Skin is the largest organ of the human body, and it offers a diagnostic interface rich with vital biological signals from the inner organs, blood vessels, muscles, and dermis/epidermis. Soft, flexible, and stretchable electronic devices provide a novel platform to interface with soft tissues for robotic feedback and control, regenerative medicine, and continuous health monitoring. Here, we introduce the term “lab-on-skin” to describe a set of electronic devices that have physical properties, such as thickness, thermal mass, elastic modulus, and water-vapor permeability, which resemble those of the skin. These devices can conformally laminate on the epidermis to mitigate motion artifacts and mismatches in mechanical properties created by conventional, rigid electronics while simultaneously providing accurate, non-invasive, long-term, and continuous health monitoring. Recent progress in the design and fabrication of soft sensors with more advanced capabilities and enhanced reliability suggest an impending t...

Lab-on-Skin: A Review of Flexible and Stretchable Electronics for Wearable Health Monitoring

Wearable or attachable health monitoring smart systems are considered to be the next generation of personal portable devices for remote medicine practices. Smart flexible sensing electronics are components crucial in endowing health monitoring systems with the capability of real-time tracking of physiological signals. These signals are closely associated with body conditions, such as heart rate, wrist pulse, body temperature, blood/intraocular pressure and blood/sweat bio-information. Monitoring such physiological signals provides a convenient and non-invasive way for disease diagnoses and health assessments. This Review summarizes the recent progress of flexible sensing electronics for their use in wearable/attachable health monitoring systems. Meanwhile, we present an overview of different materials and configurations for flexible sensors, including piezo-resistive, piezo-electrical, capacitive, and field effect transistor based devices, and analyze the working principles in monitoring physiological signals. In addition, the future perspectives of wearable healthcare systems and the technical demands on their commercialization are briefly discussed.

Flexible Sensing Electronics for Wearable/Attachable Health Monitoring

Optogenetics allows rapid, temporally specific control of neuronal activity by targeted expression and activation of light-sensitive proteins. Implementation typically requires remote light sources and fiber-optic delivery schemes that impose considerable physical constraints on natural behaviors. In this report we bypass these limitations using technologies that combine thin, mechanically soft neural interfaces with fully implantable, stretchable wireless radio power and control systems. The resulting devices achieve optogenetic modulation of the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system. This is demonstrated with two form factors; stretchable film appliques that interface directly with peripheral nerves, and flexible filaments that insert into the narrow confines of the spinal epidural space. These soft, thin devices are minimally invasive, and histological tests suggest they can be used in chronic studies. We demonstrate the power of this technology by modulating peripheral and spinal pain circuitry, providing evidence for the potential widespread use of these devices in research and future clinical applications of optogenetics outside the brain.

Soft, stretchable, fully implantable miniaturized optoelectronic systems for wireless optogenetics

Inspired by mammalian skins, soft hybrids integrating the merits of elastomers and hydrogels have potential applications in diverse areas including stretchable and bio-integrated electronics, microfluidics, tissue engineering, soft robotics and biomedical devices. However, existing hydrogel–elastomer hybrids have limitations such as weak interfacial bonding, low robustness and difficulties in patterning microstructures. Here, we report a simple yet versatile method to assemble hydrogels and elastomers into hybrids with extremely robust interfaces (interfacial toughness over 1,000 Jm−2) and functional microstructures such as microfluidic channels and electrical circuits. The proposed method is generally applicable to various types of tough hydrogels and diverse commonly used elastomers including polydimethylsiloxane Sylgard 184, polyurethane, latex, VHB and Ecoflex. We further demonstrate applications enabled by the robust and microstructured hydrogel–elastomer hybrids including anti-dehydration hydrogel–elastomer hybrids, stretchable and reactive hydrogel–elastomer microfluidics, and stretchable hydrogel circuit boards patterned on elastomer. Soft hybrids that integrate hydrogels and elastomers can be used in applications, such as stretchable electronics and soft robotics, but usually have shortcomings. Here, Zhao and co-workers show a simple method of assembling hydrogel/elastomer hybrids with robust interfaces and functional microstructures.

Skin-inspired hydrogel-elastomer hybrids with robust interfaces and functional microstructures

Wearable sensors have received considerable interest over the past decade owing to their tremendous promise for monitoring the wearers’ health, fitness, and their surroundings. However, only limited attention has been directed at developing wearable chemical sensors that offer more comprehensive information about a wearer’s well-being. The development of wearable chemical sensors faces multiple challenges on various fronts. This perspective reviews key challenges and technological gaps impeding the successful realization of effective wearable chemical sensor systems, related to materials, power, analytical procedure, communication, data acquisition, processing, and security. Size, rigidity, and operational requirements of present chemical sensors are incompatible with wearable technology. Sensor stability and on-body sensor surface regeneration constitute key analytical challenges. Similarly, present wearable power sources are incapable of meeting the requirements for wearable electronics owing to their l...

Wearable Chemical Sensors: Present Challenges and Future Prospects

Research in stretchable electronics involves fundamental scientific topics relevant to applications with importance in human healthcare. Despite significant progress in active components, routes to mechanically robust construction are lacking. Here, we introduce materials and composite designs for thin, breathable, soft electronics that can adhere strongly to the skin, with the ability to be applied and removed hundreds of times without damaging the devices or the skin, even in regions with substantial topography and coverage of hair. The approach combines thin, ultralow modulus, cellular silicone materials with elastic, strain-limiting fabrics, to yield a compliant but rugged platform for stretchable electronics. Theoretical and experimental studies highlight the mechanics of adhesion and elastic deformation. Demonstrations include cutaneous optical, electrical and radio frequency sensors for measuring hydration state, electrophysiological activity, pulse and cerebral oximetry. Multipoint monitoring of a subject in an advanced driving simulator provides a practical example.

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Rugged and breathable forms of stretchable electronics with adherent composite substrates for transcutaneous monitoring

Supporting Info) Rugged and breathable forms of stretchable electronics with adherent composite substrates for transcutaneous monitoring

Freshwater generation has been extensively studied to address the global freshwater scarcity issue, although designing a simple, inexpensive system with high efficiency and sustainability is complicated. Solar-driven water evaporation is a promising, highly efficient water purification strategy. This paper reports the synthesis of a hydrophilic conductive polymer and its carbon nanotube (CNT) composites for efficient solar-driven water evaporation via a quick mechanochemical process. Doped polydiphenylamine (PD) and its CNT composites were obtained by the simple grinding of an inexpensive eutectic-phase monomer with oxidants, doping agents, and oxidized CNTs. The obtained composites exhibited high photothermal efficiency (89.9%) and water evaporation rate (1.41 kg m−2 h−1) under 1 sun irradiation. Dual doping and introducing oxidized CNTs into PD enhanced the wettability, photothermal efficiency, and water evaporation performance. This study provides an effective strategy for the fast and facile fabrication of photothermal membranes for solar-driven freshwater generation. 

Dongjun Lee

Papers

Rugged and breathable forms of stretchable electronics with adherent composite substrates for transcutaneous monitoring

Supporting Info) Rugged and breathable forms of stretchable electronics with adherent composite substrates for transcutaneous monitoring

Mechanochemical synthesis and interfacial engineering of photothermal polymer composites for solar‐driven water evaporation