Utilizing rapid technological developments to benefit human health is a worldwide movement, fostering the growth of research in biomedical engineering. One rapidly evolving area is wearable biosensors, which hold the promise of transforming healthcare through digital tools and AI-based medicine.
The advancement of edge-computing and AI functionalities through wearable sensors significantly boosts their intelligence, which is essential for the AI of Things. It also decreases energy consumption by limiting the data transfers between sensory devices and processing units. This capability allows wearable gadgets to handle data on-site, facilitating immediate processing, quicker feedback, and reduced dependence on network connections and external devices. Consequently, this improves efficiency, enhances privacy, and increases responsiveness in areas like health monitoring, activity tracking, and smart wearable technologies.
Nevertheless, existing sensors have limited computing power, and their mechanical incompatibility with soft tissues can result in motion distortions, hindering their practical use in wearable applications.
To address this issue, a research team headed by Professor Shiming Zhang from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has launched a revolutionary wearable in-sensor computing platform. This platform is based on an advanced microelectronic device known as an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT), designed specifically for bioelectronics. The team has developed a standardized protocol for materials and fabrication that grants OECTs their stretchable qualities. Their research has resulted in a microelectronics platform that fuses sensing, computational capabilities, and flexibility into a single hardware unit, specifically suited for wearable in-sensor computing applications.
The research team has also created an accessible, multi-channel printing system to simplify the large-scale production of sensors. By integrating these sensors with circuitry, they demonstrated the platform’s capability to monitor human electrophysiological signals in real-time. Their findings revealed consistent, low-power in-situ computing even during movement.
This study has recently been featured in Nature Electronics, under the title “A wearable in-sensor computing platform based on stretchable organic electrochemical transistors.”
“We have established a wearable in-sensor computing platform utilizing unconventional soft microelectronics technology, supplying hardware solutions that emerging fields like human-machine interfacing, digital health, and AI medicine have long sought,” Professor Zhang stated.
The research team is optimistic that their work will expand the boundaries of wearable technology and edge-AI in healthcare. Their forthcoming efforts will focus on refining the platform and investigating its potential applications across different healthcare environments.
“This pioneering work not only highlights the innovative potential of the HKU team but also creates new possibilities for wearable technology. The team’s commitment to enhancing quality of life through advanced health technology is clearly reflected in this significant achievement,” Professor Zhang added.
