02 September 2012

Stretchable Electronics ~ MC10's Skin Patches+

Technology Review's David Talbot and Kyanna Sutton write about MC10 Making Stretchable Electronics which can conform to skin...
"Gold electrodes and wires just a few hundred nanometers thick are deposited on silicon wafers by conventional means, then peeled off and applied to stretchable polymers. The serpentine wires elongate when the polymers stretch, either when the balloon inflates in the heart or as the patch moves around on the skin. The electrodes measure electrical impedance to detect the electrical signals in cardiac tissue or moisture levels in the skin. The company is building on lab prototypes made by University of Illinois materials scientist John Rogers, a company cofounder. [...] In addition to its hydration patch, it is working on patches that use sensors to detect heartbeat, respiration, motion, temperature, blood oxygenation, and combinations of these indicators. MC10's skin patches can wirelessly transmit information to a nearby smartphone."
Check out embedded photos by Ken Richardson...

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