Long-term reliable physical health monitoring by sweat pore–inspired perforated electronic skins
Han-Wool Yeon, Han Eol Lee, Yeongin Kim, Doyoon Lee, Youngjoo Lee, Jong Lee, Jiho Shin, Chanyeol Choi, Ji‐Hoon Kang, Jun Min Suh, Hyunseok Kim, Hyun S. Kum, Jae Yong Lee, Dae‐Yeon Kim, Kyul Ko, Boo Soo, Peng Lin, Sangwook Han, Sungkyu Kim, Sang-Hoon Bae, Taek‐Soo Kim, Min‐Chul Park, Young‐Chang Joo, Eunjoo Kim, Jiyeon Han, Jeehwan Kim
Abstract
Electronic skins (e-skins)-electronic sensors mechanically compliant to human skin-have long been developed as an ideal electronic platform for noninvasive human health monitoring. For reliable physical health monitoring, the interface between the e-skin and human skin must be conformal and intact consistently. However, conventional e-skins cannot perfectly permeate sweat in normal day-to-day activities, resulting in degradation of the intimate interface over time and impeding stable physical sensing. Here, we present a sweat pore-inspired perforated e-skin that can effectively suppress sweat accumulation and allow inorganic sensors to obtain physical health information without malfunctioning. The auxetic dumbbell through-hole patterns in perforated e-skins lead to synergistic effects on physical properties including mechanical reliability, conformability, areal mass density, and adhesion to the skin. The perforated e-skin allows one to laminate onto the skin with consistent homeostasis, enabling multiple inorganic sensors on the skin to reliably monitor the wearer's health over a period of weeks.