Multifunctional Wearable Strain Sensor Made with an Elastic Interwoven Fabric for Patients with Motor Dysfunction

As the recovery of patients with motor dysfunction can be a time-consuming process, flexible wearable electronics with a large workable strain range and high sensitivity for detecting various human motions may be useful for real-time monitoring and evaluation of treatment progress. In this study, cotton/spandex core-spun yarns are chosen as weft yarns and interwoven with acrylic plied yarn to prepare an elastic fabric, which is sequentially coated with carboxylic multi-walled carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticle-based conductive layers to finally obtain a high-performance strain sensor (resistance=60 omega). The strain sensor displays high sensitivity (gauge factor=1799) and a large detectable strain range (tolerable strain up to 100%). After 1000 stretching-releasing tests, the sensor still shows favorable electromechanical stability. It is confirmed that large-scale human joint motions and subtle signals can be detected and identified based on relative resistance variations. In addition, the sensor shows a satisfactory photothermal effect (temperature rises from 18.6 to 35.8 degrees C within 2 min under IR light illumination) and good antibacterial efficiency (99.74% againstEscherichia coliand 97.67% againstStaphylococcus aureus). This strain sensor has great potential for future application as an auxiliary tool for evaluating motor recovery in patients with motor dysfunction.