Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors in Healthcare Applications: A Comprehensive Review
Advances in medicine and improvements in life quality has led to an increase in the life expectancy of the general population. An ageing world population have placed demands on the use of assistive technology and, in particular, towards novel healthcare devices and sensors. Besides the electromagnet...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/14/3156 |
| _version_ | 1798006563600859136 |
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| author | Arnaldo G. Leal-Junior Camilo A.R. Diaz Letícia M. Avellar Maria José Pontes Carlos Marques Anselmo Frizera |
| author_facet | Arnaldo G. Leal-Junior Camilo A.R. Diaz Letícia M. Avellar Maria José Pontes Carlos Marques Anselmo Frizera |
| author_sort | Arnaldo G. Leal-Junior |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Advances in medicine and improvements in life quality has led to an increase in the life expectancy of the general population. An ageing world population have placed demands on the use of assistive technology and, in particular, towards novel healthcare devices and sensors. Besides the electromagnetic field immunity, polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors have additional advantages due to their material features such as high flexibility, lower Young’s modulus (enabling high sensitivity for mechanical parameters), higher elastic limits, and impact resistance. Such advantages are well-aligned with the instrumentation requirements of many healthcare devices and in movement analysis. Aiming at these advantages, this review paper presents the state-of-the-art developments of POF sensors for healthcare applications. A plethora of healthcare applications are discussed, which include movement analysis, physiological parameters monitoring, instrumented insoles, as well as instrumentation of healthcare robotic devices such as exoskeletons, smart walkers, actuators, prostheses, and orthosis. This review paper shows the feasibility of using POF sensors in healthcare applications and, due to the aforementioned advantages, it is possible to envisage a further widespread use of such sensors in this research field in the next few years. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:56:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ff90f1ad8a804adcb8c0de1958cc3516 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:56:44Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-ff90f1ad8a804adcb8c0de1958cc35162022-12-22T04:23:03ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202019-07-011914315610.3390/s19143156s19143156Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors in Healthcare Applications: A Comprehensive ReviewArnaldo G. Leal-Junior0Camilo A.R. Diaz1Letícia M. Avellar2Maria José Pontes3Carlos Marques4Anselmo Frizera5Mechanical Engineering Department, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Espírito Santo 29075-910, BrazilGraduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Espírito Santo 29075-910, BrazilGraduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Espírito Santo 29075-910, BrazilGraduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Espírito Santo 29075-910, BrazilDepartment of Physics and I3N, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, PortugalGraduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Espírito Santo 29075-910, BrazilAdvances in medicine and improvements in life quality has led to an increase in the life expectancy of the general population. An ageing world population have placed demands on the use of assistive technology and, in particular, towards novel healthcare devices and sensors. Besides the electromagnetic field immunity, polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors have additional advantages due to their material features such as high flexibility, lower Young’s modulus (enabling high sensitivity for mechanical parameters), higher elastic limits, and impact resistance. Such advantages are well-aligned with the instrumentation requirements of many healthcare devices and in movement analysis. Aiming at these advantages, this review paper presents the state-of-the-art developments of POF sensors for healthcare applications. A plethora of healthcare applications are discussed, which include movement analysis, physiological parameters monitoring, instrumented insoles, as well as instrumentation of healthcare robotic devices such as exoskeletons, smart walkers, actuators, prostheses, and orthosis. This review paper shows the feasibility of using POF sensors in healthcare applications and, due to the aforementioned advantages, it is possible to envisage a further widespread use of such sensors in this research field in the next few years.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/14/3156Polymer optical fiberfiber bragg gratingsoptical fiber sensorswearable robotswearable sensorshealthcare |
| spellingShingle | Arnaldo G. Leal-Junior Camilo A.R. Diaz Letícia M. Avellar Maria José Pontes Carlos Marques Anselmo Frizera Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors in Healthcare Applications: A Comprehensive Review Sensors Polymer optical fiber fiber bragg gratings optical fiber sensors wearable robots wearable sensors healthcare |
| title | Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors in Healthcare Applications: A Comprehensive Review |
| title_full | Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors in Healthcare Applications: A Comprehensive Review |
| title_fullStr | Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors in Healthcare Applications: A Comprehensive Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors in Healthcare Applications: A Comprehensive Review |
| title_short | Polymer Optical Fiber Sensors in Healthcare Applications: A Comprehensive Review |
| title_sort | polymer optical fiber sensors in healthcare applications a comprehensive review |
| topic | Polymer optical fiber fiber bragg gratings optical fiber sensors wearable robots wearable sensors healthcare |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/14/3156 |
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