Performance Analysis of Wearable and Flexible Humidity Sensor Integrated to Face Mask for Respiration Monitoring

Abstract

In this study, PEDOT:PSS conductive polymer printed flexible humidity sensor has been designed and fabricated to sense human respiration monitoring. PEDOT:PSS with conductive ink specifically formulated in our study, was printed on polyamide-based taffeta label fabric by an inkjet printing method. The sensitivity of the printed humidity sensor has been tested under different humidity levels inside a humidity chamber. Then, the sensor has been integrated into a face mask in order to evaluate the respiration monitoring of a user who wears the face mask in a real environment. The sensing capability of the wearable sensor and its response against respiration monitoring was evaluated under various breathing conditions such as fast and deep breathing, differentiating nose and mouth breathing. Owing to its flexible structure and printability onto textile, the wearable printed humidity sensor has the potential to be used for healthcare applications particularly for capturing user biomedical data.