A newly-discovered electronic โ€œtattooโ€ or patch that can bend, wrinkle and stretch with the skin holds real promise for health care applications, according to a paper published in a recent edition of the journal Science, Researchers tell how they designed the ultra-thin, skin-like electronic patch with components for sensing, medical diagnostics, communications and human-machine interfaces.

Patches are mounted on a thin sheet of water-soluble plastic, and then laminated to the skin with water. The technology offers possibilities that range from monitoring neurological diseases to tracking muscle movements.

โ€œWe threw everything in our bag of tricks onto that platform, and then added a few other new ideas on top of those, to show that we could make it work,โ€ stated lead researcher John A. Rogers, PhD, professor of engineering at the University of Illinois (UI), in a press release.

โ€œWe think this could be an important conceptual advance in wearable electronics, to achieve something that is almost unnoticeable to the wearer,โ€ stated co-leader Todd Coleman, PhD, an electrical and computer-engineering professor at UI. โ€œThe technology can connect you to the physical world and the cyberworld in a very natural way that feels very comfortable.โ€

Using EEG and EMG sensors, the patches could be used to monitor nerve and muscle activity, and they donโ€™t require conductive gel, tape, skin-penetrating pins or bulky wires, according to the researchers. Because theyโ€™re less cumbersome than current monitoring devices, the technology may allow researchers to better study patient signals in natural settings.

โ€œIf we want to understand brain function in a natural environment, thatโ€™s completely incompatible with EEG studies in the laboratory,โ€ stated Coleman. โ€œThe best way to do that is to record neural signals in natural settings, with devices that are invisible to the user.โ€

Rogers collaborated on the project with Northwestern University engineering professor Yonggang Huang and researchers to develop the device geometryโ€”theyโ€™ve dubbed its shape โ€œfilamentary serpentineโ€โ€”to create tiny circuits used in the patches.

โ€œThe blurring of electronics and biology is really the key point here,โ€ Huang stated. โ€œAll established forms of electronics are hard, rigid. Biology is soft, elastic. Itโ€™s two different worlds. This is a way to truly integrate them.โ€

Researchers are next working to develop systems with the technology and add wi-fi capabilitiy.

โ€œThe vision is to exploit these concepts in systems that have self-contained, integrated functionality, perhaps ultimately working in a therapeutic fashion with closed feedback-control based on integrated sensors, in a coordinated manner with the body itself,โ€ Rogers stated.

[Source: University of Illinois]