Assitant professor
Nanshu Lu and her team have developed a faster, inexpensive method
for making
epidermal electronics. Cockrell School of Engineering
(September 29, 2015) A
team of researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of
Texas at Austin has invented a method for producing inexpensive and
high-performing wearable patches that can continuously monitor the body’s vital
signs for human health and performance tracking, potentially outperforming
traditional monitoring tools such as cardiac event monitors.
The researchers published a paper on their patent-pending
process in Advanced Materials on Sept. 23.
Led by Assistant Professor Nanshu Lu, the team’s manufacturing
method aims to construct disposable tattoo-like health monitoring patches for
the mass production of epidermal electronics, a popular technology that Lu
helped develop in 2011.
The team’s breakthrough is a repeatable “cut-and-paste”
method that cuts manufacturing time from several days to only 20 minutes. The
researchers believe their new method is compatible with roll-to-roll
manufacturing — an existing method for creating devices in bulk using a roll of
flexible plastic and a processing machine.
Reliable, ultrathin wearable electronic devices that stick
to the skin like a temporary tattoo are a relatively new innovation. These
devices have the ability to pick up and transmit the human body’s vital
signals, tracking heart rate, hydration level, muscle movement, temperature and
brain activity.
Although it is a promising invention, a lengthy, tedious and
costly production process has until now hampered these wearables’ potential.