DMac
29th October 2010, 08:13 AM
Creepy!
Implantable LEDs Could Be Medical Sensors, or Sweet Glowing Tattoos (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/19/implantable-leds-could-be-medical-sensors-or-sweet-glowing-tattoos/)
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gallery/albums/led-implant/glove.jpg
snip
Flexible materials technology may just bring the next wave of trendy to the markets, in the form of glowing tattoos and T- shirts. Or the hot new tech could be used for its intended purpose: monitoring medical conditions.
This flexible light-emitting diode (LED) array uses many already existing materials and techniques to create a nano-sized, flexible patch of light. A team lead by John Rogers developed the array as a medical device; it could be implanted to serve as a readout for monitoring internal body conditions, like blood oxygenation or glucose levels, or it could turn on light-activated drugs.
“The applications we’re interested in mostly include interfaces with the human body,” says John Rogers…. For some biological applications, he adds, a conventional LED’s brightness, reliable operation and suitability for waterproof implementation make it a more attractive option than an organic LED. [Scientific American].
Implantable LEDs Could Be Medical Sensors, or Sweet Glowing Tattoos (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/10/19/implantable-leds-could-be-medical-sensors-or-sweet-glowing-tattoos/)
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gallery/albums/led-implant/glove.jpg
snip
Flexible materials technology may just bring the next wave of trendy to the markets, in the form of glowing tattoos and T- shirts. Or the hot new tech could be used for its intended purpose: monitoring medical conditions.
This flexible light-emitting diode (LED) array uses many already existing materials and techniques to create a nano-sized, flexible patch of light. A team lead by John Rogers developed the array as a medical device; it could be implanted to serve as a readout for monitoring internal body conditions, like blood oxygenation or glucose levels, or it could turn on light-activated drugs.
“The applications we’re interested in mostly include interfaces with the human body,” says John Rogers…. For some biological applications, he adds, a conventional LED’s brightness, reliable operation and suitability for waterproof implementation make it a more attractive option than an organic LED. [Scientific American].