Epidermal electronics for health and fitness monitoring

Abstract

Medical deployment of electronics is frequently hampered by boxy, rigid packaging. Biological tissues are soft and curved, while electronic components are hard and angular. The mechanical mismatch can be alleviated by re-packaging electronics in radical new form factors. MC10 has developed a technology platform using ultra-thin components linked with stretchable interconnects and embedded in low modulus polymers which provide an excellent match to biological tissues. The MC10 platform is based on packaging today's high-performance active components in new mechanical form factors. The platform has three key elements: thin silicon embedded in film for flexibility, silicon transfer from foundry CMOS wafers to polymer-coated carriers and flexible metallic interconnect on polymer. On-body and in-body applications are both well suited to the technology platform. Skin-mounted systems resemble electronic tattoos, and can be worn for extended periods without discomfort while providing continuous monitoring. Inside the body, instrumented catheters provide a practitioner with unprecedented electrical information about the interior of the heart.