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Page 16 of 20                             Lu et al. Soft Sci 2024;4:36  https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ss.2024.29

               screening of cancer therapies in vivo. By providing immediate and dynamic information on tumor response
               to treatment, these datasets can expedite and automate the process, leading to more efficient and effective
               cancer therapy development.


               Skin interface biosensors for advanced wireless physiological monitoring in neonatal and pediatric intensive
               care units (NICUs and PICUs, respectively) are designed to be non-invasive, comfortable for patients ,
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               providing real-time monitoring of various physiological parameters, with the potential to greatly improve
               patient care and outcomes. Figure 4E exhibits a photograph of the chest and limb units on a model of a
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               neonate in a NICU isolation unit, with exemplary data displayed on a user interface . These exemplary
               data, for instance, ECGs, photoplethysmograms (PPGs), seismocardiograms (SCGs), and chest movements
               obtained from a neonate with a gestational age (GA) of 29 weeks, are captured through uninterrupted
               wireless transmission to a mobile tablet utilizing using a platform with an embedded batter. The real-time
               signal analysis algorithms executed on the mobile tablet enable the transmitted raw data from the devices to
               be processed immediately. This allows dynamic and adaptive vital signs to be displayed with minimal time
               delay. Additional clinically important data, such as the differences in rotational angles between devices and
               reference frames during resting (left and right lateral position), holding, feeding, and kangaroo care (KC)
               events for a neonate in NICU, are exhibited on the right in Figure 4E. This multifunctional system has the
               potential to greatly improve the quality of neonatal and pediatric intensive care.


               CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES
               Collectively, these advancements in materials science, device engineering, and measurement principles have
               led to the development of high-precision measurement systems for the mechanical characterization of soft
               biological tissues. These systems enable researchers to study tissue mechanics in a controlled and
               quantitative manner, providing insights into the behavior and properties of tissues under physiological and
               pathological conditions. In this review, we review the recent advancements in sensing platforms for
               biological tissue mechanics, including the measurement mechanism and engineering design, and the
               applications in tissue engineering, biomedical research and clinical medicine. The emphasis is on the
               systematic characteristics of engineering designs and methods that have diagnostic utility across different
               measurement depths. The latest research results are summarized in Table 1. The biological tissue mechanics
               sensing platforms feature unique modes of interface with soft tissue, high measurement resolutions and
               wider application ranges, which cannot be supported by traditional methods. Selecting the appropriate
               mechanical sensing platforms according to the sensing needs of tissues or organs with different depths such
               as vocal cord vibration, cardiac beating, tissue stiffness and arterial pulsation can provide a rich application
               of clinical medicine. However, the development of a single, scalable measurement system with hybrid
               functions for evaluating biomechanics at multiple spatial scales and depths in a rapid, precise, and non-
               invasive manner is a persistent challenge.


               To address this challenge, researchers and engineers are exploring different approaches and technologies:
               (1) Advances in imaging technologies, such as MRI, ultrasound, and optical coherence tomography (OCT),
               have enabled non-invasive visualization of tissues and structures at various scales. The wearable ultrasonic
               transducer arrays, for example, are used for deep tissue sensing (> 10 cm) at a spatial resolution of hundreds
               of micrometers . These imaging techniques can provide valuable information about biomechanical
                            [20]
               properties, such as tissue elasticity and deformation, without requiring invasive procedures; (2) Combining
               multiple sensors and measurement devices can help capture biomechanical data at different scales. For
               instance, incorporating pressure sensors, strain gauges, accelerometers, and force plates into a single system
               can provide a more comprehensive understanding of biomechanical behavior. Integration of these sensors
               with imaging technologies allows for simultaneous data acquisition and correlation ; (3) Computational
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