Researchers develop ultrathin, self-powered e-health patches that can monitor a user's pulse and blood pressure
Sheet-shaped piezoelectric system with self-generation and storage functions (picture of an integrated system). Photo credit: Osaka University Scientists from Osaka University, in collaboration with Joanneum Research (Weiz, Austria), have developed wireless health monitoring patches that use embedded piezoelectric nanogenerators to supply harvested biomechanical energy. This work can lead to new autonomous health sensors as well as self-powered portable electronic devices. As wearable technology and smart sensors grow in popularity, the problem of powering all of these devices becomes more relevant. While the power requirements of any component can be small, the need for wires or even batteries becomes cumbersome and impractical. Therefore, new energy generat