Offering a preview of what future wearable medical devices may look like, researchers in Korea have built a skin patch that’s thinner than a sheet of paper and can detect subtle tremors, release drugs stored inside nanoparticles on-demand, and record all of this activity for review later.
While still under development, the technology might someday be useful to sufferers of Parkinson’s disease or other movement disorders. “The system represents a new direction in personalized health care that will eventually enable advanced diagnostics and therapy on devices that can be worn like a child’s temporary tattoo,” says Dae-Hyeong Kim, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at Seoul National University, who led the work (see “Innovators Under 35: Dae-Hyeong Kim”).
Image: Drug patch: A new prototype of an electronic skin patch can detect muscle tremors and deliver drugs from nanoparticles. http://www.technologyreview.com
