Advances and Challenges in Wearable Sensors for Health Monitoring

Analytical tools may revolutionize healthcare by enabling accessible, rapid, and decentralized testing. Wearable (bio)sensors, in particular, provide frequent or continuous patient monitoring through non- to minimally invasive measurements. This approach yields unprecedented amounts of health-related information, leading to more informed clinical decision-making and closer patient follow-up. In this mega-review article, we bring together leading researchers in the field to discuss the state of the art in wearable devices for health monitoring. We begin by providing a broad overview of the field through citation network analysis. We then review the application of chemical (bio)sensors in biofluids (e.g., sweat, saliva, tears, interstitial fluid, and cerebrospinal fluid), highlighting the challenges and advantages associated with each. Subsequently, we discuss the construction of wearable devices and their main formats (e.g., smart contact lenses, textiles, mouthguards, watches/wristbands, and implantable systems). Physical sensors are addressed in a dedicated section focusing on the assessment of heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. The role of soft electronics in wearable devices is also examined, as these technologies are essential for enhancing user comfort and sensor reliability, which demands advances in materials science. Furthermore, we present strategies for signal acquisition and transmission, as well as approaches for on-body energy harvesting and device self-powering. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning is then discussed as a means of enhancing analytical performance and managing the large volumes of data generated by wearable devices. Finally, business, regulatory, and ethical considerations are examined. We expect that this review will provide an overview of sensing and biosensing technologies for health-related applications, identify promising research directions, and inspire future developments.

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Publication Details

Journal
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Published
2026-07-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6c04520
Primary Topic
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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Advances and Challenges in Wearable Sensors for Health Monitoring

Yong Zhu, Vladimir V. Tsukruk, Weixin Zhou, Jörg Goldhahn et al.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
article

Advances and Challenges in Wearable Sensors for Health Monitoring

Yong Zhu, Vladimir V. Tsukruk, Weixin Zhou, Jörg Goldhahn, Jang‐Ung Park, Osvaldo N. Oliveira, Seokjoo Cho, Won Gi Chung, Alvaro Moreno Lozano, Giovanni A. Salvatore, Martin Pumera, Chwee Teck Lim, Guozhen Shen, H. Ceren Ates, Yang Zou, Domenico De Fazio, Maria Cristina Ferreira de Oliveira, Noé Brasier, Omid Veiseh, Wenzheng Heng, John A. Rogers, Beatriz Mayol, Jisoo Jeon, Emanuel Carrilho, Keval K. Sonigara, Enji Kim, Arben Merkoçi, Can Dincer, Itthipon Jeerapan, Ji‐Hwan Ha, Laís Canniatti Brazaca, Giulio Rosati, Xinming Li, Jin Wu, La Li, Dae‐Hyeong Kim, Wei Feng Gao, Pooi See Lee, John S. Ho, Gabriel Maroli, Amay J. Bandodkar, Zi Wang, Hye Jin Kim, Zhou Li, Jin Yang, Joseph Wang, Inkyu Park, Yunxia Jin, Zixuan Wu, Vitor H. B. D Santi, Desirée Tamara Scheidt, Shuang Wu, Kevin W. Plaxco, Shicheng Fan, Juliane Sempionatto, Mingyu Zhou, Vanessa Matos Gonçalves, Hui Wang
article en

Abstract

Analytical tools may revolutionize healthcare by enabling accessible, rapid, and decentralized testing. Wearable (bio)sensors, in particular, provide frequent or continuous patient monitoring through non- to minimally invasive measurements. This approach yields unprecedented amounts of health-related information, leading to more informed clinical decision-making and closer patient follow-up. In this mega-review article, we bring together leading researchers in the field to discuss the state of the art in wearable devices for health monitoring. We begin by providing a broad overview of the field through citation network analysis. We then review the application of chemical (bio)sensors in biofluids (e.g., sweat, saliva, tears, interstitial fluid, and cerebrospinal fluid), highlighting the challenges and advantages associated with each. Subsequently, we discuss the construction of wearable devices and their main formats (e.g., smart contact lenses, textiles, mouthguards, watches/wristbands, and implantable systems). Physical sensors are addressed in a dedicated section focusing on the assessment of heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. The role of soft electronics in wearable devices is also examined, as these technologies are essential for enhancing user comfort and sensor reliability, which demands advances in materials science. Furthermore, we present strategies for signal acquisition and transmission, as well as approaches for on-body energy harvesting and device self-powering. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning is then discussed as a means of enhancing analytical performance and managing the large volumes of data generated by wearable devices. Finally, business, regulatory, and ethical considerations are examined. We expect that this review will provide an overview of sensing and biosensing technologies for health-related applications, identify promising research directions, and inspire future developments.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Florida Institute of Technology (US), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES), California Institute of Technology (US), Beijing Institute of Technology (CN), Georgia Institute of Technology (US), Prince of Songkla University (TH), North Carolina State University (US), Seoul National University (KR), VSB - Technical University of Ostrava (CZ), Hanbat National University (KR), Ca' Foscari University of Venice (IT), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KR), Sun Yat-sen University (CN), Chongqing University (CN), National University of Singapore (SG), Nanyang Technological University (SG), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR), Yonsei University (KR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (IN), University of California System (US), ETH Zurich (CH), University of California San Diego (US), Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ES), Key Laboratory of Guangdong Province (CN), Integrated Optoelectronics (Norway) (NO), Integrated Sensors (United States) (US), Nanomed (Brazil) (BR), Institute for Basic Science (KR), Central European Institute of Technology (AT), Leitat Technological Center (ES), FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ), NanoBio (United States) (US), Universidad Nacional de Tumbes (PE), Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems (CN), Advanced Materials and Devices (United States) (US), Bioengineering Center (RU), Advanced Life Science Institute (JP), Neurological Surgery (US), National Institute of Science and Technology (ID), iHealth (GB), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technology, Technical University of Munich (DE), Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas (CR), Rice University (US)
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, European Commission, National University of Singapore, National Research Foundation Singapore, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, Grantová Agentura České Republiky, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Generalitat de Catalunya, Ministerstvo Zdravotnictví Ceské Republiky, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, National Research Foundation of Korea, Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore, Ministerstvo Životního Prostředí, European Regional Development Fund, Institute for Health Innovation and Technology, National University of Singapore, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, European Social Fund, HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
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