UC Irvine

Wearable sensors and electronics have emerged as integral components of personalized healthcare, playing an instrumental role in real-time monitoring of critical physiological parameters. These devices provide pivotal information about an individual's health status, effectively revolutionizing medical assessment and intervention procedures. The role of wearable sensors extends across a diverse range of healthcare applications, from early disease diagnosis and tracking of chronic conditions, to the real-time evaluation of treatment efficacy. In response to these growing needs, this thesis seeks to confront the prevailing challenges in healthcare monitoring through the design, development, and comprehensive characterization of innovative sensor systems. These systems leverage novel multimaterial and multilayer 3D printing technology to expedite and streamline the production of various wearable sensing devices. The simplicity of these manufacturing processes enables individuals with basic computer and 3D printing knowledge to execute them without necessitating cleanroom micro-nanofabrication facilities. As a result, these cost-effective platforms, with their straightforward and cleanroom-free manufacturing, have the potential to transform personalized healthcare significantly.Chapter 2 delves into the design, fabrication, and experimental findings of an all-3D-printed, multimaterial, multilayer nanocomposite-based (M2A3DNC) flexible wearable pressure sensor. This sensor system is remarkable for its high sensitivity, rapid response time, and extraordinarily low detection limit, making it perfectly suited for recording multiple, sensitive physiological signals in real-time. Chapter 3 elucidates the development and experimental results of a wireless, battery-free, biocompatible, flexible 3D-printed (W2BF3D) wearable pH sensor with an integrated near-field communication (NFC) readout system. This system exhibits high sensitivity, specificity, repeatability, and reproducibility across various pH ranges and allows for real-time, in-situ sweat pH monitoring. Our proposed manufacturing methodology for sensor systems offers a promising shift in the realm of healthcare monitoring technologies. We envision that our easily fabricable, user-friendly, scalable, and low-cost sensor systems will emerge as potential game-changers in personalized healthcare, catalyzing a significant transformation in health monitoring practices.