A review of biosensors for continuous health and safety monitoring across multiple body-worn platforms

Abstract

Integrating biosensors into everyday garments offers a non-invasive pathway to continuous physiological monitoring. This review organises recent advances by garment type–covering headwear, eyewear, footwear, wristwear, vests, and mouthguards–assessing sensing mechanisms, fabrication materials, and validation rigour for each platform. Studies are stratified by validation level, from in vitro bench work to controlled human trials, and a cross-platform suitability matrix maps each garment category to six clinical domains: chronic disease management, neurological monitoring, mental health, sports and fitness, occupational safety, and rehabilitation. Materials such as biofunctional hydrogels, MXene films, and conductive textiles have enabled architectures ranging from EEG-integrated caps and glucose-sensing contact lenses to thermometric diabetic socks. Despite considerable engineering progress, obstacles in clinical validation, device durability, cohort representativeness, and data security remain, and each is examined critically across all six platforms.