Spiderweb-inspired flextensional transduction enables giant piezoelectric response for monitoring imperceptible biomechanical signals
Abstract
Accurate monitoring biomechanical signals is critical for physiological assessment and clinical interventions, but remains challenging due to their dynamic and imperceptible characteristics. Here, inspired by the spiderweb’s ability to perceive weak mechanical perturbations, we present a flextensional transduction strategy that allows piezoelectric devices to detect slight mechanical stimulus with ultrahigh sensitivity. Finite-element simulations and experimental validations demonstrate that flextensional strain amplification and dipole reorientation in amorphous PVDF domains synergistically enable a record output voltage of 161.5 V and a power density of 153.4 μW·cm − ² under sub-Newton-level mechanical stimuli. The device allows for real-time contact force monitoring during endovascular aneurysm interventions and high-fidelity pulse waveforms acquisition for noninvasive blood pressure estimation. This bioinspired strategy establishes a universal route for transducing imperceptible biomechanical stimuli into measurable electrical signals for ultrasensitive biomedical monitoring.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
Advanced Materials and Mechanics
Mechanical and Optical Resonators
Publication details
- Journal / source
- npj Flexible Electronics
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 1
- Publication date
- 10 February 2026
- Language
- EN