The Structure Design of Piezoelectric Poly(vinylidene Fluoride) (PVDF) Polymer-Based Sensor Patch for the Respiration Monitoring under Dynamic Walking Conditions

Sensors

Kin-Fong Lei²  Yi-Zheng Hsieh¹  Yi-Yuan Chiu¹  Min-Hsien Wu¹ 

[1] Graduate Institute of Biochemical and Biomedical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan; E-Mails:;Graduate Institute of Medical Mechatronics, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan; E-Mail:

关键词: respirations;    poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF);    sensor patch;    dynamic condition;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s150818801

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

This study reports a piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer-based sensor patch for respiration detections in dynamic walking condition. The working mechanism of respiration signal generation is based on the periodical deformations on a human chest wall during the respiratory movements, which in turn mechanically stretch the piezoelectric PVDF film to generate the corresponding electrical signals. In this study, the PVDF sensing film was completely encapsulated within the sensor patch forming a mass-spring-damper mechanical system to prevent the noises generated in a dynamic condition. To verify the design of sensor patch to prevent dynamic noises, experimental investigations were carried out. Results demonstrated the respiration signals generated and the respiratory rates measured by the proposed sensor patch were in line with the same measurements based on a commercial respiratory effort transducer both in a static (e.g., sitting) or dynamic (e.g., walking) condition. As a whole, this study has developed a PVDF-based sensor patch which is capable of monitoring respirations in a dynamic walking condition with high fidelity. Other distinctive features include its small size, light weight, ease of use, low cost, and portability. All these make it a promising sensing device to monitor respirations particularly in home care units.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.