Soft, Stretchable, High-Sensitivity, Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Based Strain Sensor for Joint Healthcare.

Zechen Guo, Xiaohe Hu, Yaqiong Chen, Yanwei Ma, Fuqun Zhao, Sheng Guo
Author Information
  1. Zechen Guo: School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China.
  2. Xiaohe Hu: School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China.
  3. Yaqiong Chen: School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China.
  4. Yanwei Ma: School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China.
  5. Fuqun Zhao: School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China. ORCID
  6. Sheng Guo: School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China.

Abstract

Exoskeletons play a crucial role in joint healthcare by providing targeted support and rehabilitation for individuals with musculoskeletal diseases. As an assistive device, the accurate monitoring of the user's joint signals and exoskeleton status using wearable sensors is essential to ensure the efficiency of conducting complex tasks in various scenarios. However, balancing sensitivity and stretchability in wearable devices for exoskeleton applications remains a significant challenge. Here, we introduce a wearable strain sensor for detecting finger and knee joint motions. The sensor utilizes a stretchable elastic conductive network, incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into Ecoflex. The concentration of MWCNTs has been meticulously optimized to achieve both a high gauge factor (GF) and stability. With its high sensitivity, the sensor is enabled to be applied in the angle monitoring of finger joints. By integrating the sensor with human knee joints and an exoskeleton device, it can simultaneously detect the flexion and extension movements in real-time. This sensor holds significant potential for enhancing exoskeleton performance and improving joint healthcare technologies.

Keywords

References

  1. Adv Mater. 2024 Dec;36(49):e2409071 [PMID: 39420650]
  2. Nanomicro Lett. 2024 Nov 18;17(1):64 [PMID: 39551898]
  3. Nat Commun. 2022 Nov 3;13(1):6604 [PMID: 36329038]
  4. Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 26;14(1):25476 [PMID: 39462117]
  5. Nanotechnology. 2015 Sep 18;26(37):375501 [PMID: 26303117]
  6. Adv Mater. 2024 Oct;36(43):e2205609 [PMID: 35951770]
  7. Microsyst Nanoeng. 2024 Apr 8;10:50 [PMID: 38595947]
  8. Materials (Basel). 2022 Dec 15;15(24): [PMID: 36556763]
  9. Materials (Basel). 2024 Jul 17;17(14): [PMID: 39063825]
  10. Sci Adv. 2024 Jan 19;10(3):eadk5260 [PMID: 38232166]
  11. Microsyst Nanoeng. 2022 Sep 29;8:111 [PMID: 36187892]
  12. Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 26;15(1):1760 [PMID: 38409128]
  13. Adv Mater. 2017 Aug;29(31): [PMID: 28621041]
  14. Sci Adv. 2024 Oct 11;10(41):eadp8804 [PMID: 39383239]
  15. Nat Commun. 2021 May 11;12(1):2692 [PMID: 33976216]
  16. Sci Adv. 2024 Sep 20;10(38):eadr1099 [PMID: 39303034]
  17. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2017 Feb;25(2):171-182 [PMID: 26829794]
  18. ACS Nano. 2014 May 27;8(5):5154-63 [PMID: 24749972]
  19. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2024 Nov;11(43):e2408082 [PMID: 39319637]
  20. Adv Mater. 2021 Aug;33(34):e2008267 [PMID: 34240474]

Grants

  1. 2023JBMC019/Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
  2. 50305035/National Natural Science Foundation of China
  3. 52275004/National Natural Science Foundation of China
  4. 3242012/Beijing Natural Science Foundation

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0exoskeletonsensorjointhealthcarewearableMWCNTsdevicemonitoringsensorssensitivitysignificantstrainfingerkneehighjointsExoskeletonsplaycrucialroleprovidingtargetedsupportrehabilitationindividualsmusculoskeletaldiseasesassistiveaccurateuser'ssignalsstatususingessentialensureefficiencyconductingcomplextasksvariousscenariosHoweverbalancingstretchabilitydevicesapplicationsremainschallengeintroducedetectingmotionsutilizesstretchableelasticconductivenetworkincorporatingmulti-walledcarbonnanotubesEcoflexconcentrationmeticulouslyoptimizedachievegaugefactorGFstabilityenabledappliedangleintegratinghumancansimultaneouslydetectflexionextensionmovementsreal-timeholdspotentialenhancingperformanceimprovingtechnologiesSoftStretchableHigh-SensitivityMulti-WalledCarbonNanotube-BasedStrainSensorJointHealthcaresoftelectronics

Similar Articles

Cited By