Medical Invention
Med-Tech Tatoo
The latest in medical inventions is a hair-thin, stick-on micro-electronic tattoo.
It is applied to the skin like any ink transfer tattoo. You rub a backing sheet onto your skin - peel it off - leaving the tattoo transfer on the surface.
The tattoo is made from a rubbery polymer substrate that has similar properties to skin. It has the same thickness, mass and elasticity.
It can bend, stretch and wrinkle just like real skin and contains advanced circuit components (transistors, diodes, and semiconductors) that can monitor functions in your body, such as heart rate, brain waves, neuro-muscular activity and wound healing.
Powered by solar cells, the data collected can be transmitted wireless to a remote computer for analysis.
Scientists believe that this medical invention could be used to monitor more subtle processes, such as the movement of enzymes, antibodies, or pathogens.
The med-tech tattoo was developed by collaborating scientists from universities in the United States, China and Singapore.
Funding for this invention was provided by the Air Force Research Laboratory, the US Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Illinois, and the Defense Department National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship.
Source: sciencemag.org
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