Electronic exoneuron based on liquid metal for the quantitative sensing of the augmented somatosensory system

• Published in: Microsystems & nanoengineering Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 112
• Main Authors: Shang, Jin, Tang, Lixue, Guo, Kaiqi, Yang, Shuaijian, Cheng, Jinhao, Dou, Jiabin, Yang, Rong, Zhang, Mingming, Jiang, Xingyu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 15.09.2023; Springer Nature B.V; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 639/166/987; 639/301/357/995; Elastomers; Engineering; Human body; Laboratories; Limbs; Liquid metals; Motion capture; Motion stability; Nanoscience; Neurons; Performance evaluation; Physical training; Proprioception; Rehabilitation; Screen printing; Skin; Somatosensory system
• ISSN: 2055-7434; 2096-1030; 2055-7434
• DOI: 10.1038/s41378-023-00535-x

The increasing demands in augmented somatosensory have promoted quantitative sensing to be an emerging need for athletic training/performance evaluation and physical rehabilitation. Neurons for the somatosensory system in the human body can capture the information of movements in time but only qualitatively. This work presents an electronic Exo-neuron (EEN) that can spread throughout the limbs for realizing augmented somatosensory by recording both muscular activity and joint motion quantitatively without site constraints or drift instability, even in strenuous activities. Simply based on low-cost liquid metal and clinically used adhesive elastomer, the EEN could be easily fabricated in large areas for limbs. It is thin (~120 μm), soft, stretchable (>500%), and conformal and further shows wide applications in sports, rehabilitation, health care, and entertainment.