Recent Progress in Wearable Self-Powered Biomechanical Sensors: Mechanisms and Applications

Biomechanical signals, such as strain variations of the skin, vibrations of the chest and throat, as well as motions of the limbs, hold immense significance in healthcare monitoring, disease diagnosis, and human-machine interface. Examples span from monitoring blood pressure and pulse waves for atherosclerosis diagnosis, to distinguishing between metatarsalgia patients and healthy individuals by tracking their walking postures, and to voiceprint recognition and hearing aid technology based on vibration sensing. Wearable biomechanical sensors play a crucial role in providing valuable insights into one's health condition and physiological features. However, the development of high-performance sensors capable of prolonged monitoring poses challenges. Traditional batteries have limited lifespan and pose difficulty in replacement. Using self-powered devices for the measurement of biomechanical signals represents an attractive solution to tackle the issues caused by batteries. This review focuses on the mechanisms of wearable self-powered biomechanical sensors, and delves into recent advancements in their applications, covering areas of cardiovascular system monitoring, acoustic signals detection, human motion tracking, and many others associated with biomechanics. A concluding section outlines the potential future prospects in this evolving field of materials and biomedical research. This article reviews the latest progress in wearable self-powered biomechanical sensors. Based on piezoelectric, electrostatic, and electromagnetic effects, these sensors find their potential in various applications, such as cardiovascular system monitoring, acoustic signals detection, human motion tracking, and other biomedical scenarios. Challenges in this realm lie in the development of self-powered sensors with high output performances, compatible bio-interfaces, and multi-directional sensing capabilities. image