Embracing Self-Powered Wearables for Intelligent Healthcare Data Management

Wei Gong, Zhaoyuan Xu, Longzhi Yuan, Haoquan Zhou, Si Chen, Yuan Ding, Amiya Nayak, Jiangchuan Liu

Abstract: Existing IoT systems suffer from restricted communication distances, high deployment costs, and frequent battery replacements, making them ineffective for managing healthcare data. This article presents Prometheus, a self-powered wristband for reporting personal health status over long distances and intelligently managing healthcare data. Prometheus backscatters ambient BLE and ZigBee signals for low-power communication while incorporating a multisource energy harvester to convert ambient RF, light, and heat into electricity. It also features a biochemical sensor array for monitoring sweat biochemical markers. Prototyped on a flexible PCB, Prometheus demonstrates impressive efficiency, consuming only 5.8 mW for sweat sensing, with BLE and ZigBee transmission energies significantly lower than standard electrochemical workstations and commercial alternatives. Our experiments show consistent signal quality at distances up to 20 m. In summary, Prometheus emerges as a convenient, efficient, and self-powered wristband, promising to provide ubiquitous healthcare data management in our lives.