Researchers have developed a unified mechano-ionic skin that captures electrocardiograms and arterial pulse waves simultaneously through a single ion-conducting pathway, according to research published in Nature Communications. The interface addresses spatial decoupling and attenuated epidermal signals, two issues that typically limit wearable sensors when resolving beat-to-beat electromechanical coupling between cardiac excitation and arterial pulse propagation.
The device operates by combining molecular cation tethering with microscale stress concentration to break the symmetry of ion dynamics. This mechanism delivers a piezoionic sensitivity of 1071 mV kPa⁻¹, outperforming standard ionic conductors by more than two orders of magnitude. Because biopotentials and arterial pressure transduction share the same conductive route, the system eliminates synchronization errors between separate sensors.
The researchers integrated the interface into a wristband to perform beat-to-beat blood pressure monitoring and track resting cardiovascular metrics. The team reported that regulating ion dynamics allows multimodal sensory fusion to function as an inherent material property within soft matter systems.
Biao Ma, Heng Zhan, Haoran Deng, and Bo Lu contributed equally to the study, which included co-authors Gangsheng Chen, Jingtai Shang, Chao Zhao, Zhouyue Lei, and Hong Liu. The work involved the State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering at Southeast University, Donghua University, and The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. Support came from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grants 52573019, 22305033, and 22474020, as well as China Postdoctoral Science Foundation grant 2025T180784.
