Korean scientists have unveiled a groundbreaking wearable that sticks to the skin like a bandage while continuously measuring blood pressure. The device uses liquid metal circuits and laser sintering for precision, offering a major leap from traditional cuff monitors. Professor Seung Hwan Ko's team designed it to address global hypertension management challenges with real-time tracking. Their innovation remains functional even when stretched to 700% of its original size.
August 11, 2025
New bandage-like wearable monitor to enable continuous measurement of BP
"This research challenges
the conventional belief that blood pressure measurement is inconvenient and
sufficient only once a day." – Prof. Seung Hwan Ko
A team of Korean researchers has
developed a wearable electronic device that attaches to the skin like a bandage
and enables real-time, continuous monitoring of blood pressure (BP) over
extended periods.
Key Points
1
New wearable uses liquid metal for skin-like elasticity
2
Tracks BP via ECG and pulse signal timing
3
Laser sintering enables precise circuit placement
4
Maintains accuracy even after 10,000 stretches
Conventional cuff-based blood
pressure monitors that use an inflatable air bladder to apply pressure to the
arm. But the new technology developed by Seoul National University team,
continuously measures BP with a compact, flexible electronic patch, garnering
global attention for its convenience and innovative design.
"This research challenges
the conventional belief that blood pressure measurement is inconvenient and
sufficient only once a day," said Professor Seung Hwan Ko from the
varsity.
"Our system proposes a new
health care interface capable of detecting and analyzing physiological signals
non-invasively and in real time," Ko added, in the paper published in the
online edition of Advanced Functional Materials.
Globally, only 21 per cent of the
estimated 1.3 billion people with hypertension effectively manage the condition,
posing a major public health concern.
The team tackled this by devising
a continuous BP monitoring technology based on the observation that the time it
takes for electrical signals (electrocardiogram) and mechanical signals (pulse)
generated simultaneously in the heart to reach the wrist varies depending on
blood pressure.
They implemented a model that
continuously measures systolic and diastolic blood pressure by precisely
detecting the two signals with each heartbeat and analysing the results.
As it is not easy to detect
subtle changes in the skin caused by blood flow, the team took designed an
electronic device that naturally adheres to the patient's skin using a unique
material called liquid metal.
Liquid metal, which remains in a
liquid state even at room temperature and conducts electricity well, is
suitable as a material for this electronic device because it has the same
elasticity as skin.
However, as liquid metal has very
high surface, the researchers devised a unique process called "laser
sintering."By using this method, which involves heating finely dispersed
liquid metal particles with a laser to fuse them together, it is possible to
draw circuits only at specific desired locations.
In addition, the team confirmed
through experiments that the device maintains its performance even when
stretched to 700 per cent of its original length or repeatedly stretched more
than 10,000 times.
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