Electronic ‘tattoo’ may offer new flexible way to monitor brain, heart

Weightless, skin-like bandages with microelectronic components may one day replace the bulky monitors and electrode patches now used in hospitals to monitor patients’ vital signs, researchers said.

Weightless, skin-like bandages with microelectronic components may one day replace the bulky monitors and electrode patches now used in hospitals to monitor patients’ vital signs, researchers said. Photographer: Getty Images

.Weightless, skin-like bandages with microelectronic components may one day replace the bulky monitors and electrode patches now used in hospitals to monitor patients’ vital signs, researchers said.

The ultrathin patches, which are applied to the skin like temporary tattoos, contain miniature electronic components that sense and send information for diagnosing and monitoring medical conditions. The novel device, developed by a team led by engineers from the University of Illinois, is described today in the journal Science.

The engineers envision uses for the patches for measuring brain waves, muscle impulses and heart beats, including prenatal monitoring. The size and flexibility of the device may allow scientists to monitor areas that were previously difficult, such as the throat, they said in today’s paper. An experiment showed the device is sensitive enough to use the signal from throat muscles moving for speech to control a video game with 90 percent accuracy.

“What we’re trying to do is reshape electronics to allow integration with the human body,” said John Rogers, a professor of material science at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign in a telephone interview. “The real value is the extent you can get it to doctors and patients who can use it. That’s our ultimate success.”

The patches are mounted on a thin film of plastic and laminated to the skin with water. The device contains sensors, a power supply, and light-emitting components. The current power supply relies on wireless coils that need to be near a main coil to function, though that design may change, Rogers said.

The current methods of monitoring heart, nerve and muscle activity require bulky monitors and complicated wiring, and the adhesives on electrode patches cause rashes, wrote Zhenqiang Ma, an engineer at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, in a commentary in Science. The bandage is about the thickness of a human hair, and doesn’t cause the same kinds of discomfort, Ma wrote.

One potential broader use of the bandage is providing a sense of touch to prosthetic devices, such as artificial legs, Ma said.

To commercialize the technology, Rogers helped found closely held Mc10 Inc., where he sits on the board. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is developing two classes of electronics, including devices with Reebok, a unit of Adidas AG (ADS), that may aid in helping athletes recover from injury and another to help treat abnormal heart rhythm.

Electrodes applied to the skin can stimulate muscles, helping with recovery from injuries. An advanced version of today’s device may do the same, helping people recover from injury faster and avoiding muscle atrophy, Rogers said. That’s being tested in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.