Bioelectronics on the Fingertip

Skin-interfacing wearable bioelectronics offers considerable promise for a wide range of applications. This presentation will discuss the capabilities and advantages of fingertip-based bioelectronic systems for advanced electrochemical sensing and energy management. Unlike other body locations, the sweat rate on the fingertip is extremely high to facilitate bioelectronic operation without any sweat stimulation. Such natural perspiration at rest can be greatly enhanced by coupling with osmotic extraction. Our recent efforts demonstrated rapid touch-based in-vitro measurements of sweat L-Dopa or ketone and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) over extended periods. The efficient fingertip natural perspiration at the fingertip has been shown to be extremely useful for powering biofuel cells and for creating fully integrated fingertip-wearable microgrid systems for autonomous energy management and metabolic monitoring. Such fingertip-based systems thus offer considerable promise for establishing self-sustainable, reliable, and independent next-generation wearable bioelectronics systems for tracking healthcare and wellness.