Responsive materials and mechanisms as thermal safety systems for skin-interfaced electronic devices

Seonggwang Yoo, Tianyu Yang, Minsu Park, Hyoyoung Jeong, Young Joong Lee, Donghwi Cho, Joohee Kim, Sung Soo Kwak, Jaeho Shin, Yoonseok Park, Yue Wang, Nenad Miljkovic, William P. King () and John A. Rogers ()
Additional contact information
Seonggwang Yoo: Northwestern University
Tianyu Yang: Northwestern University
Minsu Park: Northwestern University
Hyoyoung Jeong: Northwestern University
Young Joong Lee: Northwestern University
Donghwi Cho: Northwestern University
Joohee Kim: Northwestern University
Sung Soo Kwak: Northwestern University
Jaeho Shin: Northwestern University
Yoonseok Park: Kyung Hee University
Yue Wang: Northwestern University
Nenad Miljkovic: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
William P. King: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
John A. Rogers: Northwestern University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Soft, wireless physiological sensors that gently adhere to the skin are capable of continuous clinical-grade health monitoring in hospital and/or home settings, of particular value to critically ill infants and other vulnerable patients, but they present risks for injury upon thermal failure. This paper introduces an active materials approach that automatically minimizes such risks, to complement traditional schemes that rely on integrated sensors and electronic control circuits. The strategy exploits thin, flexible bladders that contain small volumes of liquid with boiling points a few degrees above body temperature. When the heat exceeds the safe range, vaporization rapidly forms highly effective, thermally insulating structures and delaminates the device from the skin, thereby eliminating any danger to the skin. Experimental and computational thermomechanical studies and demonstrations in a skin-interfaced mechano-acoustic sensor illustrate the effectiveness of this simple thermal safety system and suggest its applicability to nearly any class of skin-integrated device technology.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36690-y

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