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Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has revolutionized the therapeutic strategy for achalasia with promising results. We conducted this meta-analysis to compare clinical outcomes between Eastern and Western countries. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases to query for studies that assessed the efficacy of POEM for achalasia. All articles published from inception to December 31, 2021 were included. The primary outcome was the pooled clinical success rate. The secondary outcomes included the pooled technical success rate, incidence of adverse events, procedure time and hospital stay. Eighteen Eastern studies involving 5962 patients and 11 Western studies involving 1651 patients were included. The pooled clinical success rate and technical success rate for POEM was equal in the Eastern studies compared to Western studies. The pooled incidence of procedure adverse events for POEM was a little lower in the Eastern studies compared to Western studies (6.6% vs. 8.7%). Similarly, the incidence of reflux-related adverse events was lower in Eastern studies than that in Western studies. The pooled procedure time of POEM was shorter in Eastern studies compared to Western studies (61 minutes vs. 80 minutes), while the length of hospital stay was longer in Eastern studies compared to Western studies (5.8 days vs. 2.4 days). Overall, Eastern countries have the similar POEM outcomes compared to Western countries. However, Eastern countries still need to do more to reduce the length of hospital stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biosafe wearable healthcare monitor has attracted significant attention owing to their applicability to wearable electronics. However, the narrow sensing range and poor response limit the application of flexible devices for comprehensive monitoring of human health‐related physiological signals (i.e., pulse diagnosis). Critical challenges remain in the development of biocompatible materials and the design of flexible bio‐integrated platforms for these purposes, targeting performance approaching those of conventional wafer‐based technologies and long‐term operational stability. In this context, this work presents a robust and flexible MXene/polydopamine (PDA)‐composite‐film‐based pressure sensor in a portable/wearable fashion, which establishes a unique intercalated spherical‐like PDA molecules structure, thereby resulting in excellent sensing performance. The MXene/PDA‐based pressure sensor has sensitivity of up to 138.8 kPa−1 in the pressure range of 0.18–6.20 kPa with fast response and recovery speed (t1 < 100 ms; t2< 50 ms). Associated embodiment involves real‐time precise measurements of a variety of health‐related physiological signals, ranging from wrist pulse, to finger motions, to vocalization and to facial expressions, with high sensitivity and accuracy. Studies on human subjects establish the clinical significance of these devices for future opportunities of health monitoring and intelligent control to predict and diagnose diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional self-supported piezoelectric thin films prepared by filtration methods are limited in practical applications due to their poor tensile properties. The strategy of using flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric as the flexible substrate is beneficial to enhancing the flexibility and stretchability of the flexible device, thus extending the applications of pressure sensors. In this work, a novel wearable pressure sensor is prepared, of which uniform and dense ZnO nanoarray-coated PET fabrics are covered by a two-dimensional MXene nanosheet. The ternary structure incorporates the advantages of the three components including the superior piezoelectric properties of ZnO nanorod arrays, the excellent flexibility of the PET substrate, and the outstanding conductivity of MXene, resulting in a novel wearable sensor with excellent pressure-sensitive properties. The PET/ZnO@MXene pressure sensor exhibits excellent sensing performance (S = 53.22 kPa−1), fast response/recovery speeds (150 ms and 100 ms), and superior flexural stability (over 30 cycles at 5% strain). The composite fabric also shows high sensitivity in both motion monitoring and physiological signal detection (e.g., device bending, elbow bending, finger bending, wrist pulse peaks, and sound signal discrimination). These findings provide insight into composite fabric-based pressure-sensitive materials, demonstrating the great significance and promising prospects in the field of flexible pressure sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]