Anti-fatigue ionic gels for long-term multimodal respiratory abnormality monitoring

Wearable electronics integrated with stretchable sensors are considered a promising and non-invasive strategy to monitor respiratory status for health assessment. However, long-term and stable monitoring of respiratory abnormality is still a grand challenge. Here, we report a facile one-step thermal stretching strategy to fabricate an anti-fatigue ionic gel (AIG) sensor with high fatigue threshold ( P0 = 1130 J m -2 ), high stability ( > 20,0 0 0 cycles), high linear sensitivity, and recyclability. A multimodal wearable respira-tory monitoring system (WRMS) developed with AIG sensors can continuously measure respiratory ab-normality (single-sensor mode) and compliance (multi-sensor mode) by monitoring the movement of the ribcage and abdomen in a long-term manner. For single-sensor mode, the respiratory frequency (Fr), res-piratory energy (Er), and inspire/expire time (I/E ratio) can be extracted to evaluate the respiratory status during sitting, sporting, and sleeping. Further, the multi-sensors mode is developed to evaluate patient -ventilator asynchrony through validated clinical criteria by monitoring the incongruous movement of the chest and abdomen, which shows great potential for both daily home care and clinical applications.(c) 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Automated summary

The development of a one-step thermal stretching strategy to fabricate an anti-fatigue ionic gel sensor enables long-term and stable monitoring of respiratory abnormality. This sensor, integrated with a multimodal wearable respiratory monitoring system, allows continuous evaluation of respiratory status and compliance, making it suitable for both daily home care and clinical applications.