Electronic Skin: applications for health

monitoring, robotics and prosthetics

Vitor Sencadas

vsencadas@gmail.com
2
Biography
2009 PhD in Physics from University of Minho, Portugal

2010-2014 Pos-Doc at Centre of Physics, University of Minho, Portugal

2011 -2014 Invited Assistant Professor, Polytechnic Institute of Cavado and Ave,
Portugal

2015-2017 Lecturer, University of Wollongong, Australia

2018 - 2021 Senior Lecturer, University of Wollongong, Australia

2021 - Assistant Professor, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal

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Outline
Research Interests

Overview to wearable device

Piezoelectricity in Silk Fibroin

Piezoresistive sensors for Prosthetics and Wearable Applications

Capacitive sensors for Wearable Applications

Outlook

4
 Research Interests

Sensors and Drug

Biomaterials
Actuators Delivery

5
Overview

6
Overview

7
Overview

8
Overview

9
Overview

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 Electroactive Materials

Electronic EAP Ionic EAP

Dielectric EAP
Electrostrictive graft
elastomers
Electrostrictive paper
Electro-viscoelastic elastomer
Ferroelectric polymers
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCE)
Ionic polymer gels (IPG)
Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC)
Conducting polymers
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) and nanofibers,
Graphene

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 Physical Sensing Mechanisms

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 Processing

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 Piezoelectricity in Silk Fibroin

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Piezoelectric properties
Piezoelectricity Pyroelectricity

Dynamic response

P
p=
 P  T
d ij =  i 
   3 (direction of the applied electrical field)
 j E ,T
i , j =1, 2 , 3

1 (direction of the mechanical force)

2 (perpendicular to the mechanical force direction)
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Silk Fibroin

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Processing Methodology

Electrical Poling occurs during the

electrospinning process

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 𝑉
Sample Morphology 𝐸=
𝑑

18 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.104106
a-helix to b-sheets phase transformation

19 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.104106
Nanoscale
Characterization

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.104106

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Macroscopic
Characterization

Power
1 𝑉𝐿2
𝑃=
𝐴 𝑅𝐿
Sensitivity
∆𝑉𝑜𝑐
𝑆=
∆𝜎𝑎

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Electroactivity Manifestation

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Silk Fibroin Characteristics 𝑑
𝑔33 = 𝜀 33
𝜀
0 𝑟

Material 𝜺 𝒅𝟑𝟑 𝒈𝟑𝟑

(1 kHz) (pm.N-1) (Vm.N-1)

Quartz 4.6 2 0.02

PZT-4 1400 -123 0.03

BaTiO3 1500 145 0.01

PVDF 12 -30 0.33

As-spun Silk fibroin 3.7 38 1.05

Vapor MeOH Silk fibroin 6.0 27 0.53

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 Piezoresistive Sensors for Prosthetics
and Wearable Applications

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Introduction - Piezoresistivity
𝑙
𝑅=𝜌
𝐴

Δ𝑅 Δ𝐿
= 𝐺𝐹 ∗
𝑅 𝐿

• Limit to 𝜺 ≤ 𝟓%
Material Gauge factor • Prone to oxidation
Metal foil 1-2 • Processed into simple shapes
Semiconductor (crystal) 80-150 • Rigid and difficult to attach to
Diffused semiconductor 10-200 complex geometries

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Introduction - Piezoresistivity
Desirable performance parameters:

• Stretchability / compressibility
• Sensitivity or gauge factor (GF)
• Linearity
• Hysteresis
• Response and recovery time
• Overshoot behavior
• Durability

These parameters are crucial for stretchable and wearable strain sensor
characterization since large, long-duration, and frequent strains may be
applied to the strain sensors during such applications.
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 Prosthetics Applications

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Printable sensor materials

28 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2017.08.051
Printable sensor materials

29 29 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2017.08.051
 Wearable Applications

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Wearable Sensors: processing
https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.201900423
https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b21739

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 Materials characterization
𝑤𝑠
𝜀=
𝑤1 − (𝑤2 − 𝑤𝑠 )

𝑡
𝜎𝑐 ∝ 𝜙 − 𝜙𝑐
3
e = 50%
v= 40 mm/min
Energy loss (kJ/m3)
2

7 wt% MWCNT

0 wt% MWCNT

0
0 2 4 6 8 10
32 Number of cycles
Sensor Performance

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34
 Capacitive Sensors for Wearable
Applications

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Introduction – Capacitive Sensors
𝐴
𝐶 = 𝜀0 𝜀
𝑡
Dielectric Material (1 + 𝜀)𝑙0 (1 − 𝜈𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑒 )𝑤0 (1 + 𝜀)𝑙0 𝑤0
𝐶 = 𝜀0 𝜀 = 𝜀0 𝜀
(1 − 𝜈𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 )𝑑0 𝑑0

Gauge Factor
Δ𝐶 Δ𝐿
= 𝐺𝐹 ∗
𝐶0 𝐿

Sensibility
Δ𝐶 Δ𝜎
=𝑆∗
𝐶0 𝜎0

36 Gauge Factor limited to 1 due to the Poisson’s ratio change

Capacitive sensors
Desirable performance parameters:

• Stretchability / compressibility
• Sensitivity or gauge factor (GF)
• Linearity
• Hysteresis
• Response and recovery time
• Overshoot behavior
• Durability

These parameters are crucial for stretchable and wearable strain sensor
characterization since large, long-duration, and frequent strains may be
applied to the strain sensors during such applications.
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Applications

https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c20173

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Outlook…

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Outlook…
There is plenty of work to do in this multidisciplinary field

➢ New materials

➢ Electronics and software

➢ Machine learning capabilities

➢ Medical validation

➢ Commercialization

➢ ….

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Obrigado!!!!