PFI-TT: Flexible Electronic Devices for Harvesting Body Heat toward Self-Powered Wearable Health Monitoring

这个创新伙伴关系-技术转化（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力在于使可穿戴设备可用于远程、警惕和长期健康监测。最近，COVID-19大流行凸显了对此类设备的迫切需求，以管理/保护个人和公众健康，特别是那些患有慢性基础疾病的人。对多种生物标志物的持续监测是实现精准和个性化医疗的关键因素之一。然而，目前市场上的产品无法为医学界和科学界提供获得高分辨率和纵向数据的必要途径。这些系统通常缺乏多种传感模式，同时也受到电池寿命短的困扰。为了满足这一需求，可穿戴平台必须不间断地运行，以收集高粒度数据，并建立个人健康基线。这可以通过从人体和/或环境中收集多余的能量来为传感器和电子设备供电来实现。这种无电池设备有可能彻底改变医疗行业，因为它使个人能够控制自己的健康，同时通过减少频繁就医的需要，大大降低了医疗成本。该项目引入了一种柔性电子能量收集装置，可以穿戴在身上，收集多余的身体热量并将其转化为电能。该装置依赖于一种独特的液态金属材料，它像金属一样导电，同时提供像水一样的粘度，以实现具有极限灵活性和可拉伸性的电路。该技术与卷对卷制造兼容，这是柔性电子产品降低成本的一个非常理想的属性。该项目的主要目标是提高收割机的技术成熟度，以增加其商业化潜力。该研究包括系统的研究，旨在评估和提高收割机的长期可靠性，同时通过引入材料和工艺来提高其可制造性，从而在不影响设备性能的情况下提供更低的成本和制造便利性。研究任务包括新的柔性材料，以增强性能，舒适性和坚固性。新材料和设备将在不同的身体活动水平和不同的环境条件下对人体进行测试。收割机将受到外部应力的重复循环，如热、湿和机械变形。结果将用于识别潜在的失效机制，材料和工艺解决方案将解决这些机制。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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 Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project lies in enabling wearable devices that can be used for remote, vigilant, and long-term health monitoring. The COVID-19 pandemic has recently highlighted the acute need for such devices to manage/protect individual and public health, particularly for those with chronic underlying conditions. Continuous monitoring of multiple biomarkers is one of the key enablers of precision and personalized medicine. However, current products on the market are not capable of providing the medical and scientific community the necessary access to high-resolution and longitudinal data. These systems typically lack multiple sensing modalities while also suffering from short battery life. To address the need, wearable platforms must operate with no interruptions to collect high granularity data over time and establish individual health baselines. This can be accomplished by harvesting the excess energy from the human body and/or the environment to power the sensors and the electronics. Such battery-free devices have the potential to revolutionize the medical industry by empowering individuals to gain control of their own health while significantly reducing medical costs by decreasing the need for frequent doctor visits.The project introduces a flexible electronic energy harvesting device that can be worn on the body to harvest excess body heat and convert it to electrical energy. The device relies on a unique liquid-metal material which conducts electricity like a metal while offering water-like viscosity to realize electrical circuitry with ultimate flexibility and stretchability. The technology is compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing, a highly desirable attribute in flexible electronics to reduce costs. The primary goal of the project is to increase the technology readiness of the harvester to increase its commercialization potential. The research includes systematic studies geared toward assessing and improving the long-term reliability of the harvester while enhancing its manufacturability by introducing materials and processes that offer lower-cost and manufacturing ease without compromising device performance. Research tasks include new flexible materials for enhanced performance, comfort, and robustness. The new materials and devices will be tested on the human body during different physical activity levels and under different ambient conditions. The harvesters will be subjected to repetitive cycles of external stresses such as heat, moisture and mechanical deformation. The results will be used to identify potential failure mechanisms, materials and process solutions will address such mechanisms.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.