Recent Advances in Materials and Flexible Sensors for Arrhythmia Detection

Abstract

Arrhythmias are one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and their early detection is essential for patient wellness. However, traditional arrhythmia diagnosis by expert evaluation from intermittent clinical examinations is time-consuming and often lacks quantitative data. Modern wearable sensors and machine learning algorithms have attempted to alleviate this problem by providing continuous monitoring and real-time arrhythmia detection. However, current devices are still largely limited by the fundamental mismatch between skin and sensor, giving way to motion artifacts. Additionally, the desirable qualities of flexibility, robustness, breathability, adhesiveness, stretchability, and durability cannot all be met at once. Flexible sensors have improved upon the current clinical arrhythmia detection methods by following the topography of skin and reducing the natural interface mismatch between cardiac monitoring sensors and human skin. Flexible bioelectric, optoelectronic, ultrasonic, and mechanoelectrical sensors have been demonstrated to provide essential information about heart-rate variability, which is crucial in detecting and classifying arrhythmias. In this review, we analyze the current trends in flexible wearable sensors for cardiac monitoring and the efficacy of these devices for arrhythmia detection.

Continuous Monitoring of Health and Mobility Indicators in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease: A Review of Recent Technologies

“…Monitoring of the heart rate and rhythm in patients known to suffer or be at risk of intermittent or continuous arrhythmias [ 168 , 169 ] may serve several purposes. For example, in patients permanently in atrial fibrillation, monitoring the heart rate (either occasionally or continuously) at both rest and on exertion allows for the initiation or dose alteration of medications that reduce abnormally high heart rates.…”

Advances in Biosignal Sensing and Signal Processing Methods with Wearable Devices

“…Arrhythmias constitute a key segment of CVDs and are often precursors to serious conditions such as strokes and cardiac arrest. [43] Wearable devices have proven attractive for arrhythmia monitoring in particular owing to inefficiencies present in conventional diagnostic practices, namely qualitative consideration of a patient's medical history in conjunction with manual analysis by trained individuals [44] in contrast to the real-time monitoring and diagnostic ability offered by wearable devices. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of arrhythmia and a major risk factor for ischemic stroke.…”

Printed Strain Sensors for Motion Recognition: A Review of Materials, Fabrication Methods, and Machine Learning Algorithms

“…The requirements for a low elastic modulus and high stretchability are typically achieved by integrating a very thin (< 20 µm) metal, conductive polymer composite, or conductive nanomaterial dispersion in a stretchable substrate, like urethane or fabric [17][18][19]. Second, the sensors must be highly sensitive over the strain region of interest, which is controlled primarily by the material properties and judicious patterning of the sensor [11,20,21]. Third, they must be durable over repeated uses [16].…”