Bio-integrated wearable
systems can measure a broad range of biophysical,
biochemical, and environmental signals to provide critical insights
into overall health status and to quantify human performance. Recent
advances in material science, chemical analysis techniques, device
designs, and assembly methods form the foundations for a uniquely
differentiated type of wearable technology, characterized by noninvasive,
intimate integration with the soft, curved, time-dynamic surfaces
of the body. This review summarizes the latest advances in this emerging
field of “bio-integrated” technologies in a comprehensive
manner that connects fundamental developments in chemistry, material
science, and engineering with sensing technologies that have the potential
for widespread deployment and societal benefit in human health care.
An introduction to the chemistries and materials for the active components
of these systems contextualizes essential design considerations for
sensors and associated platforms that appear in following sections.
The subsequent content highlights the most advanced biosensors, classified
according to their ability to capture biophysical, biochemical, and
environmental information. Additional sections feature schemes for
electrically powering these sensors and strategies for achieving fully
integrated, wireless systems. The review concludes with an overview
of key remaining challenges and a summary of opportunities where advances
in materials chemistry will be critically important for continued
progress.