Portable optical fiber biosensors integrated with smartphone: technologies, applications, and challenges [Invited]

The increasing demand for individualized health monitoring and diagnostics has prompted considerable research into the integration of portable optical fiber biosensors integrated with smartphones. By capitalizing on the benefits offered by optical fibers, these biosensors enable qualitative and quantitative biosensing across a wide range of applications. The integration of these sensors with smartphones, which possess advanced computational power and versatile sensing capabilities, addresses the increasing need for portable and rapid sensing solutions. This extensive evaluation thoroughly examines the domain of optical fiber biosensors in conjunction with smartphones, including hardware complexities, sensing approaches, and integration methods. Additionally, it explores a wide range of applications, including physiological and chemical biosensing. Furthermore, the review provides an analysis of the challenges that have been identified in this rapidly evolving area of research and concludes with relevant suggestions for the progression of the field.