Recent Advances of Nanogenerator Technology for Cardiovascular Sensing and Monitoring

Cardiovascular sensing and monitoring is a widely used function in cardiovascular devices. Nowadays, achieving desired flexibility, wearability and implantability becomes a major design goal for the advancement of this family of devices. As an emerging technology, nanogenerator (NG) offers an intriguing promise for replacing the battery, an essential obstacle toward tissue-like soft electronics. This article reviews most recent advancements in NG technology for advanced cardiovascular sensing and monitoring. Based on the application targets, the discuss covers implantable NGs on hearts, implantable NGs for blood vessel grafts and patches, and wearable NGs with various sensing functions. The applications of NGs as a power source and as an electromechanical sensing element are both discussed. At the end, current challenges in this direction and future research perspectives are elaborated. This emerging and impactful application direction reviewed in this article is expected to inspire many new research and commercialization opportunities in the field of NG technology.