Conformable AlN Piezoelectric Sensors For Non-invasive Swallowing Disorder Assessment

This publication explores innovative solutions to assess swallowing disorders (dysphagia), which commonly impair the quality of life for patients suffering from various diseases. Traditional clinical evaluations are invasive and offer subjective, imprecise results. As an alternative, the study introduces ultrathin, compliant, and flexible piezoelectric patches. These patches, made from aluminum nitride on a soft Kapton substrate, convert laryngeal movements into clear electrical signals, featuring minimal anatomical obstruction and high strain resolution. Integrated with an electrical charge amplifier and a low-power, wireless connection to a smartphone, the sensor's performance was validated using a specially designed laryngeal motion simulator. Additionally, the sensor's output was compared with surface electromyography (sEMG) measurements from a healthy volunteer. Various tests assessed the sensor’s ability to deliver clinically relevant data, demonstrating its potential to provide an unbiased, real-time, and unobtrusive evaluation of swallowing quality during normal behavior. This development could lead to a point-of-care system for continuous monitoring and assessment of swallowing disorders.