By RANDALL STROSS
Published: September 3, 2011
CONFINED to their hospital beds, patients can only fantasize about stripping off all the wires that connect them to monitors and bolting for the door.
John A. Rogers/University of Illinois
At the University of Illinois, researchers are working on ultrathin, electronic medical monitors that attach to a patient's skin and transmit data wirelessly.
John A. Rogers/University of Illinois
A monitor might be mounted on a temporary tattoo, for concealment.
Suppose, however, that all of a convalescent patient’s electrode patches were consolidated into a single, nearly invisible and weightless version — as thin as a temporary, press-on tattoo. And suppose that a tiny radio transmitter eliminated the need for any wires tethering the patient to monitoring machines.
“Epidermal electronics” — a term coined by researchers who have produced prototype devices at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — may enable constant medical monitoring anywhere.
The devices are part of a growing field, called mHealth, that uses mobile technologies. Simpler forms include smartphone apps for patient education or disease management. More complex ones include wireless sensors to monitor vital signs.