Stretchable graded multichannel self-powered respiratory sensor inspired by shark gill

Respiratory sensing provides a simple, non-invasive, and efficient way for medical diagnosis and health monitoring, but it relies on sensors that are conformal, accurate, durable, and sustainable working. Here, a stretchable, multichannel respiratory sensor inspired by the structure of shark gill cleft is reported. The bionic shark gill structure can convert transverse elastic deformation into longitudinal elastic deformation during stretching. Combining the optimized bionic shark gill structure with the piezoelectric and the triboelectric effect, the bionic shark gill respiratory sensor (BSG-RS) can produce a graded electrical response to different tensile strains. Based on this feature, BSG-RS can simultaneously monitor the breathing rate and breathing depth of the human body accurately, and realize the effective recognition of the different human body's breathing state under the supporting software. With good stretchability, wearability, accuracy, and long-term stability (50,000 cycles), BSG-RS is expected to be applied as self-powered smart wearables for mobile medical diagnostic analysis in the future.