This gold "tattoo" is actually a wearable device

Author:chinatopwin
Source:chinatopwin
Release on:2017-07-21

Scientists have developed an ultra-thin wearable device that can record data through the skin,

which means we are one step closer to getting rid of the bulky health surveillance equipment.

The wearable device, which looks like a fashionable golden tattoo, is suitable for long-term

monitoring of physiological indicators. It's comfortable to wear, and users often forget to wear a

wearable device.
Most skin based interfaces contain electronic components embedded in some kind of material,

such as plastic, that are attached to the skin. The problem with this design is that plastics are

usually rigid or affect user activity, requiring users to not sweat during the process.
In Nature Nanotechnology (Nature Nanotechnology) in a paper published today, the scientists

used a kind of material can dissolve in water, the electronic components directly on the skin,

wear up very comfortable.

During the test, 20 people who participated in the test wore the wearable device for a week

without any discomfort -- the skin was not itching or inflamed, and the wearables were not

damaged.

The ability to remotely control the phone or make the skin act as a touch-based interface for

smartwatches has received widespread attention in the tech industry. While these two

applications look cool, the more immediate application of this technology will be health

monitoring.
Almost all kinds of medical monitoring -- from electrical signals to heart beats -- require

electrodes to be placed on the skin. This monitoring method has no problem in the hospital or

laboratory, but for patients who need to continuously monitor these important physiological

indicators at home. It's not convenient enough.
The new system USES a network made of polyvinyl alcohol, which has been used in contact

lenses and artificial cartilage. First, scientists use electric fields to create a charged polyvinyl

alcohol line (called electrostatic spinning) that can be plated with gold and conductive. The whole

network users on the skin - in this case is a hand, then the injection water, polyvinyl alcohol is

dissolved, but gold wire will not go away, they can be used to give the LED power supply, or to

the notebook to transmit data.
This kind of sensor has great potential, but the disadvantage is that it is too thin, may be not

strong enough for long-term use, but the so-called, you will lose in a convenient and fashionable

at the same time, we may lose durability.