Self-Powered Electrical Skin for Better Public Health

Transform healthcare with self-powered electrical skin technology that continuously monitors vital signs and environmental factors, enabling precision medicine approaches and proactive patient care, ultimately improving public health outcomes.

The applicant’s research focuses on the effective fusion of sustainable renewable energy technologies and intelligent information technology. The primary research objective is to leverage flexible thermoelectric (TE) chips to convert waste body heat into electricity and achieve continuous and autonomous power supply for electronic skin micro-components (functional sensors). The project aims to explore the potential of self-powered electrical skin technology to improve public health outcomes by continuously monitoring vital signs such as heart rate, blood glucose levels, and body temperature in real-time, as well as collecting environmental data on exposure to air pollutants, toxins, and infectious diseases like Covid-19.

By remotely monitoring patients who live in remote areas or have limited access to healthcare, we aim to use self-powered electrical skin to detect early warning signs of chronic diseases or health problems and intervene before they become more serious. This technology can also be used to tailor treatments to individual patients based on their unique health data, enabling precision medicine approaches.

In addition, self-powered electrical skin technology can be used to educate patients about their health by providing real-time feedback on the effects of their lifestyle choices, such as exercise or diet, on their health. This information can be used to help patients make healthier choices and manage their conditions more effectively.

Ultimately, our aim is to improve public health outcomes by optimizing treatments for patients using real-time monitoring of their health data. For example, patients with chronic pain can wear self-powered electrical skin that monitors their pain levels, allowing doctors to adjust their medication dosages or other treatments accordingly. This technology has the potential to transform healthcare by enabling more proactive and personalized approaches to patient care, particularly for those who are underserved or in remote areas.

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Group Leader

Chaochao Dun, Lindau Alumnus 2022
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA

Skills for Project