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초록

Implantable strain sensors offer opportunities for continuous biomechanical monitoring, but their performance deteriorates severely once embedded in soft tissue due to mechanical shielding that suppresses strain transmission to the sensing layer. Here, we present a bio-inspired mechanical amplification (MA) strategy that restores high sensitivity in compliant environments by reengineering the deformation pathway surrounding a crack-based strain sensor. A rigid microscale MA block, positioned on the sensing layer, induces deformation asymmetry under external loading, redirecting compressive forces into localized bending and tensile strain that effectively opens nanoscale cracks. Through theoretical modeling, FEM analysis, and experimental validation, we demonstrate that the amplification magnitude is precisely tunable by MA block height, sensor embedding depth, block shape, and modulus contrast between the block and the surrounding elastomer matrix. This MA design principle enhances single sensor sensitivity by more than an order of magnitude (similar to 11.08 & times;) and maintains stable performance across multi-pixel arrays, enabling high-resolution tactile mapping even when deeply embedded within soft substrates. The MA strategy thus provides a generalized framework for overcoming mechanical shielding and offers a pathway toward next-generation implantable tactile interfaces and soft bioelectronic systems requiring high sensitivity and robust performance in mechanically dissipative environments.

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