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Prognosis of Cardiovascular Conditions Noninvasively Using Printable Elastomeric Electronic Skin
Muthamil Selvan T1, Titash Mondal1
1Rubber Technology Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India.
Insights
A novel electronic skin sensor offers affordable, at-home monitoring for cardiovascular conditions (CVC). This easy-to-use device detects vital signs, aiding early prognosis and potentially reducing mortality.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Cardiovascular Diagnostics
Background:
- Delayed diagnosis of cardiovascular conditions (CVC) contributes to global mortality.
- Current diagnostic methods require specialized medical facilities, hindering timely intervention due to socioeconomic factors.
- There is a need for affordable, easy-to-use point-of-care diagnostic tools for CVC monitoring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an affordable, solvent-free manufactured electronic skin-based strain sensor for early CVC prognosis.
- To enable simple, at-home monitoring of arterial pulse and related CVC indicators.
- To create a point-of-care tool with uncomplicated manufacturing and analysis modules.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a stencil-printable liquid elastomer-carbon nanotube electronic skin sensor using solvent-free manufacturing.
- Utilizing the sensor to detect pulse waves at various arterial locations.
- Analyzing sensor data to derive parameters like augmentation index, stiffness index, and heart rate variability via Poincare plots.
Main Results:
- The sensor demonstrated high linearity and a gauge factor of 234.26.
- Achieved a fast response time of 85 ms for pulse data acquisition.
- Exhibited excellent cyclic stability over 500 cycles and capability to acquire pulse waves under varying arterial pressures.
Conclusions:
- The developed electronic skin sensor is a promising tool for affordable and accessible point-of-care CVC monitoring.
- Its performance characteristics support accurate detection of vital parameters for early disease prognosis.
- The sensor's ease of use and manufacturing facilitate widespread application in managing cardiovascular health.
Abstract:
Lack of timely prognosis of cardiovascular condition (CVC) is resulting in increased mortality across the globe. Currently, available techniques are confined to medical facilities and need the intervention of specialists. Frequently, this impedes timely treatment, driven by socioeconomic factors. Consequently, the disease transcends toward incurable complications. In such a scenario, point-of-care diagnostic tools can help with prognosis at an early stage. Albeit there are such tools available, it is imperative to develop affordably in uncomplicated manufacturing techniques and should have simple readout and analysis modules for monitoring CVC. Accordingly, the solvent-free manufacturing of stencil printable liquid elastomer-carbon nanotube electronic skin-based strain sensor, capable of accurately detecting pulse (at different positions) and other parameters like augmentation index and stiffness index of artery related to the CVC, is reported. The Poincare plot, derived from the recorded data, measures heart rate variability, a key indicator linked to mortality. Thanks to the staggering linearity, gauge factor of 234.26, fast response time of 85 ms (measured from pulse data), and cyclic stability (over 500 cycles), assist in the ease of detection of vital parameters. Furthermore, the sensor patch demonstrates its capability to acquire pulse waves under different real-time artery conditions using cuff-based pressure applications.
