The continuous monitoring of hemodynamics attainable with wireless implantable devices would improve the treatment of vascular diseases. However, demanding requirements of size, wireless operation, and compatibility with endovascular procedures have limited the development of vascular electronics. Here, we report an implantable, wireless vascular electronic system, consisting of a multimaterial inductive stent and printed soft sensors capable of real-time monitoring of arterial pressure, pulse rate, and flow without batteries or circuits. Developments in stent design achieve an enhanced wireless platform while matching conventional stent mechanics. The fully printed pressure sensors demonstrate fast response times, high durability, and sensing at small bending radii. The device is monitored via inductive coupling at communication distances notably larger than prior vascular sensors. The wireless electronic system is validated in artery models, while minimally invasive catheter implantation is demonstrated in an in vivo rabbit study. Overall, the vascular system offers an adaptable framework for comprehensive monitoring of hemodynamics.

A device combining soft, wireless wearable electronics with virtual reality offers portable therapeutics for eye disorders.

Human–machine interfacing (HMI) has emerged as a critical technology in healthcare, robotics, and wearable electronics, with hydrogels offering unique advantages as multifunctional materials that seamlessly connect biological systems with electronic devices. This review provides a detailed examination of recent advancements in hydrogel design, focusing on their properties and potential applications in HMI. We explore the key characteristics such as biocompatibility, mechanical flexibility, and responsiveness, which are essential for effective and long-term integration with biological tissues. Additionally, we highlight innovations in conductive hydrogels, hybrid and composite materials, and fabrication techniques such as 3D/4D printing, which allow for the customization of hydrogel properties to meet the demands of specific HMI applications. Further, we discuss the diverse classes of polymers that contribute to hydrogel conductivity, including conducting, natural, synthetic, and hybrid polymers, emphasizing their role in enhancing electrical performance and mechanical adaptability. In addition to material design, we examine the regulatory landscape governing hydrogel-based biointerfaces for HMI applications, addressing the key considerations for clinical translation and commercialization. An analysis of the patent landscape provides insights into emerging trends and innovations shaping the future of hydrogel technologies in human–machine interactions. The review also covers a range of applications, including wearable electronics, neural interfaces, soft robotics, and haptic systems, where hydrogels play a transformative role in enhancing human–machine interactions. Thereafter, the review addresses the challenges hydrogels face in HMI applications, including issues related to stability, biocompatibility, and scalability, while offering future perspectives on the continued evolution of hydrogel-based systems for HMI technologies.

Hydrogels are gaining popularity for use in wearable electronics owing to their inherent biomimetic characteristics, flexible physicochemical properties, and excellent biocompatibility. Among various hydrogels, conductive polymer-based hydrogels (CP HGs) have emerged as excellent candidates for future wearable sensor designs. These hydrogels can attain desired properties through various tuning strategies extending from molecular design to microstructural configuration. However, significant challenges remain, such as the limited strain-sensing range, significant hysteresis of sensing signals, dehydration-induced functional failure, and surface/interfacial malfunction during manufacturing/processing. This review summarizes the recent developments in polymer-hydrogel-based wearable electrochemical biosensors over the past five years. Initially serving as carriers for biomolecules, polymer-hydrogel-based sensors have advanced to encompass a wider range of applications, including the development of non-enzymatic sensors facilitated by the integration of nanomaterials such as metals, metal oxides, and carbon-based materials. Beyond the numerous existing reports that primarily focus on biomolecule detection, we extend the scope to include the fabrication of nanocomposite conductive polymer hydrogels and explore their varied conductivity mechanisms in electrochemical sensing applications. This comprehensive evaluation is instrumental in determining the readiness of these polymer hydrogels for point-of-care translation and state-of-the-art applications in wearable electrochemical sensing technology.

Achieving large-scale, cost-effective, and reproducible manufacturing of stem cells with the existing devices is challenging. Traditional single-use cell-bag bioreactors, limited by their rigid and single-point sensors, struggle with accuracy and scalability for high-quality cell manufacturing. Here, we introduce a smart bioreactor system that enables multi-spatial sensing for real-time, wireless culture monitoring. This scalable system includes a low-profile, label-free thin-film sensor array and electronics integrated with a flexible cell bag, allowing for simultaneous assessment of culture properties such as pH, dissolved oxygen, glucose, and temperature, to receive real-time feedback for up to 30 days. The experimental results show the accurate monitoring of time-dynamic and spatial variations of stem cells and myoblast cells with adjustable carriers from a plastic dish to a 2-liter cell bag. These advances open up the broad applicability of the smart sensing system for large-scale, lower-cost, reproducible, and high-quality engineered cell manufacturing for broad clinical use.