36 The PCB Magazine • November 2014
Flexible electronics are lightweight, portable
and so thin and supple that they can conform
to the human body. They represent a nascent,
but fast-growing industry. A report from IDTe-
chEx, Printed, Organic & Flexible Electronics:
Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2013–2023,
found that the total market for these
technologies will grow almost five-
fold in 10 years, from about $16
billion in 2013 to nearly $77
billion in 2023. Likely no in-
dustry stands to see more in-
novation from flexible elec-
tronics than the medical de-
vice industry.
What if diabetics could wear
a contact lens that continuous-
ly monitors their glucose lev-
els , forever eliminating finger
sticks and bloody test strips?
What if, instead of around-
the-clock bedside checks that
wear on patients and nurses
alike, a tissue-thin adhesive
patch could report hospital pa
-
tients' vital signs directly to the
nurses' station—or to the patient's
electronic medical record? What if
a flexible circuit could detect—or even treat—
the first signs of recurring malignancy in cancer
patients? What if these monitors enable us to
gather big data on vitals that through intelligent
prognostic analysis could predict the onset of a
malady?
Recent advances in flexible electronics tech-
nology has allowed researchers to devise a way
to print devices directly onto the skin allowing
people to go about normal daily activities for an
extended period of time. Such systems could be
used to track medical conditions and monitor
healing near the skin's surface, as in the case of
surgical wounds.
Sheila Dharmarajan investigates the outlook
for wearable electronics on Bloomberg Televi-
sion's "Bloomberg West." She reports on a new
method to reformat silicon allowing electron-
ics to bend, stretch and conform to the human
body.
The possibilities are truly endless: intelli-
gent surgical instruments that give the surgeon
real-time feedback to improve the speed and
precision of procedures; conformal pacemakers
to keep the heart functioning without degrad-
ing quality of life; neural implants to control
prosthetics; and biosensors to transmit data to
remote health care providers, increasing access
for rural or movement-restricted pa-
tients and reducing or replacing
the need for frequent doctor ap-
pointments.
In addition to improving
health care access, delivery
and medical consumers' com-
fort and convenience, flexible
electronics will be cheaper,
faster and easier to manufac-
ture than traditional circuit-
ry for medical applications.
Wearable electronics relies on
the promise of organic mate-
rials that function similarly to
inorganic materials but can be
dissolved in a solution, form-
ing conductive, semi-conduc-
tive and dielectric functional
inks that allow circuits to be
manufactured using printing
techniques.
A number of companies have already be-
gun developing flexible medical technologies
that will soon be available commercially. As
the technology evolves, demand—driven by an
aging population, longer life expectancy and
the quest for more affordable and less invasive
health care—is expected to continue to increase.
What applications do you see for wearable
electronics in medical devices? Where do you
see the most potential for growth and innova-
tion? Can we do something near term to real-
ize incremental benefits? What stands between
these ideas and their realization?
PCB
Reprinted with permission of Jabil.
WEARABLE ELECTRONICS: THE SHAPE-SHIFTING FuTuRE OF MEDICAL DEvICES continues
Gary baker is the
communications manager
for nypro, a Jabil company.
Recent advances
in flexible electronics
technology has
allowed researchers to
devise a way to print
devices directly onto
the skin allowing
people to go about
normal daily activities
for an extended
period of time.
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