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82 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2018 the combination of Mina and Averatek's ALD additive circuitry process. Alumina, the anod- ized layer of aluminum, is a thermally conduc- tive, electrically insulated dielectric layer. From a 10,000-foot view, Averatek's ALD ink additive circuitry process generates the copper traces di- rectly on the alumina or dielectric layer. Mina can be used to solder both leads that need to be electrically grounded and the thermal pads, directly to the aluminum. This can be done by masking the bonding areas when anodizing the aluminum prior to building the copper trac - es and then applying Mina to those previous- ly masked areas allowing soldering to the alu- minum. This provides better thermal manage- ment and significantly improves performance. Mina has been developed to work with standard screen printing, baking and assem- bly equipment. This allows a simple adoption without incurring significant capital equip- ment costs. As a new with benefits to two mar- kets, I have to wonder which industry will be next to discover Mina. Hard disk drives? Con- nectors? Shielding wire and cable? Mina is an excellent example of innovation and technolo- gy development benefiting multiple segments in the rapidly changing electronics industry. PCB007 Tara Dunn is the president of Omni PCB, a manufacturer's rep firm specializing in the printed circuit board industry. To read past columns or to contact Dunn, click here. Flexible sensors developed at RMIT will be integrated into new health monitoring technology to improve aged care, in a project supported through a $1.7 million Federal Government grant. The $1.7 million Cooperative Research Centre Projects (CRC-P) grant has been awarded to Melbourne-based re- search and advanced manufacturing company Sleep- tite, which is leading the development of the non-invasive health care monitoring program. Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation Senator Zed Seselja, an- nounced the CRC-P grant at RMIT's Micro Nano Research Facility. Sensor Technology to Improve Safety and Health in Aged Care The Sleeptite collaboration brings together a multi-dis- ciplinary team in sensing, micro-technology, health data analytics and bedding manufacturing that will deliver new Australian-made products for the aged care and as- sisted living sectors. RMIT researchers led by Associate Professor Madhu Bhaskaran will work to integrate their flexible, unbreak- able electronics into bedding products to enable the real- time monitoring of health and sleep. Bhaskaran said while some technologies existed to im- prove monitoring, they were either too expensive for wide implementation or unreliable. "What we're developing is a cost-effec- tive way to improve the supervision and monitoring of people living in aged care and assisted living facilities, especially at night," she said. The new technology is designed to give nurses and aged care facility managers greater insight into the health and well-being of patients. By alerting health care workers to movements, the technology aims to mini- mise night time disruption and deliver better quality of life for residents. Source: RMIT University