Graphene-Based Wearable Sensor for Healthcare Monitoring

Biosignals, such as skin temperature, EEG, and ECG, provide information regarding the general condition of the human body and facilitate the diagnosis of various diseases. In this talk, we present a wearable thermal patch with dual functions of continuous skin temperature sensing and thermotherapy for effective self-care treatment and an EEG/EKG sensor with clinical diagnostic function to monitor for abnormal brain and cardiac rhythms in patients. The thermal patch consists of a graphene-based capacitive sensor, a graphene thermal pad, and a flexible read-out board with a wireless communication module. The wearable sensor continuously monitors the temperature variation over a large area of skin area with high resolution and sensitivity and performs thermotherapy via the graphene-based heater mounted at the bottom of the device. Animal studies prove that the proposed system can be used to diagnose various diseases. In addition, EEG/ECG sensor consists of graphene electrodes and read-out circuits with a wireless communication module. The sensor attached to the skin of the head and chest continuously monitors EEG and ECG from the brain and heart. This technology could be useful in the development of convenient and wearable healthcare devices.