Flexible wearable device applications for monitoring astronaut health: Current status and challenges
Yi Wang, Delong Dong, W H Zhou, Jiang He
Abstract
The burgeoning domain of flexible wearable devices is leading the way in aerospace medicine, providing groundbreaking solutions for the real-time health monitoring of astronauts. As human space exploration evolves towards extended missions, the imperative to monitor the physiological and psychological well-being of astronauts is becoming increasingly paramount. The space environment, characterised by microgravity, radiation exposure and extreme temperature fluctuations, poses significant challenges to astronauts’ health, including bone density reduction and muscle atrophy. Flexible wearable devices equipped with a variety of sensors provide comprehensive and continuous monitoring solutions that are vital for the prompt identification of health concerns and the execution of personalised interventions. Despite technological advancements, challenges such as device stability in space, privacy issues, and data integration persist. The future of this technology hinges on innovations in materials, the creation of intelligent algorithms, improvements in user experience and interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at enhancing astronaut health monitoring and promoting the progress of human space exploration. • Review the development of flexible wearable devices in astronaut health monitoring. • Summarized the technology pathways of flexible wearable devices for astronaut applications. • List of current challenges in the development of flexible wearable devices for astronaut applications.