Self-powered wearable sensors for vital signs monitoring

监测生命体征在医疗保健中至关重要，尽管目前有几种方法可以做到这一点，无论是在医院环境还是在家中，但传统设备给用户带来了不同的挑战，体积庞大，不舒服，非专家操作通常很复杂，而且非常昂贵。随着物联网（IoT）驱动的设备连接和技术进步，随着蜂窝连接被蓝牙等其他类型的无线通信所取代，快速增长的可连接可穿戴设备市场也在远程患者监护的新兴市场中发挥着重要作用，因为可穿戴设备还可以实现免提操作和连续记录有用数据。将体温、呼吸频率和心脏活动传感器直接集成在纺织品上，将消除不舒服的硬件直接与人体皮肤接触带来的不便。这在心电图的情况下非常重要，特别是在连续进行时，这需要长时间使用凝胶电解质来减少皮肤和电极之间的阻力，这通常会引起过敏和皮肤刺激。除了测量体温、心脏活动和呼吸频率外，可穿戴传感器还可以用来跟踪人的身体运动，这也可以在不同的领域找到应用，比如物理治疗和康复。例如，步态模式可以提供很多关于病人健康的信息。此外，这些身体运动和浪费的身体热量往往被低估为可穿戴设备提供能量的一种手段。该项目旨在创新开发基于石墨烯和自供电的生命体征传感器，这些传感器完全集成在纺织品上，并具有无线通信能力。这种传感器提供了一种舒适且几乎难以察觉的连续监测方式，而不是目前用于相同目的的笨重设备。暴露在外部刺激下，如机械变形或温度变化，这些纺织品的导电性将以可预测的方式发生变化，这将用于传感目的。此外，这些导电纺织品还将用作心电图的电极。一种基于摩擦电纳米发电机的自给自足的环保能源，能够从使用者的运动中收集能量，也将使用类似的材料和方法开发出来。这种直接在纺织品上建造传感器的创新方法将使英国在连续生命体征监测和远程医疗领域处于领先地位，并有可能产生大量商机。与自我监测和自我护理相结合，随着远程健康监测的兴起，越来越需要实用和方便的生命体征监测设备，这些设备带有传感器，可以自行供电，易于与传统电子设备和无线通信集成，并且只需在手掌上操作，例如使用手机。为了确保该项目的成功实施，将组建一个由PI、2名研究生（PGRS）和1名经验丰富的博士后研究助理（PDRA）组成的团队，并将与两个具有纺织行业专业知识的工业合作伙伴（比利时Centexbel和英国Heathcoat）、两个来自俄罗斯Skoltech的电子和无线通信专业知识的学术合作伙伴以及英国UCL的数据处理专业知识密切合作。非常适合补充埃克塞特大学团队在材料、纳米技术和物理方面的专业知识。

Monitoring vital signs is essential in healthcare, and although there are currently several ways of doing so, either at the hospital environment or at home, conventional devices pose different challenges to their users, being bulky and uncomfortable, often complicated to operate by non-experts, and extremely expensive. With the Internet-of-Things (IoT)-driven device connectivity and technological advancements, as cellular connectivity is replaced by other types of wireless communications like Bluetooth, the fast-growing market of connected wearables also plays an important role in the emerging market of remote patient monitoring, since wearable devices also enable a hands-free operation and continuous recording of useful data. Integrating sensors for body temperature, breathing rate and cardiac activity directly on textiles would eliminate the inconvenience of uncomfortable hardware directly in contact with the human skin. This is very important in the case of electrocardiography, particularly when performed continuously, which requires the prolonged use of gel electrolytes to reduce the resistance between the skin and the electrode, often causing allergies and skin irritation. In addition to measuring temperature, cardiac activity and breathing rate, wearable sensors can also be used to track a person's body movements, which can also find applications in different fields, such as physiotherapy and rehabilitation. For instance, gait patterns can provide a lot of information about a patient's health. Moreover, these body movements and wasted body heat are often underestimated as a means to generate energy to power wearable devices.This project aims to innovative develop graphene-based and self-powered vital signs sensors fully integrated on textiles and with wireless communication capabilities. Such sensors offer a comfortable and almost imperceptible way of continuous monitoring, as opposed to heavy and bulky equipment currently in use for the same purpose. Exposed to external stimuli, such as mechanical deformations or variations in temperature, the conductivity of these textiles will change in a predictable way, and this will be explored for sensing purposes. Furthermore, these conducting textiles will also be used as electrodes for electrocardiography. A self-contained and environmentally friendly energy source based on a triboelectric nanogenerator, capable of harvesting energy from the movements of the user, will also be developed using similar materials and methods. This innovative approach of building the sensors directly on textiles will put the UK in the forefront in the field of continuous vital sign monitoring and remote healthcare and has the potential to generate numerous business opportunities.Allied to self-monitoring and self-care, with the rise of remote health monitoring there is an increasing need of practical and convenient vital sign monitoring devices with sensors that can be self-powered, easily integrated with conventional electronics and wireless communications, and simply operated in the palm of our hands, for instance, using a mobile phone.To ensure that this project is carried out successfully, a team comprising the PI, 2 postgraduate research students (PGRS) and one experienced postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) will be assembled, and will work closely with two industrial partners with expertise in the textile industry, (Centexbel, Belgium and Heathcoat, UK), and two academic partners from Skoltech, Russia, with expertise in electronics and wireless communications, and UCL, UK, with expertise in data processing, ideal to complement the expertise in materials, nanotechnology and physics of the team at Exeter.