Integrating Polymeric 3D-Printed Microneedles with Wearable Devices: Toward Smart and Personalized Healthcare...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Wearable healthcare is transitioning from passive monitoring to active, closed-loop therapeutic systems.
• Polymeric microneedle arrays (MNAs) are key components in this shift, enabling minimally invasive interstitial fluid access and localized drug delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• This review surveys the design, materials, and manufacturing of skin-conformal MNA wearables.
• It explores the potential of integrated systems for personalized, real-time monitoring and therapy.
• The review aims to identify challenges and future directions for clinical translation.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on 3D-printed microneedle arrays (MNAs).
• Analysis of design principles, material selection, and manufacturing techniques.
• Examination of enabling technologies like soft electronics, wireless modules, and AI-driven control.

Main Results:

• A clear transition from proof-of-concept MNA devices to integrated, wearable, closed-loop therapeutic platforms is observed.
• Converging advances in multimaterial printing, nano/biofunctional coatings, and AI are paving the way for
• wearable clinics
• .

Conclusions:

• Key challenges for clinical translation include scalable manufacturing, drug dose limitations, long-term stability, and regulatory hurdles.
• Addressing gaps in hollow MNA architectures, system integration, and evaluation protocols will accelerate adoption.
• Realization of closed-loop systems is constrained by power consumption, data latency, and the need for clinical validation.