Search for: All records

Abstract Activities and physical effort have been commonly estimated using a metabolic rate through indirect calorimetry to capture breath information. The physical effort represents the work hardness used to optimize wearable robotic systems. Thus, personalization and rapid optimization of the effort are critical. Although respirometry is the gold standard for estimating metabolic costs, this method requires a heavy, bulky, and rigid system, limiting the system’s field deployability. Here, this paper reports a soft, flexible bioelectronic system that integrates a wearable ankle-foot exoskeleton, used to estimate metabolic costs and physical effort, demonstrating the potential for real-time wearable robot adjustments based on biofeedback. Data from a set of activities, including walking, running, and squatting with the biopatch and exoskeleton, determines the relationship between metabolic costs and heart rate variability root mean square of successive differences (HRV-RMSSD) ( R  = −0.758). Collectively, the exoskeleton-integrated wearable system shows potential to develop a field-deployable exoskeleton platform that can measure wireless real-time physiological signals. 

Seismocardiography (SCG) is the measure of local vibrations in the chest due to heartbeats. Typically, SCG signals are measured using rigid integrated circuit (IC) accelerometers and bulky electronics. However, as alternatives, recent studies of emerging flexible sensors show promise. Here, we introduce the development of wireless soft capacitive sensors that require no battery or rigid IC components for measuring SCG signals for cardiovascular health monitoring. Both the capacitive and inductive components of the circuit are patterned with laser micromachining of a polyimide-coated copper and are encapsulated with an elastomer. The wearable soft sensor can detect small strain changes on the skin, which is wirelessly measured by examining the power reflected from the antenna at a stimulating frequency. The performance of the device is verified by comparing the fiducial points to SCG measured by a commercial accelerometer and electromyograms from a commercial electrode. Overall, the human subject study demonstrates that the fiducial points are consistent with data from commercial devices, showing the potential of the ultrathin soft sensors for ambulatory cardiovascular monitoring without bulky electronics and rigid components.