Open AccessMultifunctional materials for implantable and wearable photonic healthcare devices
Author(s) -
GeonHui Lee,
Hee Moon,
Hyemin Kim,
Gae Hwang Lee,
Woosung Kwon,
Seunghyup Yoo,
David Myung,
Seok Hyun Yun,
Zhenan Bao,
Sei Kwang Hahn
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nature reviews. materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 32.011
H-Index - 108
ISSN - 2058-8437
DOI - 10.1038/s41578-019-0167-3
Subject(s) - wearable computer , wearable technology , health care , photonics , computer science , mobile device , embedded system , physics , economics , economic growth , optics , operating system
Numerous light-based diagnostic and therapeutic devices are routinely used in the clinic. These devices have a familiar look as items plugged in the wall or placed at patients' bedsides, but recently, many new ideas have been proposed for the realization of implantable or wearable functional devices. Many advances are being fuelled by the development of multifunctional materials for photonic healthcare devices. However, the finite depth of light penetration in the body is still a serious constraint for their clinical applications. In this Review, we discuss the basic concepts and some examples of state-of-the-art implantable and wearable photonic healthcare devices for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. First, we describe emerging multifunctional materials critical to the advent of next-generation implantable and wearable photonic healthcare devices and discuss the path for their clinical translation. Then, we examine implantable photonic healthcare devices in terms of their properties and diagnostic and therapeutic functions. We next describe exemplary cases of noninvasive, wearable photonic healthcare devices across different anatomical applications. Finally, we discuss the future research directions for the field, in particular regarding mobile healthcare and personalized medicine.