Bioprinting for wearable sensors, brain-machine interfaces and exoskeleton robots
Bioprinting holds the promise of producing biocompatible structures capable of seamlessly integrating with human physiology. It has improved human health by enabling the precise fabrication of tissue models that closely mimic the architecture and functions of human skin, brain and bone. Building on the significant contributions of bioprinting in these realms, there has been corresponding increase of cross-disciplinary innovations in wearable technologies, brain-machine interfaces and exoskeleton robotics. Given the progress of bioprinting in skin study, the biocompatibility and integration with the human body of wearable electronics are expected to be improved. For the patient-specific neural tissues created by bioprinting, the potential to replicate neural activities through the synergy of bioprinting and brain-machine interfaces presents opportunities to boost the performance of more advanced neuromorphic systems. Inspired by the advancements of bioprinting in producing patient-specific bone grafts and scaffolds, bioprinting may also supply necessary tools to narrow the gaps between purely mechanical systems and biomechanics, and redefine the limits of skeleton robotics. This work revisits the rapidly advancing frontier applications of bioprinting in fields of wearable sensors, brain-machine interfaces and exoskeleton robots. Brief discussions are also provided on existing and potential issues encountered by the interdisciplinary research.