A Flexible, Wearable, and Wireless Biosensor Patch with Internet of Medical Things Applications

Abstract

Monitoring the vital signs and physiological responses of the human body in daily activities is particularly useful for the early diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Here, we proposed a wireless and flexible biosensor patch for continuous and longitudinal monitoring of different physiological signals, including body temperature, blood pressure (BP), and electrocardiography. Moreover, these modalities for tracking body movement and GPS locations for emergency rescue have been included in biosensor devices. We optimized the flexible patch design with high mechanical stretchability and compatibility that can provide reliable and long-term attachment to the curved skin surface. Regarding smart healthcare applications, this research presents an Internet of Things-connected healthcare platform consisting of a smartphone application, website service, database server, and mobile gateway. The IoT platform has the potential to reduce the demand for medical resources and enhance the quality of healthcare services. To further address the advances in non-invasive continuous BP monitoring, an optimized deep learning architecture with one-channel electrocardiogram signals is introduced. The performance of the BP estimation model was verified using an independent dataset; this experimental result satisfied the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, and the British Hypertension Society standards for BP monitoring devices. The experimental results demonstrated the practical application of the wireless and flexible biosensor patch for continuous physiological signal monitoring with Internet of Medical Things-connected healthcare applications.

Keywords

• biosensors
• physiological signals
• Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
• artificial neural network (ANN)