Self-powered Box Knot Neckband Sensor for Cardiovascular Symptom Monitoring

Cardiovascular symptoms (CS) in humans are closely associated with patients’ health. Among CS parameters, blood pressure (BP) assessment is one of the essential vital signs in the clinical field due to its significant relation to human life. Therefore, an effective continuous BP monitoring system is in high demand to address the shortage of outpatient care services and enable home-based continuous vital sign monitoring. For effective continuous BP monitoring at home, the system should be portable, user-friendly, and comfortable for the patient, ensuring convenience during continuous data collection. Here, a wearable neckband-type earphone for continuous monitoring of CS and BP in a non-invasive and wireless manner via a Self-powered Box Knot Pulsewave sensor (SBKP) is presented. The multi-stacked architecture of the SBKP, inspired by the knotting craft, has a sensitivity and resolution of 38.17 mV Pa^-1 and 0.006 kPa, respectively, which allows for the measurement of human pulse waves from the cheek, neck, or wrist. Additionally, its low energy consumption sensor, achieved through the triboelectric mechanism, enables the development of additional user-convenient auxiliary care systems: continuous BP monitoring with potential music therapy or convenient patient-doctor remote communication systems. This work provides an efficient and cost-effective approach toward active and personalized health condition monitoring.