Premium
A Wearable Hydration Sensor with Conformal Nanowire Electrodes
Author(s) -
Yao Shanshan,
Myers Amanda,
Malhotra Abhishek,
Lin Feiyan,
Bozkurt Alper,
Muth John F.,
Zhu Yong
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced healthcare materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.288
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2192-2659
pISSN - 2192-2640
DOI - 10.1002/adhm.201601159
Subject(s) - materials science , polydimethylsiloxane , electrode , capacitive sensing , wearable computer , capacitor , optoelectronics , electronic skin , bluetooth , nanotechnology , biomedical engineering , electrical engineering , computer science , wireless , embedded system , voltage , telecommunications , medicine , chemistry , engineering
A wearable skin hydration sensor in the form of a capacitor is demonstrated based on skin impedance measurement. The capacitor consists of two interdigitated or parallel electrodes that are made of silver nanowires (AgNWs) in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The flexible and stretchable nature of the AgNW/PDMS electrode allows conformal contact to the skin. The hydration sensor is insensitive to the external humidity change and is calibrated against a commercial skin hydration system on an artificial skin over a wide hydration range. The hydration sensor is packaged into a flexible wristband, together with a network analyzer chip, a button cell battery, and an ultralow power microprocessor with Bluetooth. In addition, a chest patch consisting of a strain sensor, three electrocardiography electrodes, and a skin hydration sensor is developed for multimodal sensing. The wearable wristband and chest patch may be used for low‐cost, wireless, and continuous monitoring of skin hydration and other health parameters.