Coin-sized wearable shows potential to boost biosensing

The discovery by a team at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) featured on the April 2022 cover of Analytical Chemistry.

The PERfECT System –Personalised Electronic Reader for Electrochemical Transistors – is claimed to be the world’s smallest of its kind, measuring 1.5cm x 1.5cm x 0.2cm and weighing 0.4g. The wearable device can be integrated with a smartwatch or patch to allow for continuous monitoring of biosignals such as glucose levels and antibody concentrations in blood and even sweat.

“Our wearable system is tiny, soft and imperceptible to wearers, and it can do continuous monitoring of our body condition. These features mean it has the potential to revolutionise healthcare technology,” said Dr Shiming Zhang of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, who led the HKU WISE (wearable, intelligent and soft electronics) Research Group.

HKU believes the technology marks advance for organic electrochemical transistors, which are widely considered to be the next-generation sensing technology because of their water stability and high sensitivity at low operating voltage (milli-volts) but which, until now, lacked a miniaturised wireless system to operate within.