ABSTRACT
Wearable sensors are evolving as the next generation point of care testing (POCT) devices in personalized healthcare monitoring. The need of continuous monitoring of vital biomarkers for medical diagnostics has accelerated the research in the area of development of POCT devices. Especially, this requirement is indispensable in case of elderly people. Thus, to provide continuous and on-set detection of disease, wearable sensors are one of the best practices developed in recent times. These sensors are based on the detection of biological signals produced by human epidemic skin perspiration, sweat, tear, urine, breathing, etc. Over the years, due to the developments in manufacturing, computing, and signal processing, wearable technology is becoming ubiquitous and user friendly. Recently, such sensors have progressed in the form of patches attached to the body as electronic tattoos or even integrated into clothing for real-time monitoring. In this regard, the development of biocompatible nanomaterials and remarkable advancement in electronics has facilitated great opportunities to develop implantable devices, which can significantly contribute towards the improved quality of health services. This chapter discusses the progress in the field of wearable devices, their applications in medical diagnostics, and the challenges in the development of wearable devices for real-time health monitoring.
