I-Corps: Long-Term, User-Friendly, and Motion-Artifact-Free Heart Monitoring

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力集中在改善可穿戴心脏监测器的长期生物相容性和信号记录的持久保真度。心脏病是美国死亡率的主要原因，每年造成近655，000人死亡，每年的医疗保健费用约为2190亿美元。在临床环境之外进行连续、长期的心电图监测对于各种心脏疾病的早期检测和及时干预至关重要。然而，目前的可穿戴心脏监测器通常受到有限的长期生物相容性和运动诱导的伪影的影响，限制了它们的效率。最近开发的多孔可穿戴心脏监测器可以克服这些限制，并改善患有各种心脏病的人的生活质量。该项目旨在评估这项新技术产生新商机的潜力。计划中的商业化途径，包括创办一家初创企业或将技术许可给感兴趣的第三方，为促进经济发展和创造新的就业机会提供了希望。此外，该项目还可以提高对生物医学监测领域的科学和技术理解，并具有推动医疗保健技术进步的潜力。I-Corps项目是基于开发一种新型多孔可穿戴心脏监测器，该监测器可以同时实现超柔软，高透气性，出色的抗菌性能，热调节和应变不敏感的电气性能。超柔软性可以减轻皮肤刺激并促进器械与皮肤的无缝结合。高透气性有助于降低因汗液积聚而导致的炎症和数据丢失的可能性。抗菌功能可以防止外来病原微生物的感染，这对于家庭应用来说是一个特别重要的属性。热调节可以避免可穿戴电路潜在的皮肤灼伤，并减轻温度变化对设备性能的影响。应变不敏感的电气性能可以最大限度地减少由人体运动引起的伪影。这些独特功能的集成有助于创建无运动伪影的可穿戴心脏监护仪，具有前所未有的长期生物相容性和用户友好性。此外，在设备制造中采用增材制造以确保成本效益。此外，除了心脏监护仪之外，这项技术还可以用于构建一系列定制的可穿戴设备，这些设备具有长期的生物相容性和生物信号记录的持久保真度，以满足家庭个性化医疗保健的各种需求。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is focused on improving the wearable heart monitor’s long-term biocompatibility and long-lasting fidelity of signal recording. Heart diseases, the leading cause of mortality in the United States, contribute to nearly 655,000 deaths each year and approximately $219 billion annual healthcare cost. Continuous, long-term electrocardiogram monitoring outside clinical settings is critical for early detection and timely intervention of a variety of heart conditions. However, current wearable heart monitors usually suffer from limited long-term biocompatibility and motion-induced artifacts, constraining their efficiency. Recently developed, porous wearable heart monitors can surmount these limitations and improve the quality of life for those afflicted with diverse heart conditions. This project aims to assess the potential of this new technology to spawn new business opportunities. The planned commercialization path, including founding a start-up or licensing the technology to interested third parties, offers promise for contributing to economic development and creation of new jobs. Additionally, this project can also enhance scientific and technological understanding in the field of biomedical monitoring and holds potential to catalyze progress in healthcare technology.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a new porous wearable heart monitor, which can simultaneously achieve ultrasoftness, high breathability, outstanding antimicrobial property, thermal regulation, and strain-insensitive electrical performance. Ultrasoftness can mitigate skin irritation and promote seamless device-skin integration. High breathability can help to reduce the likelihood of inflammation and data loss caused by sweat accumulation. The antimicrobial feature can prevent infections from foreign pathogenic microbes, a particularly crucial attribute for home-based applications. Thermal regulation can avoid potential skin burns from wearable circuits and mitigate the effect of temperature changes on device performance. Strain-insensitive electrical performance can minimize artifacts caused by human motions. The integration of these unique features can facilitate the creation of motion-artifact-free wearable heart monitors with unprecedented long-term biocompatibility and user-friendliness. Besides, additive manufacturing is employed in device fabrication to ensure cost-effectiveness. Moreover, beyond heart monitors, this technique can be harnessed to build a range of customized wearable devices with long-term biocompatibility and long-lasting fidelity of biosignal recording to satisfy a variety of arising requirements of home-based, personalized healthcare.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.