Super-elastic multi-material optical fibers for healthcare applications

Stretchable optical and electronic fibers constitute increasingly important building blocks for a myriad of applications, particularly in robotics, soft prosthesis, surgical tools and implants, and smart medical textiles. The integration of multimaterial architectures and complex functionalities within soft fibers has however for a long time remained difficult to achieve, limiting the performance and functionalities of medical fibers and textiles. In this contribution, we will show how the thermal drawing process used to fabricate optical fibers, and traditionally associated with rigid glasses or thermoplastic, can be applied to a certain class of thermoplastic elastomers. We will demonstrate that optical polymers, liquid metals, and conductive polymer composites could be co-drawn with prescribed architectures within a thermoplastic elastomer cladding. This allowed us to successfully fabricate super-elastic fibers with complex optical as well as electronic functionalities relevant for a myriad of applications in health-care. We will show in particular how such fibers can be used as precise and robust pressure, strain or more generally deformation sensors that can be seamlessly integrated within surgical tools, prosthesis, fabrics or robots. We will also discuss their potential as advanced optical probes, regenerative scaffolds or stimulating implants. This work opens novel opportunities for sensing and monitoring, scaffolds and implants, medical robotics and personalized care.