Body-Heat-Powered Wearable Health Monitoring System Automates Disease Diagnosis

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 06 Aug 2024

Image: Overview of the flexible thermoelectric wearable device for wireless multimodal physiological monitoring (Photo courtesy of ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2024, 16, 29, 37401-37417)

Continuous monitoring of physiological signals is crucial for health monitoring, disease diagnosis, and therapeutic interventions. Existing wearable medical technologies typically depend on bulky wired systems or battery-operated devices that require frequent recharging. Addressing this limitation, researchers have now developed a self-powered, thermoelectric flexible system for wireless, portable monitoring of physiological signals that does not require battery recharging.

This innovative system, developed by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA, USA), generates a remarkably high open-circuit voltage of 175–180 mV directly from the human body. This energy is sufficient to power wearable bioelectronics that continuously monitor electrophysiological signals on the skin. As detailed in their publication in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, the thermoelectric system maintains stable performance for up to 7 days without the need for external power, demonstrating effective power management. The device integrates advanced manufacturing techniques such as screen printing, laser micromachining, and soft packaging to produce a multilayered, flexible wearable that can be attached to any part of the body. The practical demonstration of this self-sustaining wearable system in recording electromyograms and electrocardiograms highlights its broad potential applications. These include continuous biosignal monitoring, remote health assessment, and automated disease diagnostics, providing significant advances in medical technology.

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Georgia Institute of Technology