NIST research has found that the flexible plastic membrane on which wearables would be built might work better if the membrane had microscopic holes in it (photo: NIST)
In science, sometimes the best discoveries come when you’re exploring something else entirely. That’s the case with recent findings from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where a research team has come up with a way to build safe, nontoxic gold wires onto flexible, thin plastic film. Their demonstration potentially clears the path for a host of wearable electronic devices that monitor our health.
The new IR Topled D5140 from German-based Osram Opto Semiconductors is reported to require considerably less pc board space than before. It enables more compact sensors to be produced for monitoring fitness levels, for example in fitness armbands. The spectral sensitivity of the D5140 has been optimised for visible light and allows precise heart rate measurements using red or green light. The component is also ideal as an ambient light sensor.
A skin-like biomedical technology that uses a mesh of conducting nanowires and a thin layer of elastic polymer might bring new electronic bandages that monitor biosignals for medical applications and provide therapeutic stimulation through the skin. The research behind this project was conducted by scientists from Purdue University (West Lafayette (IN), USA).
