Wearable Electronics for Precision Diagnosis Through Advanced Manufacturing and Integration
TL;DR
This review examines how advances in materials engineering, micro/nanofabrication, and system integration have transformed wearable devices from single-parameter sensors into fully integrated, multimodal diagnostic systems and outlines key architectures and transduction mechanisms.
Abstract
Multimodal sensing strategies—electrical, electrochemical, transistor-based, and optical—integrated with AI-enabled interpretation establish a systems-level framework for continuous, individualized precision diagnosis across metabolites, electrophysiological signals, and molecular biomarkers in diverse biofluids. Advanced manufacturing and heterogeneous integration strategies, spanning printing, photolithography, 3D fabrication, and laser writing, enable skin-conformal platforms that unify sensing, signal transduction, power, and wireless communication into compact, long-term wearable diagnostic systems. Wearable diagnostic platforms demonstrate broad clinical applicability across neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, ocular, musculoskeletal, oncological, diabetic, and inflammatory conditions; by enabling longitudinal multi-parameter data fusion and personalized physiological baselines, they provide a clinically actionable pathway for early disease detection, risk stratification, and real-time health management. Multimodal sensing strategies—electrical, electrochemical, transistor-based, and optical—integrated with AI-enabled interpretation establish a systems-level framework for continuous, individualized precision diagnosis across metabolites, electrophysiological signals, and molecular biomarkers in diverse biofluids. Advanced manufacturing and heterogeneous integration strategies, spanning printing, photolithography, 3D fabrication, and laser writing, enable skin-conformal platforms that unify sensing, signal transduction, power, and wireless communication into compact, long-term wearable diagnostic systems. Wearable diagnostic platforms demonstrate broad clinical applicability across neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, ocular, musculoskeletal, oncological, diabetic, and inflammatory conditions; by enabling longitudinal multi-parameter data fusion and personalized physiological baselines, they provide a clinically actionable pathway for early disease detection, risk stratification, and real-time health management. Wearable electronics are rapidly transforming healthcare by enabling continuous, real-time monitoring of physiological and molecular signals directly at the point of need. This shift supports a transition from episodic, generalized care toward precision diagnosis, where individualized, longitudinal data guide early detection, risk stratification, and treatment decisions. Central to this transformation is the convergence of advanced manufacturing and heterogeneous integration strategies, which enable the development of compact, multimodal, and highly conformable diagnostic platforms. In this review, we examine how advances in materials engineering, micro/nanofabrication, and system integration have transformed wearable devices from single-parameter sensors into fully integrated, multimodal diagnostic systems. We outline key architectures and transduction mechanisms and highlight manufacturing approaches such as printing, 3D fabrication, photolithography, and laser writing. We emphasize heterogeneous integration strategies that combine sensing, electronics, power, and communication into skin-conformal platforms for long-term use. These advances enable precision diagnostics through continuous monitoring, multimodal data fusion, and individualized baselines. We also outline key challenges to clinical translation and discuss future directions toward robust, scalable, and clinically actionable systems, providing a strategic outlook for next-generation wearable electronics in precision diagnosis.