CBE30 Distinguished Seminar Series - Flexible Wearable Microfluidic Sensing Technologies for Biomedical Applications and the Health Metaverse

The future of healthcare wearables lies in continuous sensing and monitoring in an unobtrusive manner. Tactile sensing is especially important to capture mechanotransduced signals arising from the body, or as a result of interactions with the external environment. However, conventional sensors are rigid, stiff and obtrusive. Therefore, it is important to confer flexibility and stretchability to our biomedical sensors, while maintaining its sensitivity and robustness. Here, we develop novel liquid metal-based microfluidic and microtubular sensors that possess high flexibility, durability, and sensitivity. The sensors comprise a soft elastomer-based microfluidic template encapsulating a conductive liquid metal which serves as the active sensing element of the device. This sensor is capable of distinguishing and quantifying the various vital signals as well as bodily movements it is subjected to. We demonstrated healthcare applications of our sensors in rehabilitation, artificial sensing, disease tracking such as that for diabetic patients and virtual reality training in the health metaverse. Overall, our work highlights the potential of the liquid-based microfluidic sensing platforms in a wide range of healthcare applications and further facilitates the exploration and realization of functional liquid-state device technology.