Multifunctional Wearable Strain Sensor Made with an Elastic Interwoven Fabric for Patients with Motor Dysfunction

Abstract

Abstract As the recovery of patients with motor dysfunction can be a time‐consuming process, flexible wearable electronics with a large workable strain range and high sensitivity for detecting various human motions may be useful for real‐time monitoring and evaluation of treatment progress. In this study, cotton/spandex core‐spun yarns are chosen as weft yarns and interwoven with acrylic plied yarn to prepare an elastic fabric, which is sequentially coated with carboxylic multi‐walled carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticle‐based conductive layers to finally obtain a high‐performance strain sensor (resistance = 60 Ω ). The strain sensor displays high sensitivity (gauge factor = 1799) and a large detectable strain range (tolerable strain up to 100%). After 1000 stretching–releasing tests, the sensor still shows favorable electromechanical stability. It is confirmed that large‐scale human joint motions and subtle signals can be detected and identified based on relative resistance variations. In addition, the sensor shows a satisfactory photothermal effect (temperature rises from 18.6 to 35.8 ° C within 2 min under IR light illumination) and good antibacterial efficiency (99.74% against Escherichia coli and 97.67% against Staphylococcus aureus ). This strain sensor has great potential for future application as an auxiliary tool for evaluating motor recovery in patients with motor dysfunction.