Engineers from two American universities have developed an electronic patch similar to a band-aid that can stick to a user’s skin and relay health information to a phone or computer. The patch includes silicone chips encased in a plastic case and silicone fluid that help it to stay stuck to the skin even through continuous movement.
The research team comprised of engineers from the University of Illinois and Northwestern University and was headed by John Rogers and Yonggang Huang from the former and latter universities respectively. In order to make sure that the wiring inside the patch does not break because of the way human skin is always in motion, the engineers designed them to unfold and fold according to the skin’s motion.
With the rising popularity of wearable technology and fitness monitoring devices, the patch could make sense to lot of users. Considering how malleable and unobtrusive it is, many users would prefer using it instead of wearing another gadget around their wrist or arms.
In the future, the research team wants to add biomechanical sensors to the patch to make it possible for it to analyse a user’s sweat and transmit more in-depth health and medical information.
To get a better idea of how the patch works, check out the video below:
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Source: Popular Science