Flexible Pressure and Temperature Microsensors for Textile-Integrated Wearables
Environmental factors, such as pressure and temperature, are known to contribute to the formation of ulcers that seriously affect bedridden individuals. Researchers have proposed several technologies to achieve the long-term monitoring of those parameters, usually relying on sensing mats, which pose...
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/13/1/42 |
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| author | Dimitri Emmanuel dos Santos José Bento Queiroz Inês Sofia Garcia João Vieira José Fernandes Edoardo Sotgiu Graça Minas Maria Bouçanova Luisa Mendes Arruda Raul Fangueiro Anabela Salgueiro-Oliveira Alar Ainla Filipe Serra Alves Rosana Alves Dias |
| author_facet | Dimitri Emmanuel dos Santos José Bento Queiroz Inês Sofia Garcia João Vieira José Fernandes Edoardo Sotgiu Graça Minas Maria Bouçanova Luisa Mendes Arruda Raul Fangueiro Anabela Salgueiro-Oliveira Alar Ainla Filipe Serra Alves Rosana Alves Dias |
| author_sort | Dimitri Emmanuel dos Santos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Environmental factors, such as pressure and temperature, are known to contribute to the formation of ulcers that seriously affect bedridden individuals. Researchers have proposed several technologies to achieve the long-term monitoring of those parameters, usually relying on sensing mats, which poses difficulties in correlating the measurements with specific parts of the body. In this work, we aim to develop microsensors to be integrated into patient clothing. They should be highly flexible, thin with a small footprint, and can be achieved by taking advantage of the microfabrication on polyimide (PI) thin-film substrates (total device thicknesses below 30 µm). Both resistive and capacitance transduction mechanisms were explored, targeting operation ranges of 1 to 40 kPa and 24 to 42 °C. The sensors were integrated into textiles using silicone elastomers and electrical connections based on conductive silver yarn. The experimental characterization showed a nominal capacitance of 21 pF, a sensitivity of −8.44 fF/kPa for the pressure sensors, and a 0.0021 Ω/Ω°C sensitivity of the temperature sensor (with resistance of 29 kΩ at 22 °C). The proposed approach can potentially be implemented not only in wearable devices but also in many other applications for health monitoring or human–machine interfaces. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:09:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5da8a5fd32d641048c21736c2fb938f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0825 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:09:18Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Actuators |
| spelling | doaj.art-5da8a5fd32d641048c21736c2fb938f32024-01-26T14:11:10ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252024-01-011314210.3390/act13010042Flexible Pressure and Temperature Microsensors for Textile-Integrated WearablesDimitri Emmanuel dos Santos0José Bento Queiroz1Inês Sofia Garcia2João Vieira3José Fernandes4Edoardo Sotgiu5Graça Minas6Maria Bouçanova7Luisa Mendes Arruda8Raul Fangueiro9Anabela Salgueiro-Oliveira10Alar Ainla11Filipe Serra Alves12Rosana Alves Dias13INL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalINL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalINL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalINL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalINL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalINL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalCenter for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS), UMinho, 4800-058 Guimarães, PortugalImpetus S.A., 4740-696 Barqueiros, PortugalFibrenamics, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, PortugalFibrenamics, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, PortugalCentre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, PortugalINL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalINL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalINL—International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, 4715-330 Braga, PortugalEnvironmental factors, such as pressure and temperature, are known to contribute to the formation of ulcers that seriously affect bedridden individuals. Researchers have proposed several technologies to achieve the long-term monitoring of those parameters, usually relying on sensing mats, which poses difficulties in correlating the measurements with specific parts of the body. In this work, we aim to develop microsensors to be integrated into patient clothing. They should be highly flexible, thin with a small footprint, and can be achieved by taking advantage of the microfabrication on polyimide (PI) thin-film substrates (total device thicknesses below 30 µm). Both resistive and capacitance transduction mechanisms were explored, targeting operation ranges of 1 to 40 kPa and 24 to 42 °C. The sensors were integrated into textiles using silicone elastomers and electrical connections based on conductive silver yarn. The experimental characterization showed a nominal capacitance of 21 pF, a sensitivity of −8.44 fF/kPa for the pressure sensors, and a 0.0021 Ω/Ω°C sensitivity of the temperature sensor (with resistance of 29 kΩ at 22 °C). The proposed approach can potentially be implemented not only in wearable devices but also in many other applications for health monitoring or human–machine interfaces.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/13/1/42flexible sensorstextile integrationpressure microsensorstemperature microsensors |
| spellingShingle | Dimitri Emmanuel dos Santos José Bento Queiroz Inês Sofia Garcia João Vieira José Fernandes Edoardo Sotgiu Graça Minas Maria Bouçanova Luisa Mendes Arruda Raul Fangueiro Anabela Salgueiro-Oliveira Alar Ainla Filipe Serra Alves Rosana Alves Dias Flexible Pressure and Temperature Microsensors for Textile-Integrated Wearables Actuators flexible sensors textile integration pressure microsensors temperature microsensors |
| title | Flexible Pressure and Temperature Microsensors for Textile-Integrated Wearables |
| title_full | Flexible Pressure and Temperature Microsensors for Textile-Integrated Wearables |
| title_fullStr | Flexible Pressure and Temperature Microsensors for Textile-Integrated Wearables |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flexible Pressure and Temperature Microsensors for Textile-Integrated Wearables |
| title_short | Flexible Pressure and Temperature Microsensors for Textile-Integrated Wearables |
| title_sort | flexible pressure and temperature microsensors for textile integrated wearables |
| topic | flexible sensors textile integration pressure microsensors temperature microsensors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/13/1/42 |
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