 Jul 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5629
Abstract
The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), as a novel energy harvesting technology, has garnered widespread attention. As a relatively young field in nanogenerator research, investigations into various aspects of the TENG are still ongoing. This review summarizes the development and dissemination of the fundamental principles [...] Read more.
The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), as a novel energy harvesting technology, has garnered widespread attention. As a relatively young field in nanogenerator research, investigations into various aspects of the TENG are still ongoing. This review summarizes the development and dissemination of the fundamental principles of triboelectricity generation. It outlines the evolution of triboelectricity principles, ranging from the fabrication of the first TENG to the selection of triboelectric materials and the confirmation of the electron cloud overlapping model. Furthermore, recent advancements in TENG application scenarios are discussed from four perspectives, along with the research progress in performance optimization through three primary approaches, highlighting their respective strengths and limitations. Finally, the paper addresses the major challenges hindering the practical application and widespread adoption of TENGs, while also providing insights into future developments. With continued research on the TENG, it is expected that these challenges can be overcome, paving the way for its extensive utilization in various real-world scenarios. Full article
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