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renal, and neurodegenerative diseases. However, intermittent clinic-based care provides limited longitudinal
insight and often misses early physiological changes, particularly in older adults with mobility constraints
and fragmented follow-up. Decisions based on discrete tests, such as blood panels or brief electrocardiogram
(ECG) recordings, fail to reflect daily-life physiology, allowing deterioration to go undetected .
[1]

These gaps have motivated advanced sensing technologies and biomedical devices that measure health
continuously as well as achieve personalized healthcare and treatment interventions. Wearable sensors that
interface directly with the body using diverse formfactors, such as epidermal patches, smartwatches and
ring-type devices, enabled by advances in skin-compatible and mechanically robust materials, offer
continuous, user-friendly physiological monitoring in daily life [2-11] . Early generations of wearable devices
have primarily focused on measurements of physical signals, such as electrocardiography, heart rate, blood
pressure, body temperature, or motion, supporting detection of arrhythmias, fall risk, monitoring gait
instability, and tracking rehabilitation outcomes in older adults [12,13] . In parallel, wearable biochemical sensors
have emerged to capture molecular level information by continuously monitoring key biomarkers in
biofluids, such as sweat or interstitial fluid. However, such single modality wearable sensors fall short of
capturing the full spectrum of diverse symptoms experienced by old adults. By integrating well-established
physical and chemical sensing modalities into a single unified platform, hybrid wearable systems enable
synergistic physiological interpretation that extends beyond isolated signal acquisition and facilitates
mechanistic insights into dynamic, system-level health states. Recently developed hybrid wearable devices
track multiple biochemical and physiological signals on a single platform, enabling comprehensive
monitoring of chronic conditions in older adults [Figure 1] . These integrated systems provide real-time
[14]
data streams that support early detection and tailored intervention.

The true clinical value of continuous monitoring depends on translating high-dimensional data streams into
interpretable and actionable endpoints. By establishing individualized baselines from longitudinal hybrid
wearable data and integrating multi-sensor temporal trends, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven models can
identify subtle physiological deviations that precede overt clinical deterioration [15-17] . By shifting from
threshold-based alerts to probabilistic forecasting, AI enables earlier, lower-intensity interventions tailored to
individual aging trajectories.

In this Perspective, we map a path towards hybrid wearable sensing for geriatric healthcare, focusing on
older adults living with multimorbidity and the need for longitudinal health monitoring. We first summarize
recent advances in biophysical wearables that capture cardiorespiratory and mobility-related dynamics, as
well as chemical and minimally invasive platforms that access sweat or interstitial fluid for molecular
monitoring of metabolic state and therapy response. We then argue that hybrid-based simultaneous tracking
of biochemical and biophysical trends, combined with AI-analysis of longitudinal data addresses the elderly
multifactorial health trajectories, enhances diagnostic accuracy and enables more clinically actionable
assessment. Finally, we discuss key translational requirements, including real-world robustness, interpretable
multimodal inference, and integration with telemedicine and home-based care.

THE WAY TO WEARABLE HYBRID SENSORS
Wearable physical and chemical sensors
The widespread adoption of consumer wearables, including smartwatches and rings, enables continuous
physiological and behavioral monitoring during daily life . Beyond these consumer devices, research-grade
[18]
skin-interfaced systems expand the scope of cardiorespiratory monitoring by integrating soft strain sensors,
acoustic sensors, and inertial measurement units (IMUs). By capturing body motion and deformation linked
to respiration and cardiac activity, these platforms reveal mechanical–physiological interactions in real-world
settings . Age-adaptive polymeric skin electronics further address geriatric-specific challenges by
[19]