Fabrication of a Simple Self-powered Force Sensor Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Healthcare
摘要
With the development of sensing and communication technologies, numerous sensors are widely used in healthcare applications. These sensors can collect various types of information, including heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, consumed calories, and body movement. This information is valuable in health monitoring and early disease detection, particularly for the elderly and disabled people. Recently, self-powered sensors operating based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) principles have emerged as a powerful tool for body motion tracking. TENGs can convert small-amplitude and low-frequency mechanical vibrations into high electrical signals based on the triboelectric and electrostatic induction effects. This study presents smart TENG-based self-powered force sensors for tracking human movement. They have a rectangular shape with dimensions of 40 × 30 mm2 and a thickness of 8 mm. The devices were fabricated using two triboelectric layers of printed paper and Teflon film. Those sensors can be directly integrated into a walking stick or shoes for healthcare monitoring purposes. When grip force is applied—either by the hand on a walking stick or by the heel while walking—the sensors generate an open-circuit voltage signal. This data provides valuable insights into human movement such as movement speed, stationary or moving states, and even potentially dangerous scenarios, which are beneficial information for caregivers and healthcare services. The proposed TENG-based force sensors and the integrated system have prospective applications in healthcare solutions.