AIVIVE

Recent research demonstrates the immense potential of flexible and stretchable electronics for continuous health monitoring. Conformal biosensors constructed from soft, active materials have achieved clinical-grade measurements of temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, blood oxygen, electrocardiography signals, and more while woven into everyday clothing. Tiny flexible modules mounted directly on the skin can also track biomarkers in sweat such as glucose levels. Powered wirelessly, such systems generate big datasets ripe for analysis by AI for diagnostics, early disease detection, evaluation of therapies, and overall personalized health management.

Importantly, flexible form factors improve user comfort and accessibility over rigid electronics. As AIvive aims to integrate multi-parameter monitoring into lifestyle products, stretchable electronic technologies possessing soft mechanical properties closely matching human tissues will be key enablers in achieving this vision. Ongoing stretchable systems research focused on driving higher channel counts, better signal resolution, and greater on-board computation power promises continued advances.

Recent advances in smart textiles and wearable technology enable clothing to continuously monitor a wide range of vital signs and biometrics. Conductive threads and flexible printed circuits allow sensors to be seamlessly integrated into the fabric without affecting comfort or aesthetics.

Shirts have been developed that can measure ECG, respiration rate, temperature, activity, and more. Legwear can track EMG signals and joint movements. Headwear is being designed to monitor EEG. Smart garments can now unobtrusively measure over 20 distinct physiological parameters.

This data can be analyzed by AI algorithms to provide diagnostics, predict emerging health issues, evaluate therapies, and offer personalized health insights. The large datasets generated by continuous multi-parameter monitoring from thousands of users offers immense potential to train advanced neural networks.

For the AIvive project, smart garments is a key enabling technology. By partnering with companies developing sensor-embedded clothing, AIvive can gain access to rich biomechanical data from users performing everyday activities. This real-world data can allow AIvive to develop precise and personalized health tracking solutions.

As comfort and functionality of smart garments improves, user adoption will increase. This will provide AIvive with exponential growth in training data volume and variety – fueling breakthroughs in predictive health algorithms.

 Wearable sensors can detect a wide range of health indicators. These include body motions, vital signs (like breath, heart rate, ECG, blood pressure, skin temperature, SpO2), and metabolism parameters (such as glucose, pH, electrolytes, lactic acid). 

Smart garments is a key enabling technology. By partnering with companies developing sensor-embedded clothing, AIvive can gain access to rich biomechanical data from users performing everyday activities. This real-world data can allow AIvive to develop precise and personalized health tracking solutions.

As comfort and functionality of smart garments improves, user adoption will increase. This will provide AIvive with exponential growth in training data volume and variety – fueling breakthroughs in predictive health algorithms.

The importance of continuously monitoring vital signs, especially in high-risk groups, is highlighted. Many of these vital signs are critical indicators of serious diseases like heart attacks, hypertension, and asphyxia. Wearable sensing electronics have revolutionized the detection of these vital signs​​.

The monitoring of metabolism parameters is a critical aspect of health monitoring, and it’s particularly relevant for AIvive’s focus on proactive and predictive healthcare. 

1. Importance of Metabolism Parameters: Metabolism parameters include various ionized metals, metabolites, and the body’s acid-base balance. These parameters are essential for the proper functioning of organs, and excessive variations in these parameters can lead to detrimental health effects. Thus, monitoring these parameters is crucial for maintaining overall health and early detection of potential health issues.

2. Conventional vs. Wearable Monitoring Methods: Traditionally, monitoring metabolism parameters involves collecting and testing blood samples. This process can be invasive, tedious, and time-consuming. In contrast, wearable sensors offer a non-invasive and continuous approach to monitoring these parameters. Such advancements are particularly beneficial in reducing discomfort and providing real-time data for proactive health management.

3. Use of Bio-Chemical Sensors: To monitor metabolism parameters non-invasively, many conformal bio-chemical sensors have been developed. These sensors are capable of measuring electrolytes and metabolites in excrements from the body surface, providing valuable data about the body’s metabolic state.

4. Sweat Analysis: Sweat is a commonly used bio-fluid in non-invasive monitoring approaches. The electrolyte and metabolite levels in sweat are closely related to those in blood plasma, making it a valuable source for monitoring metabolic health. For example, levels of calcium (Ca2+), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), chloride (Cl-), and heavy metals in sweat can provide insights into the body’s metabolic processes and potentially detect imbalances or deficiencies.

5. Integration with AIvive’s Objectives:  incorporating the monitoring of metabolism parameters into the AI-powered system enhance the ability to provide personalized health insights. By continuously tracking these parameters, AIvive can identify trends or anomalies that may indicate a risk of metabolic disorders or other health issues. This information is pivotal in shifting from reactive to proactive healthcare, allowing for timely interventions and personalized health guidance.

In summary, the ability to non-invasively and continuously monitor metabolism parameters using wearable bio-chemical sensors represents a significant advancement in health technology. This capability aligns perfectly with AIvive’s mission of transforming healthcare through AI-powered personalized monitoring and prevention, offering a more comprehensive and real-time picture of an individual’s health status.

A dual-mode fiber-shaped flexible capacitive strain sensor fabricated by direct ink writing technology for wearable and implantable health monitoring applications.

1. Advanced Sensor Technology: The fiber-shaped flexible capacitive strain sensor (FSFCSS) developed using direct ink writing (DIW) technology demonstrates dual-mode strain sensing – axial tensile strain and radial expansion strain. This sensor offers a wide detection range, high sensitivity, and responsiveness to static and dynamic expansion strain, making it ideal for wearable health monitoring and human-machine interaction.

2. Versatility and Integration: The FSFCSS can be integrated into clothing and gloves, allowing for real-time collection of human posture information and gesture movements. This opens up a wide range of applications in human-machine interaction, which is valuable for AIvive in developing interactive health monitoring solutions.

3. Hemodynamic Monitoring: The sensor’s radial expansion strain sensing capabilities enable its application in real-time acquisition of hemodynamic information. This is crucial for postoperative monitoring, especially in patients with coronary artery disease, potentially allowing AIvive to extend its monitoring capabilities to post-surgical care and implantable monitoring systems.

4. Customization and Performance: The FSFCSS is customizable and fabricated with a high-precision DIW device, offering excellent performance in both sensing modes. Its capacity to capture subtle skin vibrations and joint strain enables real-time and continuous capture of physiological health signals, contributing to advancements in wearable health monitoring – a key focus for AIvive

The sensing mechanisms employed in wearable health monitoring devices are crucial for the accurate and reliable tracking of health indicators.  

1. Piezoresistivity:

   • Principle: Piezoresistive sensors work on the principle that their electrical resistance changes when mechanical stress is applied. This change in resistance can be measured and translated into data regarding the applied force or strain.
   • Applications: These sensors are widely used for motion detection, given their sensitivity to changes in pressure and strain. They can also be used to measure temperature, pH, analyst concentration, and humidity. This versatility makes piezoresistive sensors particularly useful for wearable health monitoring systems where different types of data need to be gathered from a single, compact device​​.

2. Capacitance:

   • Principle: Capacitive sensors operate based on the storage of electrical charge between two plates separated by a dielectric material. When there’s a change in the physical, chemical, or biological stimuli (like displacement of the plates or change in the permittivity of the dielectric), the capacitance changes. This change can be measured to provide data about the applied load or stimulus.
   • Applications: These sensors are suitable for detecting various physical parameters, and their ability to detect changes in dielectric properties makes them useful in monitoring different types of biological signals​​.

3. Piezoelectricity:

   • Principle: Piezoelectric sensors use materials (usually non-centrosymmetric crystals) that generate electric charges when external mechanical stimuli are applied. This electromechanical interaction converts mechanical energy into electrical signals.
   • Applications: Piezoelectric sensors are beneficial in wearable health devices for tracking movements or other mechanical changes. Due to their direct energy conversion mechanism, they are efficient in environments where power conservation is crucial​​.

4. FET-based Sensors:

   • Principle: FET (Field-Effect Transistor) based sensors incorporate sensitive resistors or capacitors into a traditional transistor setup. This configuration can be seen as an expansion of the piezoresistivity or capacitance mechanisms.
   • Applications: FET sensors are ideal for flexible tactile sensing due to their excellent transduction and amplification functionality, potential for mass production, and low power consumption. They are particularly adept at reducing crosstalk between sensing pixels, making them suitable for high-resolution sensing arrays in wearable devices​​.

Each of these sensing mechanisms contributes uniquely to the field of wearable health monitoring. Piezoresistive and capacitive sensors are versatile in tracking various physical and biological parameters. Piezoelectric sensors offer efficient energy conversion for motion detection. FET-based sensors bring high-resolution and low-power consumption to the table, enhancing the functionality of wearable devices.