Persistent disparities exist in access to state-of-the-art healthcare disproportionately affecting underserved and vulnerable populations. Advances in wearable sensors enabled by additive manufacturing (AM) offer new opportunities to address such disparities and enhance equitable access to advanced diagnostic technologies. Such technologies provide a pathway to rapidly prototype bespoke, multifunctional wearable sensors thereby circumventing traditional barriers in resource-limited environments, such as the necessity for specialized facilities, technical expertise, and capital-intensive processes. This talk highlights several emerging areas of innovation that are revolutionizing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of sensor development through our recent efforts concentrated on developing (A) enhanced methodologies for fabricating laser-induced graphene (LIG)-based sensors, (B) 3D-printing technologies for fabricating high-resolution flexible electronics, and (C) new modalities for wearable microfluidic sensing platforms. Through this we showcase how such devices hold the potential for addressing some of the formidable obstacles to delivering comprehensive medical care in under-resourced settings, especially in remote or geographically isolated areas.

Tyler R. Ray is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received a B.S. (2008) and M.S. (2010) in mechanical engineering from the University of South Carolina, and a Ph.D. (2015) in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research interests are at the intersection of 3D printing functional materials, lab-on-chip diagnostics, and wearable sensing. He has received several awards for this work including the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career (CAREER) Award (2023).