Wearable Devices
摘要
Wearable sensors are compact, portable devices designed to obtain health and physical activity data, thereby playing a crucial role in medical monitoring and athletic performance optimization. Among these, lightweight electrochemical sensors are particularly useful due to their seamless integration with various wearable platforms. In healthcare, continuous real-time data collection facilitates timely diagnosis and remote treatment, while in sports, physiological data can guide strategies for performance enhancement. To address these requirements, body-worn biosensors have been developed focusing on comfort, flexibility, biocompatibility, breathability, and secure skin adhesion. Given that wearable devices are often exposed to repetitive mechanical stresses such as stretching and twisting, particularly when in contact with the skin, their components—especially electrodes—must be engineered for mechanical resilience. Achieving both unobtrusiveness and durability requires advanced microfabrication techniques that combine multiple materials. By incorporating materials such as gold, carbon nanomaterials, and conductive polymers, these techniques enable the production of stretchable and flexible electrode systems. Additionally, the integration of telecommunication technologies facilitates remote data transmission, minimizes the need for hospital visits, and supports home-based care. Unlike traditional sensors, wearable devices present unique design and operational challenges because they directly interact with the human body. To overcome these, recent systems increasingly employ wireless technologies such as Near Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for untethered operation. Moreover, emerging innovations include multifunctional sensor arrays, integrated drug delivery mechanisms, and smart wound dressings, heralding a new era in personalized, real-time healthcare and monitoring.