Microneedle Assays for Continuous Health Monitoring: Challenges and Solutions

Continuous health monitoring aims to reduce hospitalization and the need for constant supervision of the patients. For an outpatient monitoring device to be effective, it must meet certain criteria: it should demand minimal patient involvement, be reliable, be connected, remain stable with infrequent replacements, be cost-efficient, be compatible with humans, and ultimately be self-powered. Microneedle (MN) technology, designed for transdermal biosensing, offers a promising solution for meeting a wide range of these demands in the field of continuous health monitoring. A variety of MN platforms have been developed to facilitate this crucial function. Our focus in this Perspective is on the significant challenges linked to MN-based biosensors. These challenges include ensuring skin compatibility, the effective integration of biorecognition elements into the MN systems, and the durability concerns of these sensors in enabling extended periods of continuous monitoring. Tackling these hurdles could pave the way for more effective and reliable MN-based health monitoring solutions in the future.