Highly flexible, wearable, and disposable cardiac biosensors for remote and ambulatory monitoring

Contemporary cardiac and heart rate monitoring devices capture physiological signals using optical and electrode-based sensors. However, these devices generally lack the form factor and mechanical flexibility necessary for use in ambulatory and home environments. Here, we report an ultrathin (~1 mm average thickness) and highly flexible wearable cardiac sensor (WiSP) designed to be minimal in cost (disposable), light weight (1.2 g), water resistant, and capable of wireless energy harvesting. Theoretical analyses of system-level bending mechanics show the advantages of WiSP’s flexible electronics, soft encapsulation layers and bioadhesives, enabling intimate skin coupling. A clinical feasibility study conducted in atrial fibrillation patients demonstrates that the WiSP device effectively measures cardiac signals matching the Holter monitor, and is more comfortable. WiSP’s physical attributes and performance results demonstrate its utility for monitoring cardiac signals during daily activity, exertion and sleep, with implications for home-based care. Wearable electronics: digital fingers on the pulse A highly flexible, low-power wearable sensor that harvests energy and monitors cardiac signals has been developed by Lee et al. The team was led by Dr. Roozbeh Ghaffari and co-workers at MC10 Inc. and Northwestern University’s Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics at the Simpson & Querrey Institute, in collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital and Tsinghua University. The novel wearable sensors measure cardiac signals comparable in signal fidelity to those achievable with expensive monitoring systems used in hospitals. Wearable health-care solutions are fundamentally changing the way we monitor our well-being at all times of the day, no matter whether we are asleep at home or busy at work. The sensors reported here are lightweight, inexpensive to manufacture, robust to everyday use, and capable of wireless data transmission and energy harvesting to and from a smartphone. The approach proved successful for measuring episodic electrocardiograms (ECG) and continuous heart rate signals with significantly higher patient comfort scores compared to standard Holter monitors in an initial pilot study conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).