Flexible and Wearable Capacitive Pressure Sensor for Monitoring Heart Parameters

The increase in global average life expectancy over the past century has been largely attributed to medical science developments. In this study, we demonstrate a polymer-based capacitive pressure sensor for measuring heart rate and pulse pressure (PP) signal. The fabricated sensor has been characterized to evaluate its performance and to verify its repeatability and precision. It is observed that the sensor works in the range of 0–8-kPa pressure range and is suitable for measuring the PP. This sensor has a high sensitivity of 7.11 kPa ⁻¹ in the low-pressure range of 0–8 kPa. Furthermore, the sensor demonstrated a considerable amount of repeatability with an error of less than 6% in consecutive measurements. Moreover, the sensor demonstrated the use of a wearable, flexible piezo-capacitive pressure sensor for PP monitoring. The wrist pulse was used as the stimulus for the experimental characterization of the sensor, and health markers related to the measured response were also discussed.