Battery-free, wireless soft sensors for continuous multi-site measurements of pressure and temperature from patients at risk for pressure injuries
Yong Suk Oh, Jae-Hwan Kim, Zhaoqian Xie, Seokjoo Cho, Hyeonseok Han, Sung Woo Jeon, Minsu Park, Myeong Namkoong, Raudel Avila, Zhen Song, Sung‐Uk Lee, Kabseok Ko, Jungyup Lee, Je‐Sang Lee, Weon Gi Min, Byeong‐Ju Lee, Myungwoo Choi, Ha Uk Chung, Jong-Won Kim, Mengdi Han, Jahyun Koo, Yeon Sik Choi, Sung Soo Kwak, Sung Bong Kim, Jeonghyun Kim, Jungil Choi, Chang‐Mo Kang, Jong Uk Kim, Kyeongha Kwon, Sang Min Won, Janice Mihyun Baek, Yujin Lee, So Young Kim, Wei Lu, Abraham Vázquez‐Guardado, Hyoyoung Jeong, Hanjun Ryu, Geumbee Lee, Kyuyoung Kim, Seunghwan Kim, Min Seong Kim, Jungrak Choi, Dong Yun Choi, Quansan Yang, Hangbo Zhao, Wubin Bai, Hokyung Jang, Yongjoon Yu, Jaeman Lim, Xu Guo, Bong Hoon Kim, Seokwoo Jeon, Charles R. Davies, Anthony Banks, Hyung Jin Sung, Yonggang Huang, Inkyu Park, John A. Rogers
Abstract
Capabilities for continuous monitoring of pressures and temperatures at critical skin interfaces can help to guide care strategies that minimize the potential for pressure injuries in hospitalized patients or in individuals confined to the bed. This paper introduces a soft, skin-mountable class of sensor system for this purpose. The design includes a pressure-responsive element based on membrane deflection and a battery-free, wireless mode of operation capable of multi-site measurements at strategic locations across the body. Such devices yield continuous, simultaneous readings of pressure and temperature in a sequential readout scheme from a pair of primary antennas mounted under the bedding and connected to a wireless reader and a multiplexer located at the bedside. Experimental evaluation of the sensor and the complete system includes benchtop measurements and numerical simulations of the key features. Clinical trials involving two hemiplegic patients and a tetraplegic patient demonstrate the feasibility, functionality and long-term stability of this technology in operating hospital settings.