34 The PCB Magazine • November 2014
Think about your last doctor's appoint-
ment. You probably had your blood pressure
taken and blood drawn for routine tests. Your
doctor may have listened to your heart with a
stethoscope and then referred you to the hos-
pital for an electrocardiogram (EKG). There, a
nurse pasted electrodes on your chest so a ma-
chine the size of an office printer could record
the electrical activity of your heart. All a neces-
sary part of your wellness routine, but you had
to take a day off work and endure a little pain
in the process.
Now imagine this scenario: You check in at
the doctor's office. The receptionist hands you
a small, self-adhesive patch that you wear on
your skin and it instantly transmits all your vi-
tal healthcare data directly to the doctor—be-
fore you even get to the exam room. After a
brief chat with the doctor, you are sent on your
way with a clean bill of health, and this is all
accomplished during your lunch break.
This is the future potential of flexible elec-
tronics in wearable medical devices: to free
both patient and doctor from the bulky and
unwieldy technology of the past. When most
of us think of electronics on a PCB, we think of
a rigid, stiff device. However, advances in elec-
tronics, flexible materials and technology are
driving development of new wearable electron-
ics that can bend and fold just like paper.
by Gary Baker
nYPro
Wearable Electronics:
The Shape-Shifting Future
of Medical Devices
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