Developed in Japan, “smart skin” technology is a truly remarkable development that can create an easier route for doctors to keep up with their patients most vital health signs. The e- skin, which was created at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering, is extremely thin and highly elastic. The skin is meant to blend in with the patient’s body. The device displays simple graphics and characters on a 16×24 matrix of micro LED lights.
As a “minimally invasive medical system,” the skin is used to “keep doctors connected with their senior patients” using smartphone and computer interfaces.
The smart skin has a wireless biomedical sensor which detects touch, pressure and temperature. The data that the device collects is easily accessible to the physicians monitoring the patient’s condition, and if anything is amiss the doctor can easily communicate with the patient using simple feedback icons.
The smart skin does not irritate real skin since it is built with a breathable matrix of nanomesh electrode sensors with a gas-permeable membrane.
This cutting edge smart skin technology has several applications in addition to its use for seniors for monitoring health. Gamers can wear a shirt with similar technology to play videogames involving movement, and athletes like runners, can monitor energy expenditures and movement as well. We should be seeing a lot more of this kind of technology becoming more available in the future.