Real-time and continuous monitoring of physiological signals is essential for mobile health (m-Health), which is becoming a popular tool for efficient and convenient medical services. In this talk, an active pulse sensing system that can detect the weak vibration patterns of the human radial artery is constructed with a sandwich-structure piezoelectret/cellular polypropylene (PP) piezoelectret that have high piezoelectricity. The high precision and stability of the system result in possible medical assessment applications, including the capability to identify common heart problems (such as arrhythmia) or diagnose health conditions; the feasibility to conduct pulse palpation measurements similar to well-trained doctors in Traditional Chinese Medicine; and the possibility to measure and read blood pressure.

Dr. Junwen Zhong is a postdoctoral researcher in University of California, Berkeley, and is working with Prof. Liwei Lin at Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center (BSAC). He received his B.S. degree (2011) and PhD degree (2016) from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. He majors in flexible generators, self-powered systems, active sensors, and mechanical actuators. He has published 7 patents, 1 book chapter and over 22 papers, among which 10 papers were published as the first author. Some of his papers were published in Energy & Environmental Science, Advanced Materials, ACS Nano, and Nano Energy, with over 1270 citations. Some of his researching works have been reported by Nature Nanotechnology, Scientific American, Chemical & Engineering, News, Nano Werk as highlights.

Smart phones, cars, and wearable activity trackers are just a few examples of products with sensors based on technologies pioneered at the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center, a Graduated NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Micro/Nanoelectromechanical Sensors & Systems (MEMS/NEMS). New research at BSAC will have even greater impacts on consumer, industrial, and medical products.