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In Situ Graft-on Fibrous Composites and Nanostructure Interlocking Facilitate Highly Stable Wearable Sensors for SIDS Prevention

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Abstract

High-performance and reliable wearable devices for healthcare are in high demand for the health monitoring of infants, ensuring that life-threatening events can be addressed promptly. Herein, the continuous monitoring of infant respiration for preventing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is proposed using high-performance flexible piezoresistive sensors (FPS). The thorny challenges associated with FPS, including the signal drift and poor repeatability, are progressively improved via the employment of high-Tg matrix, the strengthening of in situ graft-on conducting polyaniline layer by β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), and the nanostructure interlocking between the piezoresistive layer and electrodes. The sensor presents high linear sensitivity (30.7 kPa−1), outstanding recoverability (low hysteresis up to 1.98% FS), static stability (4.00% signal drift after 24 h at 2.4 kPa) and dynamic stability (1.92% decay of signal intensity after 50,000 cycles). A wireless infant respiration monitoring system is developed. Respiration patterns and the real-time respiration rate are displayed on the phone. Notifications are implemented when abnormal status such as bradypnea and tachypnea is detected.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of following funding sources, including National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 12172106), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (No. LZ23A020005), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Zhejiang University NGICS Platform) and the specialized research projects of Huanjiang Laboratory. The authors would like to thank Ndeutala Selma Iita for the assistance in grammar and writing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Silicon and Advanced Semiconductor Materials and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, People’s Republic of China

    Kaifeng Chen

  2. Institute of Thermal Science and Technology, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, People’s Republic of China

    Weitao Wang & Xinyu Wang

  3. School of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, People’s Republic of China

    Zhihao Ye & Yabo Dong

  4. Key Laboratory of Soft Machines and Smart Devices of Zhejiang Province and School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, People’s Republic of China

    Linpu Wan, Zijian Zhang, Wei Yang, Shaoxing Qu & Zongrong Wang

  5. Department of Astronautical Science and Mechanics, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of China

    Cheng Lin & Liwu Liu

  6. Center for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin, 150080, People’s Republic of China

    Jinsong Leng

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  1. Kaifeng Chen
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Contributions

Kaifeng Chen designed and conducted the experiments, analyzed the data, and composed the manuscript. Weitao Wang performed the molecular dynamics simulations. Zhihao Ye designed the Bluetooth module and coded the program for the respiration monitoring system. All authors revised the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Liwu Liu, Xinyu Wang, Shaoxing Qu or Zongrong Wang.

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Supplementary Information

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42765_2024_382_MOESM1_ESM.docx

Supplementary Information. Illustrations of the structures of pressure sensors; Characterizations of PANI@(PLA–PBAT) composites; Flexibility and Moisture permeability of PANI@(PLA–PBAT) composites; Impacts of PBAT content upon mechanical and piezoresistive properties of PANI@(PLA–PBAT) composites; DSC curves of PANI@(PLA–PBAT 85-15) with different doping levels of β-CD; FTIR spectra of β-CD, pristine PANI and (β-CD)-PANI powders; Decrease of the electrical conductivity of PANI after doped with β-CD; Cyclic loading–unloading test of (β-CD)/HFSA-(0.5/1); Hysteresis of PANI@(PLA–PBAT 85-15) with PAMD copper electrodes; Circuit diagram of the wireless respiration sensor illustrating data acquisition and data transmission (DOCX 2408 KB)

Supplementary Video 1. Respiration pattern visualized on mobile phone through Bluetooth communication (MP4 7107 KB)

Supplementary Video 2. Mimicking infant apnea using a peristaltic pump (MP4 16763 KB)

Supplementary Video 3. Respiration monitoring when the baby is dressed (MP4 10166 KB)

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Chen, K., Wang, W., Ye, Z. et al. In Situ Graft-on Fibrous Composites and Nanostructure Interlocking Facilitate Highly Stable Wearable Sensors for SIDS Prevention. Adv. Fiber Mater. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-024-00382-z

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