3D-printing-assisted flexible pressure sensor with a concentric circle pattern and high sensitivity for health monitoring

This study presents a flexible pressure sensor fabricated using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a concentric circle pattern (CCP) created via fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as the active layer. A novel compression method transforms a 3D-printed cone into a planar microstructure. PDMS replicates the compressed PLA, and PEDOT:PSS is drop-cast onto it. Sensor sensitivity increases with printing layer height (PLH), with a 0.16 mm PLH sensor exhibiting 160 kPa⁻¹ sensitivity (0–0.577 kPa linear range, R² = 0.978). The sensor demonstrates stable, repeatable operation and durability under 6.56 kPa for 4000 cycles. Applications in health monitoring (wrist pulse, swallowing, speech) are demonstrated.

Jihun Lee, Hongyun So