Printable Responsive Hydrogel Interface

Tunable adhesion, skin-friendly

This hydrogel interface establishes robust skin coupling during monitoring for stable signal acquisition, and detaches benignly to avoid tissue injury, overcoming the adhesion–peel-off dilemma of existing flexible sensors.

Qiu, Yuqi · Yang, Ganguang · Zhixin, Wang · Bo, Pang · Sen, Zhou · Zheng, Qingyang · Tian, Jia · Bing, Xue · Choi, Yeonsik · Yin, Zhouping · Wu, Changsheng · Liu, Yutian · Wu, Hao

National Science Review 2026

Specifications

Wavelength for perfusion index monitoring

{'zh': '810', 'en': '810'} nm

Advantages

Tunable adhesion on demand

The thermoresponsive hydrogel changes adhesion with temperature, providing strong coupling during signal acquisition and gentle detachment afterwards, resolving the conflict between fixation and atraumatic removal.

High-fidelity yet benign

In clinical cases, the hydrogel biosensor establishes robust hydrogel/flap skin coupling for high-fidelity signal acquisition during monitoring, and ensures benign detachment to prevent tissue injury after monitoring.

Venous congestion quantified

A new metric, the balance index (BI), is introduced to specifically monitor venous congestion, complementing arterial indices and enabling a more comprehensive assessment of circulation.

Applications

• Postoperative flap monitoring：Continuously monitor flap perfusion post-surgery to detect arterial insufficiency or venous congestion early, preventing tissue necrosis.
• Blood circulation monitoring：Simultaneously measure arterial perfusion index and venous balance index to comprehensively assess local circulatory status.
• Flexible wearable healthcare：Printable hydrogel interface enables conformal, comfortable skin contact for wearable long-term monitoring.