Skin-interfacing wearable biosensors for smart health monitoring of infants and neonates

Abstract Health monitoring of infant patients in intensive care can be especially strenuous for both the patient and their caregiver, as testing setups involve a tangle of electrodes, probes, and catheters that keep the patient bedridden. This has typically involved expensive and imposing machines, to track physiological metrics such as heart rate, respiration rate, temperature, blood oxygen saturation, blood pressure, and ion concentrations. However, in the past couple of decades, research advancements have propelled a world of soft, wearable, and non-invasive systems to supersede current practices. This paper summarizes the latest advancements in neonatal wearable systems and the different approaches to each branch of physiological monitoring, with an emphasis on smart skin-interfaced wearables. Weaknesses and shortfalls are also addressed, with some guidelines provided to help drive the further research needed.